Hi, we’re GrowingStartup.
We start, buy, and invest in wonderful entrepreneurs. If you run an internet business such as a B2B software company, E-commerce brand or Professional Services business, we can help you get faster sales, bigger profits, and peace of mind.
Dear founder,
Have you ever been confused, stuck or overwhelmed? – trying to grow your business, make a lot of money, get more customers, gain more freedom, make an impact in your world? – you have come to the right place.
Founders start businesses in one of these three ways
1 Get to know a person or a business’ needs and create the solution
2 Build something to solve your own problem and find others like you
3 You’re either getting to know the market and creating what they want or creating something you believe is great and showing it to them
The best approach would be to find out what people want and give it to them.
The most successful products have the following characteristics:
1 A product that people/businesses want to have a product for which there’s market demand.
Not every product solves a problem but every product fulfills a desire. Either a desire to get something or to get rid of some problem.
It would surprise you how many businesses fail because there is no demand for their product. Demand in this sense can be defined as a desire that has commercial value.
For instance, there’s a desire to go from home to your workplace quickly. We have cars, bicycles, trains, jets, ridesharing apps, etc for that desire.
You want to connect with friends, find out what’s going on in the world and be informed. We have social media and news media for that.
Or you may want your business to get more customers and to make a lot of profits. There’s books, software, courses, masterminds, coaching and schools for that.
2 A product that solves a problem or fulfills a desire in a way that will delight the customer
3 A product that is either scarce or differentiated in a way that makes it unique.
The message
Startups struggle here the hardest. Your brand is the images, words, and perception of the market or your customer has about you.
How To Get More Customers And Faster Sales
– Acquiring clients at breakeven upfront and make a profit on the back end
– Guaranteeing purchases through risk reversal
– Host-beneficiary relationships
– Advertising
– Using direct mail
– Using telemarketing/email marketing
– Running special events or information nights
– Acquiring qualified lists
– Develop a Unique Selling Proposition
– Increasing the perceived value of your product/service through better client education
– Using public relations
– Referral systems
How To Keep Customers And Increase Retention:
– Delivering higher-than-expected levels of service
– Communicating frequently with your clients to nurture them
– Offer no risk
– Make yourself very accessible
– While targeting the best
– Loyalty programs
– Events
– Sell them the next step of value
How To Increase Your Conversion Rate :
– Use conversion triggers such as urgency, scarcity, testimonials, social proof, risk reversal, third party validation, etc
– Increasing sales skills levels of your staff
– Acquiring clients at breakeven upfront and make a profit on the back end
– Guaranteeing purchases through risk reversal
– Host-beneficiary relationships
– Direct Response Advertising
To Increase the Average Transaction Value, You Can Focus On:
• Increasing your pricing and hence your
• Improving your teams’ selling techniques to up-sell and cross-sell
• Changing the profile of your products or
• Using point-of-sale promotions services to be more “upmarket”
• Packaging complementary products and
• Offering greater/larger units of purchase services together
To Increase the Average Transaction Value
Focus On:
• Increasing your pricing and hence your margins
• Changing the profile of your products or services to be more “upmarket”
• Offering greater / larger units of purchase
• Improving your teams’ selling techniques to up-sell and cross-sell
• Using point-of-sale promotions
• Packaging complementary products and services
together
To Increase Transaction Frequency Focus On:
• Running special events such as “closed-door sales,” limited
pre-release and so on
• Have a subscription
• Price inducements for
frequency
• Developing a back end of products that you can go back to your
customers with
• Communicating personally with your customers (by telephone,
letter) to maintain a positive relationship
• Endorsing other people’s products to your list
How To Create Messaging And Branding That Customers Can Relate And Engage With
If you were going to run a very important 100m race, would you wear Nike’s or Adidas or Puma shoes?
Most people I have asked this question quickly choose Nike because the brand has intentionally decided to own the idea that they are the champions of athleticism and athletes.
All of the above brands use foam, plastics, and fabrics to make their shoes.
The differentiation comes from the stories they tell.
Today, most products are not remarkable enough to become market leaders without a story attached.
Your life today is the result of the words and images you have heard, believed and spoken.
This means you can have the best software in the market but if you don’t know how to use words, your competitors will get customers who should be yours.
What is a brand?
A brand is an idea, story, belief, opinion, a sentiment with a product wrapped around it.
Apple: innovation, outstanding design, thinking differently from other technology companies.
Chick-Fil-A: Being part of the community. Serving Great Food. Giving back.
I used to run a branding and design firm so I know the importance of visual identity such as logos and images but without the right words to back them, they are meaningless. (One of the most popular technology brands is named after a fruit.)
What if your brand is many things?
If simplifying your brand message is too difficult right now you can break it down into campaigns.
For the next three months, you can promote a message that is important and have the brand collateral to match it.
After the market has accepted that message, you can launch another campaign to educate them on what you stand for, what you are doing and who you are doing it for.
This will help you with positioning as well.