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Marketingtacticsusedbyearlystagestart-ups,ananalysisofthe
Viennesestart-upscene.
BachelorThesisforObtainingtheDegree
InternationalManagement
SubmittedtoMs.LidijaLalicic
CatharinaChalupa
1521011
Vienna,14thJune2018
2
Affidavit
IherebyaffirmthatthisBachelor’sThesisrepresentsmyownwrittenworkandthatI
haveusednosourcesandaidsotherthanthoseindicated.Allpassagesquotedfrom
publicationsorparaphrasedfromthesesourcesareproperlycitedandattributed.
The thesiswasnot submitted in the sameor ina substantially similar version,not
evenpartially,toanotherexaminationboardandwasnotpublishedelsewhere.
Date Signature
3
Abstract
This thesisprovides insights related to the topicofmarketing tacticsusedbyearly
stage start-ups, the Viennese start-up scene is investigated. The study aims to
analyzethedevelopmentofstart-upsintheirearlystagesandhowmarketingtactics
havean influenceon their futuregrowthand success.Overall, thepurposeof this
thesiswas to highlight thesemarketing tactics and give anobjective viewonhow
theyaffecttheperformanceofthestart-up.
Through, both primary and secondary sources, data was collected and evaluated.
Thesecondarydata,whichisthetheoreticalpartofthisresearch,wascollectedfrom
multiple sources, such as articles andbooks and is stated in the literature review.
The primary data was collected by gathering knowledge from interviews, which
providedaqualitativelookintowhatmarketingtacticsareusedinearlystagestart-
ups and how they influence their growth and profit. In the interviews ten
respondentswereasked toelaborateonhowthey formtheir strategies,howthey
dealwithcompetitionandwhattheirfutureobjectivesare.
Based on the findings, the research provides an extensive overview into start-ups
withdifferentareasofexpertiseandshowshowthesetacticsareutilizedsupporting
the theoretical part of the research. The results show that Vienna has become a
start-uphubandhasmanyfeaturesthatareveryattractivetoearlystagestart-ups.
The ten interviews that were conducted have shown a detailed insight into the
importance of marketing in the first few years of a start-up, whether it is to
understand the marketplace, raise awareness, position the product or attract
customersmarketingtacticsthatenhancesalesandgrowthofastart-upareutilized
byeverystart-up.
4
TableofContentAbstract.................................................................................................................3
ListofTables..........................................................................................................6
ListofAbbreviations..............................................................................................6
1 Introduction....................................................................................................7
2 LiteratureReview..........................................................................................10
2.1 Marketing.........................................................................................................10
2.1.1 Understandingthemarketplaceandcustomerdemands..........................11
2.1.2 Strategicplanninginmarketing.................................................................13
2.1.3 Settingupamarketingcampaign..............................................................15
2.1.4 The7P´sofmarketing...............................................................................16
2.1.5 KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPI)...............................................................18
2.1.6 CompetitiveMarketingIntelligence...........................................................20
2.1.7 Onlinevs.offlinemarketing.......................................................................22
2.1.8 Marketinginsmallersizedfirms................................................................25
2.2 Start-upsandmarketing...................................................................................27
2.2.1 Thefounder´spersonalattributesandambitiontogrow..........................27
2.2.2 FundingforaStart-up................................................................................28
2.2.3 Start-uplifecycle........................................................................................29
2.2.4 Theimportanceofmarketingintheearlystagesofastart-up.................30
3 Start-upsceneinVienna................................................................................31
4 Methodology.................................................................................................33
4.1 Interviewsasaprimarysourceofdata............................................................33
4.2 Designoftheinterview....................................................................................34
4.3 Sampleofthestart-up......................................................................................35
4.4 SnowballSampling...........................................................................................36
5 Results...........................................................................................................37
5.1 ProfileandStart-upoftheInterviewees..........................................................37
5.2 Findingsformarketinginearlystagestart-ups................................................41
