Small businesses can fall by the wayside if they don’t capitalize on the build-up. If you’ve been preparing for months, or even years, and your business is now starting to take shape, you might be incredibly concerned as to whether your start-up is going to be successful. We have to remember that nearly 75% of startups fail within the first three years, which is why we need to implement proper prior planning. So what can we do to drum up support for our business and our products?
Start a Rumor
A major caveat here: please be very aware of what a rumor can do. For example, people who want to learn more about the DJI Matrice 3D drone are being drip-fed something that comes with a lot of rumors. You need to be very careful when it comes to building this anticipation. A rumor can go out of control, and this is why you need to tease out your business or your product carefully. You need to ensure that as you build up to your launch date, you harness the power of speculation.
Showcase the Innovative Nature of the Product or Service
Why did you start a business in the first place? Chances are it’s because you had an idea that you believed would change lives. When we lay out the framework for promoting a business, we’ve got to showcase how innovative we are front and center. The key to generating any form of interest is about separating ourselves from everyone else, and this is doubly true in the world of the startup where there’s a lot of competition that causes us to get trampled underfoot. Generate that proper interest to get your target market feverishly excited about your service or product.
Know Your Audience
Knowing your target audience, their buyer persona, and everything about them is key to running a successful company. We have to be educated in terms of the motivations of our target markets. By understanding who will be interested in our business, it gives us a better understanding of which tools we should use to make an impact. This is where a CRM (customer relationship management) system is always the go-to resource for companies that want to build up a clearer picture of their audience. We should also recognize the importance of building these ongoing relationships through the platforms in which they engage. A CRM is an amazing database to help us build that clearer picture, not just of the demographic, but of an individual.
Learn the Art of Collaboration
Small businesses can benefit from going local. You can optimize your online presence for local search by updating your Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business. Additionally, you can use local keywords in your content and encourage customers to leave reviews to ensure your small business appears in local search engine results and attracts those nearby customers. Going local also means that we can partner up with other businesses in our midst by using cross-promotions or joint events to expand our reach. This will ensure that you introduce your business to new audiences.
Make It Easy to Sign Up
As soon as your business launches, you should focus on growth as a priority and should be carefully premeditated prior to launch. A pre-launch web page containing a signup form will help to gauge customer interest early on in the process, but will also ensure that you take advantage of the hype that you can drum up. When we make things easier for the customer, we are taking a lot of stress out of the process and use this as a lesson early on to simplify as much of your processes as possible. There is absolutely no need to overcomplicate things, whether it is in terms of marketing or engaging with your customers.
Engage with the Community
Community engagement through local events or even supporting charitable causes makes you a visible and positive presence in the community to foster goodwill and attract other customers who will value businesses that give back. If there’s one thing that we all need to remember, it is that we should focus on the positive aspects of the community. Small businesses are uniquely positioned in an industry because they are either brand new or have cultivated a part of their community because they’ve served the locals first. As we drum up support for our small business, only then should we expand further out. It’s always about making sure that we do the little things first and learn to walk before we can run.
Starting a business requires a lot of pre-planning and pre-meditation, and while drumming up support is just one piece of the puzzle, it’s a fundamental one nonetheless.
