One of the biggest reasons startups fail is the inability to scalably attract customers at low cost. In this presentation, Rand covers 8 reasons startups miss out on marketing success, and tips for how to overcome these pitfalls.
1. Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz | @randfish | rand@moz.com
The 8 Ways Startups SUCK at Marketing
Why so many founders & early teams fail to get acquire right customers, with
tactical tips to help solve these dilemmas.
5. To stay focused on marketing, I’m going to
assume your startup has* a:
A)productpeoplewant&willpayfor
B)serviceablemarket
C)teamthatcanexecute,learn,&improve
*don’thavethese?Get‘emfirst,thencomebacktothemarketingprocess
19. Yay! You made it to the top of PH & received 15,000 visits
+ 500 email signups
But, only ~0.01% of people are looking for email
verification APIs that day
20. Every day, a few dozen people search for this
(and don’t find you)
21. Loads of searches for your service,
but none of these people can find
you
33. Moz’s
Flywheel
KW Research + Industry
Intuition
Publish
Content
Promote via Social
Channels
Push to email + RSS
subscribers
Earn Links +
Amplification
Grow social, email, RSS, &
WoM channels
Grow Domain
Authority
Earn Search &
Referral Traffic
Rank for More
Competitive KWs
34. KW Research + Industry
Intuition
Publish
Content
Promote via Social
Channels
Push to email + RSS
subscribers
Earn Links +
Amplification
Grow social, email, RSS, &
WoM channels
Grow Domain
Authority
Earn Search &
Referral Traffic
Rank for More
Competitive KWs
In 2006, I was lucky if new
content led to any links or
rankings at all
35. KW Research + Industry
Intuition
Publish
Content
Promote via Social
Channels
Push to email + RSS
subscribers
Earn Links +
Amplification
Grow social, email, RSS, &
WoM channels
Grow Domain
Authority
Earn Search &
Referral Traffic
Rank for More
Competitive KWs
But, by 2017, nearly every post
earns a handful of links, & some
earn a lot!
39. But… Almost Every Flywheel Finds
a Point (or Points) of Friction
Publish
Content
Promote via Social
Channels
Push to email + RSS
subscribers
Crap… We’re not reaching anyone who will
link/amplify us
41. Hacks aren’t necessarily evil, spammy, or
without value.
They can be useful when applied to a sound
marketing strategy.
42. Find a Balance Between Long-Term Investments &
Short-Term Hacks
High upfront costs Pay (in time/$$) as you go
Long-Term Investments
Slow to show ROI
Earn customers while you sleep
Low Risk (PR/legal/etc)
Can Show Fast ROI
Effort In = Links Out
Often High Risk
Short-Term Hacks
43. The Formula for Marketing that Will Work for Years to
Come:
Strategic
Roadmap
Scalable
Flywheel
Long-Term
Investments
Hacks to
Remove
Friction
+ + +
71. Most Marketers and
Sites Focus
on Optimizing for
Conversion
Get More and More
People Through
These Steps
And Get
Paid
$$But startups usually lack this “right
audience” at the top of their funnel
72. Most Marketers and
Sites Focus
on Optimizing for
Conversion
Get More and More
People Through
These Steps
And Get
Paid
$$
And often lack the data &
tools to move people through
this funnel, too.
84. Didn’t try the product Tried, but didn’t love it Tried & loved the
product
What do you think the product
does?
What made you try it? What made you try it?
What would make you more
likely to try it?
What are your biggest
objections to signup?
What objections did you have
and how did you overcome
them?
What caused you to stop using
the product?
What would have made you
stay a customer?
What objections did you have
and how did you overcome
them?
What’s been most valuable to
you?
If you’ve loved it, can we
share your story?
92. Beforeyoucanbrand,youneeda
BrandPromise
We
provide…
We evoke
feelings…
We remind you
of…
We share the
values of…
product/
service that
solves a
problem you
have
that make our
customers most
anxious about
whether our solution is
right for them
Memories that our
target demographics &
psychographics will
have ++ associations
with
People who are
statistically most likely
to be our best
customers
93. How can Penzey’s call 22% of Americans “racist” and maintain a
consumer business?