When we launched in the summer of 2012, we were primed to go to market with a functional platform and a strong financial backing to support initial marketing expenses. Unlike many early-stage startups, we had the ability to spend with relative freedom and could invest in expensive, traditional marketing channels. Initially, we thought this approach would be the most likely to quickly launch our online moving marketplace business into the stratosphere of successful tech startups. But we were wrong.
Here’s what we learned in the process:
1. Startups should usually do their own PR.
Public relations agencies can be great resources for connections and, occasionally, major placements. Unfortunately, we spent tens of thousands of dollars on PR agencies but failed to get traction outside of our launch and a few key placements. For us, the agency approach was the wrong fit and it ended up being better doing some PR in-house and utilizing a consultant as need-be.
Based on our experience, I’d consider hiring a PR consultant if you need some support with PR outreach. But stick to your own stories and get comfortable generating your own content and press. It will take work, but making your own contacts will work in your favor while you’re building your company. Here are a few more specific tips:
• Define your mission and vision. By determining what you want to stand out, it will help guide what you say about your business.
• Segment messages, milestones, and themes. By documenting different components you will be able to craft messaging around solid interest points and key differentiators.
• Create press you want to read. By writing your own press releases and using free or low-cost services to pitch and distribute, you can push the stories you actually want to read to publications that (hopefully!) share the same feelings.
2. Organic traffic is key for longevity.
As certain marketing channels fizzled, we noticed that our organic traffic began to take off. We learned that while we were working toward small goals, our efforts were actually creating big results. Working on search engine optimization — the right way — was critical to our long-term growth and was something we had to grow a lot of patience with.
Trying to master your own SEO can be tough, but it can be done. Some best practices:
• Focus on proper site structure, tags and content.
• Prioritize quality over quantity. Truly informative, unique and engaging media is critical.
• Utilize tools to monitor and track performance. (They often include specific recommendations to make important changes.)
3. Be wary of paid search in competitive markets.
Paid search channels are huge in the moving industry. Keywords are competitive and expensive — and in our case, turned out to be extremely cost prohibitive. With razor-thin margins compared to our keyword competition, we realized we were hemorrhaging money on paid search. We initially tried to rationalize it as a branding and awareness initiative but eventually realized that we could have used that money elsewhere.
To determine if paid search is an appropriate avenue for your business, consider:
• Lifetime value (LTV) and cost per acquisition (CPA) for each lead, and your close rate.
• The competition for top keywords and the overall potential for success versus the current paid search market for your industry.
• Your ability to leverage more complex paid search tools that incorporate your email lists, remarketing and lookalike audience strategies.
4. Experiment with social media.
Social media was the only area we didn’t completely abandon when we decided to move most of our PR in-house. But we had to get a lot smarter about what we put out and where we put it. On one day, we learned that improper targeting could result in hundreds of likes from Bangladesh. And on another day, we learned that targeting our key demographics was easier and more natural for us to do across social platforms than anywhere else. Through our earlier experiences, we also learned that, for the most part, social advertising was still fairly primitive. For the costs added by using an agency, we learned we were better off bringing it in-house and teaching ourselves.
Here are some of the best practices we’ve learned:
• Set specific, measurable goals to track at set intervals.
• Determine what you’re willing to pay to meet each goal.
• Publish and promote on a predetermined schedule.
5. Partner with complementary businesses and ancillary services.
If you do a quick search for affiliate partners, referral channels or other “golden goose” opportunities, you will find a lot of quick-fix ideas or agencies ready to help you. But under all of the fluff lies the real truth: Taking the time to forge partnerships, carve opportunities for market alignment, or otherwise just strike up conversations with like-minded businesses that may want to maximize market reach, is a great way to leverage free (or nearly free) marketing channels. In our situation, we found we had multiple tiers of affiliate partners, from real estate agents and property managers to a host of up-and-coming product and service companies working in the same early tech adopter/urban markets. They’re still our close affiliates to this day.
Here’s what I suggest:
• Lay out what types of affiliates are a good fit for your brand.
• Identify your top affiliates and then make lists of similar, easier to reach affiliates to create extensive outreach lists.
• Create a compelling offer with clear value that is easy to implement and scale across partners.
At the end of our first stage of marketing experimentation, one of the greatest lessons across all channels was simply that we were likely better suited to managing it ourselves. Perhaps not entirely, but with the assistance of a specialist or consultant, we slowed our approach and regrouped to relaunch in a slow burn to market while the market learned to catch up with us too.