5.2.1 Theroleofmarketingandsalesforearlystagestart-ups.........................41
5
5.2.2 Designingthemarketingandsalesstrategy..............................................42
5.2.3 Adaptingmarketingtacticstocustomerdemand.....................................43
5.2.4 Understandingthemarketplacebeforeenteringthemarkettoattractnew
customers...............................................................................................................43
5.2.5 Competitiveenvironmentandmarketingintelligence...............................44
5.2.6 Theamountoftimethatearlystagestart-upsfocusonmarketing..........45
5.2.7 Reachingoutforsupporttoenhancemarketingoutcomes.......................45
5.2.8 Biggestchallengesfacedwhendevelopingamarketingstrategyinthe
earlystagesofastart-up.......................................................................................46
5.3 Futureprognosesformarketinginstart-ups...................................................46
6 Conclusion.....................................................................................................48
6.1 Finalremarks....................................................................................................48
6.2 Limitationsandrecommendationsoftheresearch.........................................49
7 Bibliography..................................................................................................52
6
ListofTables
Table1.7P’s(Entrepreneur.com,2004)
ListofAbbreviations
KPI–KeyPerformanceIndicator
CLV–CustomerLifetimeValue
ROI-ReturnofInvestment
Ltd.–LimitedCompany
SWOT–Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,Threats
PESTEL–Political,Economical,Social,Technological,Environmental,Legal
AWS–AustrianWirtschaftsservicesGmbH
B2C–BusinesstoCustomer
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1 Introduction
1.1. Backgroundinformation:start-upsandtheirchallenges
The challengesearly stage start-ups facewhen trying to get their foot in thedoor
shouldnotbeunderestimated.Ofcourse itmattershowconvinceda founderofa
start-upisintheideathatheorshewantstoimplement,butifthemessageisnot
brought across properly, the potential of the business might get lost. Convincing
other people to believe in a business is a hard task and often the quality of a
product/service is not the only important aspect, it also relies on the way the
product/serviceiscommunicatedtoapotentialcustomerandtheimpressionsthat
consumers gets from its promotion. The main aim of every entrepreneur is to
generaterevenueandintroduceanewideatothemarketthatmightcreatewaves,
and inordertodoso isofcritical importancetobuildbrandawareness.Gathering
feedbackabouthowtheproduct/serviceisreceivedbycustomersisamustforany
business.Especially in theirearlystageswherenopriorknowledgeofaproductof
anysortexiststheentrepreneurshouldseekfeedbacktoobtainafeelingofhowthe
introductionof thatproduct/servicewasperceivedby thepublic inorder to know
howtobestposition iton themarketand reach the targetcustomer (Anderson&
Narus,1998).
Gathering information about how the product is perceived and how it could be
improved is crucial. It is essential for the founder of the start-up to consider
customersobjectionsbeforecontinuingnotonlywiththeproductionoftheproduct
buthowbesttoimplementamarketingstrategy.Especiallynowadayswheremarket
demand is very high and competition is strong, having a form of assurance is
beneficial and gives the opportunity of forming a strong marketing campaign or
strategythatgoesintotherightdirectionandtargetstherightpeople.Thisprocess
lays the complete foundationof thebusiness andan aggressive andgoal oriented
marketingapproachcanleadtoaprofitablebusiness(Kittaneh,2014).
Ofcoursechallenges,likeimpressinginvestorsisacrucialpartintheearlystagesas
well since they are the ones that need to be convinced of the product/ service
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before investing the business. Aftermaking sure that there was a strong positive
responseof theproduct/serviceand there isbelieved tobesufficientdemand for,
thefoundershoulddevelopastrategyofhowto implementan idea intoanactual
product/service.Especiallyinearlystagesofabusinessthisstrategyhastobewell
thought-troughtoenhancethechancesofsuccessandkeepthatstart-upontrack
toreachfuturegoals.Arealisticcampaignthatoutlinesallofthesefuturegoalsand
objectiveshastobecreatedaswellsince itstatstheexpectationsforthebusiness
andcanshowwhethertheseweremet.Conductingastrategyandacampaignisan
essentialpartofthestart-upsmarketingsinceitpreventsfailureofabusinessbefore
itevenhadthechancetogrow(Entrepreneur.com,2003).
Marketing, in addition to its role in advertising and sales, is responsible forhowa
companyisperceivedbythepublicandisthereforecriticaltoitsoverallsuccess.It
challenges creativitywhile at the same time requiring theoretical skills for testing
theories. The varied aspects of marketing are crucial to consider in any form of
business.Marketingnotonlyplaysaroleindevelopedcompaniesorareasthatneed
morefocuswithinestablishedfirms,itisalsoimportanttoconsidermarketinginthe
early stages of a start-up. Strategies have to be developed and tested; a proper
marketingplanhastobesetupandtheprocessthatisachievedbymarketinghasto
beevaluatedinordertoknowwhothetargetcustomerisandtoattractnewclients.
