Ideas are great but they won’t get your start-up off the ground. Even new businesses that seemingly do everything right in terms of planning and preparation can fall by the wayside if ideas don’t convert into sales. According to experts, failure rates for start-ups can be as high as 90%. Shedding light on the reasons why business newbies falter, CB Insights collated data from hundreds of top CEOs.
Among the reasons listed for failing were “no market need”, “pricing issues”, and “poor marketing”. Although each issue can have a negative impact to a greater or lesser extent, they all feed into one overarching problem: a lack of customers. Without people buying into a product or service, the business will fail. Therefore, if you want to keep the dream alive, you need to raise awareness of your brand and encourage people to pay for what you’re offering.
With that in mind, here are three ways some of the world’s top companies obtain and retain customers.
Everyone Loves a Freebie
Yes, giving something away for nothing is great. However, in this instance, we’re talking about free trials. When YouTube launched its Premium service in May 2018, it offered all its users a week’s free trial of the service. This type of promotion is common in the entertainment sector, but where free services can be more effective is in niche markets. A great example of this is trading. The online trading industry has blossomed over the last decade but the process of investing in stocks, shares, and forex is still alien to many.
To counter that, the top online trading sites offer demo account options that are free to create and provide users with a fully functional service. From data feeds and financial charts to simulations; everything someone needs to learn the nuances of trading is there. The beauty of demo accounts is that users can switch to the full version simply by making a deposit. This seamless transition is an ideal way to attract novices, educate them and, in turn, get them to invest in your product.
Blog, Post, and Blog Some More
Content is king online. Whether it’s onsite articles, external blogs, link building content or social media posts, consumers love content. According to Quick Sprout, websites that blog typically have 97% more inbound links and 434% more indexed pages than sites that don’t. As well as making Google love your site (which boosts your ranking), consumers are more likely to make a purchase if you provide some sort of content alongside your product.
Again, Quick Sprout’s round-up of the data shows us that 61% of US consumers made a purchase based on a blog post. One start-up that’s utilised blogs to great effect is Etsy. The online marketplace does a fantastic job of categorising products sold on its site and offering engaging content around them. Basically, if you can offer some added value, interest, and entertainment via a blog and/or social media, you’re likely to attract more customers.
Get Social
We all know that using social media is a great way to promote a brand and drive traffic to your site. However, there are some people who are better at it than others. Yes, you should take advantage of your own networks and try to build up your own following on Facebook, Twitter et al. However, it’s also worth piggybacking off the success of others. Using affiliates and influencers can be a shortcut to generating interest in your product or services.
Yes, it will cost, but it’s a cost you can factor into your overall business plan. Having other people provide links to your site and raising awareness of your brand can be invaluable. In fact, a recent study by Linqia showed that 94% of marketers thought that influencers were an effective way to generate interest in a company. Indeed, you only have to look at fitness brands such as My Protein to see how this can be effective. As per its site, you can become an affiliate if you have 5,000+ social media followers.
By harnessing the power of social media and combining it with your own content and free offers, you stand a better chance of keeping your start-up, up. In a world where businesses come and go faster than fashion trends, it’s important to be proactive and, more importantly, stay active.
