Marketing Fundamentals for StartupsDecember 4, 2012 General Assembly
The Hattery
Hi. I’m Melissa.
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Every so often, I…
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I used to…
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Back when…
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Until…
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These days, I…
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Who are you?
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Lots to Cover
Introductions • How to Rock at Startup Marketing• Set Priorities • Measure and Iterate• Invest Wisely• Get Inspired • Hack the Culture
• Q&A
It’s an exciting time to be a tech marketer
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Metrics
MarketingProduct
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Lots to Cover
Introductions How to Rock at Startup Marketing• Set Priorities • Measure and Iterate• Invest Wisely• Get Inspired • Hack the Culture
• Q&A
Set Priorities
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“We need to be on TechCrunch”
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Why?
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“So people will know about us”
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Why?
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“So we can get users”
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“So we can get funding”
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“So we can get talent”
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Let’s tease those apart.
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But first…
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JARGON!
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Marketing Jargon – A Primer
• User acquisition • Funnel • Sign up flow • Onboarding • Engagement • Brand strategy • Messaging
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Getting back to the TechCrunch example…
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TechCrunch and User GrowthA few scenarios
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Scenario 1
1. Get profiled in TechCrunch2. Build optimized sign up flow 3. Design onboarding for long term engagement 4. Define messaging and brand strategy
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Scenario 2
1. Build optimized sign up flow 2. Get profiled in TechCrunch3. Define messaging and brand strategy 4. Design onboarding for long term engagement
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Scenario 3
1. Build optimized sign up flow 2. Define messaging and brand strategy 3. Design onboarding for long term engagement 4. Get profiled in TechCrunch
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1. Build a good product
Lots to Cover
Introductions How to Rock at Startup Marketing
Set Priorities • Measure and Iterate• Invest Wisely• Get Inspired • Hack the Culture
• Q&A
Measure & Iterate
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Getting to baseline
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All metrics are not created equal
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Some metrics matter more than others
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Left Brain Metrics
• Sign up numbers (user acquisition) • Open Rates• Click Through Rates • Engagement Scores • Frequency (x) • Activity (y)
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Right Brain Metrics
• Impressions • Likes • Followers • Media Hits • Tonal Analysis• Sentiment Tracking
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Real World Examples
• What are you measuring? • How does your marketing team use metrics
to make smart decisions?• What happens when the metrics contradict
your gut instincts?
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You can’t improve what you don’t measure
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Lots to Cover
Introductions How to Rock at Startup Marketing
Set Priorities Measure and Iterate• Invest Wisely• Get Inspired • Hack the Culture
• Q&A
Invest Wisely
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Splurge
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Skimp
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Design
• Early on, designers define the visual language and identity for the brand• As you grow, designers key partners in building
engaging experiences and campaigns
• Recommendation: Splurge – You get what you pay for. Talent is expensive and in high demand but you’ll save the heartache of having to redo it later.
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PR
• A good PR agency can:• Call the media on your behalf• Introduce you to new and exciting people • Help refine your story
• Even the best agency cannot: • Make a bad product good • Tell you who you are and why it matters
• Recommendation: Skimp - Do self-service until product and key messages are baked. Need messaging help? Call a consultant.
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Events
• Having a presence at events can get costly in a hurry• Know why you’re going • Have goals and metrics defined up front
• Sponsor judiciously• Trade show floor• Cocktail parties/Meetups/Tweetups/Drinkups
• Recommendation: Skimp on catchall shows, splurge on opportunities to reach target audiences.
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SWAG
• Thou shalt not hand out anything that thy would not pick up thyself.
• Recommendation: Splurge - No need to spend millions on swag, but whatever you have must be high quality. It reflects on your brand.
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Marketing Automation
• Email Service Providers • SEO• Analytics• User Testing • Help Desk Software
• Recommendation: Splurge - Don’t be a tool, invest in tools!
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Lots to Cover
Introductions How to Rock at Startup Marketing
Set Priorities Measure and IterateInvest Wisely• Get Inspired • Hack the Culture
• Q&A
Get Inspired
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Real World Examples
• Which companies are doing great marketing today? • What about their marketing resonates with
you? • How did you hear or find out about it? • How would you measure the campaign’s
effectiveness?
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Lots to Cover
Introductions How to Rock at Startup Marketing
Set Priorities Measure and IterateInvest WiselyGet Inspired • Hack the Culture
• Q&A
Hack the Culture
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Culture Hacking 101
•Be visible•Ask questions•Have an opinion and voice it
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Marketing people must become Venn Diagram people
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Metrics
MarketingProduct
It’s an exciting time to be a tech marketer
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Lots to Cover
Introductions How to Rock at Startup Marketing
Set Priorities Measure and IterateInvest WiselyGet Inspired Hack the Culture
• Q&A
• Adam Nash’s Series on User Acquisition• Mixpanel’s (old but good) post on
Funnel Analysis• Andrew Chen’s How to be a Growth Hacker• Marketing tips from Simon Rothman• Elle Luna on Design
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Appendix - Good Reading
• Drybar• Uber • Quora • JetBlue • VirginAmerica
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Appendix – Inspiration
• OSCON juggle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/912652067/in/faves-misdemeanor/• Moz picnic juggle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lhirlimann/6161863203• Moz group shot 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fmg2001/502593842/• Moz group shot 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gen/4784616521• Yardstick: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theilr/1925077643/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Johnny Cash mural: http://www.flickr.com/photos/timpatterson/2746686784/sizes/z/in/photostream/• Look: http://newyorkcityinthewitofaneye.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/look.jpg• Shepard’s Andre the Giant• Someecards citation in image
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Appendix – Image Attribution