Have you ever wondered why some startups shoot out with staggering results and huge profits, while others fade away at the startup? Why do consumers ignore some and give a lot of money to other authors, even if they have the same potential? Using the example of your own startup, we will analyze the main mistakes that can lead to the collapse of the project. And even a company, which follows well-known brands, like TonyBet or Amazon, isn’t safe from mistakes.
Starting Without Testing the Strategies of Marketing Promotion
Marketing at the startup is an abyss of work and rampant creativity. A cool idea, a huge amount of work done, a lot of ideas need to be systematized, to build work and business processes, to develop strategies for advertising and PR promotion.
It’s possible to choose working offers, slogans and main words which are associated with a brand only by testing. This is a basic mistake that can significantly slow down the development of the project, if not bury it. Whoever thinks that the main thing in the launch is to attract investment and customers, and add a lot of new functionality, is wrong.
The main thing is for the two components to coincide: the main purpose of marketing and the obvious need for the project from the audience. If we believe Philip Kotler, and most in the world tend to believe the author of the seminal work on marketing, the main purpose of marketing is to improve the quality of human life. In this the global goal of marketing and our project coincided. The need of the society in the project is also obvious – now the market of online and offline services is formed, but neither consumers nor customers are not fully satisfied. 90% of negative feedback on well-known platforms, especially in the regions, as well as the constant growing demand for services according to Google Trends.
It’s impossible to draw conclusions about the quality of offers, marketing messages before receiving feedback from the audience. Testing will allow you to immediately identify the shortcomings of the functionality, fix inaccuracies and pick up effective ToV (Tone of Voice), marketing messages. In this case, you will avoid problems at the main launch. The consumer will be offered a completely finished product and understandable messages. This means that the first users won’t leave, and there won’t be any negative feedback online.
Moreover, testing will give the opportunity to address the audience, and possibly investors, not with an abstract idea, but with a finished product. This greatly increases the chances of attracting users who are able to provide funding that is sufficient for all tasks.
Selecting the Team
Many startups were created without financing and even without clear prospects of attracting it. And yet they are successfully launched and make a profit. Remember! The team is our main and most important resource.
Departing from the classic recruitment schemes, we found our own solutions. For example, we were looking for people who are able to stand and go to the goal, even in the most stalemate situations. At the same time an extremely important component is creativity and special, high-energy approach to life, out-of-the-box thinking.
The task was complicated by the fact that in addition to creativity, motivation and stress-resistance, we needed employees with skills.
There was no time for training. We used a trial method to define some criteria, which helped us to find really good professionals:
- Ability to see weaknesses in a project.
- Ability not just to criticize, but to recommend ways of solving a problem.
- Skills in working with different niches.
- The ability to hear colleagues and interact effectively.
- Focus on results.
It’s hard to attract such specialists. That is why each specialist is selected long, hard and carefully, using non-standard approaches during the interview.
Going Into the Launch Without a Creative Approach
Before launching a project, it is necessary to conduct a market analysis. This way we got complete information about the number of similar resources and their demand. We were clearly aware that we were coming out with an idea that had already been implemented more than once.
In such conditions, you can become popular only if you stand out among competitors. You have to enter the market creatively and uncommonly. Otherwise your project will get lost in dozens of similar platforms.
