Burn the segments

We have to have the guts to burn the segments in our business which aren’t working. Not paying their way.

Why?

Because this not only reduces complexity, it frees up resources for our committed users, customers or members. Those who are really into what we do. Which is most often those who are willing to pay for what we have.

The Jesus moment

One thing we need to build into our startups is the Jesus moment. We have to have one.

Startup blog definition:

Jesus moment: One thing which makes our people come back another time.

it’s got to be so compelling, that can’t refuse to check us out again. it’s not usually a whole bunch of things, rather a single thing we do better which makes us worthy. It’s why they’ll switch to us. it’s what we are focused on.

Brand which have the Jesus moment built it, invariably do better and live longer. It may not be there when we launch, but it must be what we are striving for.

Know what you’re selling

It was Friday night and I was having a drinks with colleagues who were discussing the relative taste profiles of various beers. I went on challenge the crowd that they wouldn’t know which beers was which in a blind taste test. None of them believed me.

Turns out it’s true. I once worked in a marketing role at Fosters, and 90% of beer drinkers cannot pick any brand within the same type (eg lager, pillsner, bitter ale). Beer is not bought on taste, it’s bought by brand. Sure, there are other factors which come into the decision like availability and price. But both trail and subsequent loyalty is never about taste.

So we have to know what we are selling. Not in the primary sense (the physical product) but in the secondary sense, the real motivation which makes us choose brand A over brand B. And in most categories it’s not what it seems

Beer = fashion

Electricity = company interactions

Coffee = socialisation

Cameras = memory library

For entrepreneurs the message is simple, we must know what we are selling. It’s most often how we market the secondary benefit which will drive our brand over the competitor.

The one word

I’ve been thinking about and writing this blog about startups, entrepreneurs and marketing for 5 years. And I’m pretty sure the most important word is desire. If we have desire then everything will eventually work out. We will make it.

Stay the course

I love the story of James Podsiadly for one reason. He has broken convention and in doing so, will change peoples perception forever.

For the uninitiated, James managed to break into the AFL ranks for the first time at the age of 28. Playing his first game for Geelong in season 2010. In football terms he’s a senior citizen. In fact, most people start retiring around that vintage. But James wasn’t fortunate enough to get picked to play at AFL level at a young age. Geelong is his third club, and he has been starring this year.

He’s proven that age is relative to development.

He’s proven that age is relative to opportunity.

He’s proven that desire can be translated into results.

He’s proven that great work eventually gets noticed.

He’s proven that sometimes people / companies / clubs get it wrong.

He’s proven that staying the course over a a long period is where results live.

So far in the year 2010, he’s the most inspiring person I’ve come across. Before we make an assessment of someone’s worth, we should think of James. He’s also who we should remember when we think of quitting, or we’re overlooked in whatever we are doing.

Startup Blog says: Thankyou James.

How to win new business

We all have to pitch for business, regardless of whether we are in startup land or an established firm. Without new business we die. Pitching can take the form of gaining new retail outlets, signing up memberships, raising capital or even just getting added to preferred supplier list. It’s all selling, and more often than not we focus on the opportunity event, yet this is the exact opposite of what we ought do. Sure, we will win some business this way, but it’s how the amateurs do it. The way stars win business is by implementing the following stealth techniques.

Be the resource: We should start being an active resource for the company or person we hope to do business with. Simple things like providing industry data and insight which will be of value to them. Provide connections and contacts which are of no value to us, but them. Link them up with others who can and will help them. Help them fill job roles. Make presentations to their employees. Come up with ideas for them and share them without asking for anything in return. We must demonstrate that their business is top of mind, and we care about their success.

Start working for them: Don’t ask for a brief or an order, just do the work. Small pieces, with no return expected. We’ve got to pay it forward. It could be providing some free product they can sell, or service pro bono. It’s what consumer goods companies do all the time. It’s called sampling. Why more startups and businesses don’t do it is beyond me. It’s one of the most effective marketing tools there is.

Invent a reputation: Yes, invent it. Reputation is invented, and the best way to do it is to have an opinion. The way to share our opinion is by speaking and writing. This is what gets us the attention and generates business. It’s not the  other way around as most people believe. We must position oursleves and brand as thought leaders. How? We need to put our hand up to speak at events, start writing and self promoting. Impassioned words are attractive, and people want to do business with passionate people. It’s also a good idea to have a radical opinion, sure this will alienate half the market, but we can’t serve everyone anyway. Better to have half of the market love (hate) what we stand for than be overlooked.

Develop relationships before the business is up for grabs: Most people, and companies are competent. Widgets can be made, and there’s a very good chance someone can make or do what we do just as well. In this instance the business always goes to the nicest bunch of people. It doesn’t sound very strategic but it’s how the world works. This is the way we avoid competition. By being the guys who cared well before the budget was approved. It’s a massive point of difference.

When we do this, human instinct takes over and it’s just a matter of time before we generate loads of business.

Words make a comeback

For a while we have had a maths and numbers obsession in the world of commerce. Careers were created and destroyed on the premise of mathematical ability. What a shame.

Thankfully, words are making a comeback. You see words are human. Words are what differentiate us from every other species. Words are where the emotion and value is. The numbers are only achieved when the words that precede them are thoughtful. It’s the right (correct?) side of the brain that matters. And finally business is catching on. I am so excited that we are outsourcing the left side of our work to the power of Moores Law. Which means us humans can get back to the stuff that matters. Love, design and nurturing. We can leave the manufacturing and piece work to the machines and microchips. And instead we can innovate and humanize what we do to earn a living.

What we ought be thankful for is those who sacrificed their time and days during the transition period of the industrial revolution. It’s really akin a war that was fought by our forefathers to help us get past ‘bit’ work.

Welcome to the new world of emotional labour.

Don’t be boring

It’s not a boring category, industry, startup or company. You’re a boring brand run by boring people.

Exciting is a state of mind, if we have the courage to create, upset or even offend, then we can change our brand or industry forever. In fact, it might even be worth going broke or getting fired for.

Testing 1,2,3

It’s never been easier to test market anything in the history of startups. The web is our best friend for testing regardless of which market we compete in, or are launching into.

How would we do it? There are many simnple methods:

- Google adwords testing various ideas to see which ones get clicked on the most

- Build a landing page for a certain product idea to see how many hits it gets

- Set up a ‘coming soon’ registration facility to assess market interest and ask the punters what they’d pay for such a service / product.

- Tweet our idea for feedback (which is what I did for www.startupschool.com.au) before the launch to assess interest)

- Start a facebooks fans page for a non-existing thing / service or idea that you’ll build afterwards.

- Start a blog on the topic and see how many followers and participators we get to see if there is market support.

How will you pressure test your next startup idea?

The law of focus

We can only beat the big guys with focus. It has to be so small the big guys don’t care. Big guys rarely buy big businesses anyway, especially not in the tech or web scene. They want it to fit tightly into their portfolio. We ought put all our eggs in a  tiny basket. In this way we wont get short short of resources, both human and financial.

When we do this in startup land, we have a chance of winning.