Introduction
Adapting Your Startup Strategy in a Competitive Market . Today, many people are thinking about their own business, whether it is a café, the release of designer clothes or handmade accessories. If you know the startup strategy, then starting a business is easier. We will tell you where to start and how to write a business model for a startup.
Today, the word “startup” is on everyone’s lips, but what does it mean? A startup is a company that has just been created, perhaps it is not even legally registered. Often a new startup is based on new technology or an innovative idea.
After drawing up a detailed plan, it is much easier to navigate the upcoming goals. To get started, ask yourself two important questions:
What is the uniqueness of the business?
Your own business will be successful only if you have an idea that will distinguish you from your competitors. It doesn’t have to be new, but you need to find your unique selling proposition (USP). What sets your business apart from your competitors, what can you offer that others don’t? The entire startup strategy is based on these features.
Mission
It is important to understand why you are starting your own business. The mission is important not only as part of the positioning of the future company, but also as a means to motivate employees. A Guide to Understanding Stock Market Trading: Decoding Volatility Skew and Smile
Development of a marketing strategy for a startup
Own business requires consistent clear action. Marketing strategy is one of the most voluminous and important issues. It is a solid foundation for a startup. A marketing strategy necessarily includes items that we will talk about in more detail: finding your own niche in the market, analyzing competitors, target audience. It also includes clear criteria for measuring success, whether it be the number of subscribers or net annual income.
Let’s take a look at startups that have become successful thanks to a good marketing strategy.
Startup The Honest Company – valued at $1 billion
This startup was founded in 2011 by the famous Hollywood actress Jessica Alba. Motherhood inspired the actress to launch a company producing environmentally friendly baby care products and cosmetics. The target audience is young mothers across America. An important role in the marketing strategy is played by the actress herself, who is the face of the brand. Communication with customers through Alba’s social networks has been built. The company has raised about $120 million in investments. The funding comes from Silicon Valley organizations such as Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Airbnb startup is worth over $10 billion
Airbnb is a service for renting accommodation around the world directly from owners. In 2014, the startup attracted $500 million in investments, after which the value grew to $10 billion. Airbnb is considered the leader in the sharing economy market. The service includes about 1.5 million properties in 190 countries. Over the years, more than 11 million people have used the service. A startup’s success is based on an original idea.
Startup Uber – valued at over $40 billion
Uber is an online taxi service. Gradually, Uber grew from a startup to a big business. In 2014, the company attracted investments worth $2 billion. The company’s weekly revenue is about $20 million. The service allows passengers to independently find free drivers and pay for the trip online. The success of Uber is driven by an innovative idea that relies on the latest technology.
Decide which online marketing tools you will spend your budget on first. For example, Facebook promotion may be part of a marketing strategy. This is a good opportunity to study your audience.
You can segment the ad unit by probing what the target audience reacts to. Curiously, audience research through social media might show that a new music service is more likely to be used by a guitarist than a drummer.
A short cheat sheet for compiling a marketing strategy:
Business area
Do some market research and find niches that aren’t filled yet. It is important to assess the degree of relevance of the field of activity. To do this, look at how a similar business is developing in Europe or America, because often the US market lags behind the market of the countries of the Golden Billion. Decide whether you will offer a service or product, start with one name, or go straight to the line.
Conduct market research
It will allow you to determine the hot and cold circle of competitors. Make a list and study in detail the strengths and weaknesses of competing companies. Once you understand the weaknesses of others, it is easier to understand what will make you stand out from the rest. For example, if most of the dress rentals in your city have a small assortment, then you should bet on a wide selection. The USP is emphasized in the startup promotion strategy.
Select the target audience
It is important to understand who will use your product or service. First of all, this will help determine what you can offer the audience. Study potential customers. Find out what fascinates them, how they make purchasing decisions, what budget they are willing to allocate for certain products or services. Find the main customer problems and think about how you can solve them. In addition, only by understanding the needs of the audience, you can competently build an advertising campaign that will hit the target exactly. For a successful startup, promotion should be included in the estimate at the stage of budgeting. https://www.webroosters.com/
Define your pricing policy
Companies that are already on the market will help you choose a pricing policy. If you decide to work for the premium segment, then the prices may be higher than others. If you are betting on a mass audience, then it may be worth setting prices lower than others, which will attract an audience. This is a mandatory step for a startup and the business plan should include it.
Write down your goals
It is worth setting clear goals for yourself so that it is easier to determine whether you are moving in the right direction. First of all, write down short-term goals. At the beginning of the journey, there will be many new discoveries that will allow you to make adjustments to the overall startup strategy, and development will be controlled. A long-term positive result is formed with the help of small steps. Most often, short-term goals are set from six to twelve months. Long-term goals are formed from two to five years. Write down specific steps to implement them.
Set a budget
A startup business plan should contain this item. How much money you are willing to allocate for business development depends on how the advertising campaign will be formed, how expensive the design of the premises will be, and how many staff will be.
Getting investment
Based on the existing budget, determine how much you need for a quality promotion and start attracting investors. To work with investors, competent related materials will be required. Pay special attention to creating product or service presentations. It should contain slides about the uniqueness of the business, promotion strategy, target audience and benefits for investors.
Development of a communication strategy for a startup
Communication strategy is not built in one day, its development takes not one month. It is built on three pillars:
- audience knowledge;
- messages to the audience;
- Channels of communication with the audience.
After you have studied your target audience, understand where it draws information from: print media, television, newspapers, radio, social networks, web portals and others. The business plan of an IT startup should contain a detailed plan for digital promotion. Having clearly defined the channels for broadcasting messages, you will be able to competently build an advertising campaign and get clearly into your target audience. When developing a communication strategy, it is worth determining the tone of voice. It is the mood and tone in which you communicate with the audience. Start by building a website and social media pages. Tell a story, a brand legend that can arouse interest and emotions, write sales texts. For PR-promotion, form a pool of media you are interested in, through which you will deliver messages. Proper communication will attract the first buyers.
As you can see, anyone can start a business; you just have to act in a certain sequence and set clear goals.