Havingagoodproductaloneisnotsufficienttosucceed.Inordertogeneratehype
aroundanewlyintroducedproductthemarketingstrategyhastobeconsistentand
powerfulaswell.
1.2.ResearchObjectives
Thechallengethatthisthesisistacklingishowtocombineearlystagestart-upsand
marketing.Themainobjectiveistoelaborateonadetailedmarketingstrategythat
can provide the best possible outcome for an early stage start-up. It sets up a
businessforfuturegrowthandprofit.Especiallyintheearlystages,inwhichastart-
upshouldmakeanamefor itself,oneofthemost importantfactorsasmentioned
aboveishowpeoplewillperceiveit.Itshouldawakecuriosityandattractpotential
customersbyprovidingsomethingthatthemarketdoesnotoffercombinedwitha
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strong marketing strategy and an objective driven marketing campaign, which
enhancesabusiness’sperformance.
Thedelicatequestionofhowtoembedmarketingintotheproductcallsfortactical
approaches.Thewaystheproductisimplementedintothemarketmattersseverely
since first impressions are crucial for the business. Primarily it is important to
understandthemarketplaceinordertostrategicallyplacetheproduct,avoidthatit
gets lost in themassesandattract the target customer. Knowing thedemand for
theproductisofsignificanceaswell.Creationofdemandleadstosteadyandlong-
terminteresttogenerateprofitoveralongperiodoftime.Thenafittingmarketing
strategycanbeimplementedtoenhanceaproductorservicesreputationandcreate
morebuzz,whichaimstoattractingmorecustomers.
Everybusinessisdisplayedtoalloftheabovelistedaspectsofmarketing,whichare
anessentialpartofthisthesis.Marketing identifies itselfthroughthoroughmarket
andcustomer-orientedthinking.Thus, theobjectiveof thispaper is tosupport the
theoryofmarketingstrategiesbyexaminingconcepts,whichhaveleadtosuccesses
for start-ups in Vienna in their early stages. The paper aim to evaluate themain
difficultiesthatearlystagestart-upsfacewhenconfrontedwithmarketingandhow
best to develop amarketing strategy that enhances success. Hence, the research
questioncentralinthisthesisis:
Howdoearlystagestart-upsbasedinViennadesignmarketingstrategiesandwhich
challengesdotheyface?
Theresearchedcontextwillprovideadetailed insight intohowstart-ups inVienna
where confronted with this issue in their early stages and how they developed a
thorough understanding of the market and how to place their business for a
maximumoutcome.
Thethesis isdividedintotheliteraturesection,wheresecondarydataforthetopic
wascollectedandexplained,thenanoverviewofViennaasadestinationforstart-
ups is listed, what tactics where used to conduct research for this thesis can be
found in themethodology and finally the results of the interviews with start-ups
fromViennaaredescribedandthenconcludedtogiveacloserinsightintothetopic.
10
2 LiteratureReview
Threestreamsofliteraturearediscussedinthisreview;i)marketing,ii)start-upsand
marketingandiii)Viennaasastart-upscene.
2.1 Marketing
Marketing is a term that defines itself in so many different directions. It is
understood as a salesman, a TV commercial, pricing of a product but also as the
development of strategies in order to successfully implement, promote and
distribute an idea or a concept. Themost crucial aspect however is probably that
marketing “creates an exchange that satisfies individual and organizational
objectives”(Soloman&Stuart,2003).Asmentionedbeforemarketingevolvesitself
inmanydifferentdirectionsandhasdifferenttargets.Forexample,acostumeristhe
mostimportanttargetsincethisisthepersonthatisbelievedtobethemostlikely
to need and thus also to purchase the product or service. Targeting customer’s
demands different and specific marketing tactics as well since these can be
identified as individual and organizations such as a company, a government and
more.Withthatsaid,marketingprimarilydealswithcustomerstoagreaterextend
than any other business department. The highest priority is to achieve customer
satisfaction and the focus should lie in analyzing the needs of the consumerwho
buystheendproductorservice.However,amarketershouldnotsolelyfocusonthe
customers’ aspects when developing a marketing concept since it is almost as
importanttoacknowledgewhatthesellersneedaswell.Marketingisnotaone-way
street;ratheroneneedstofocusonboththecustomerandfirminordertoachieve
themaximumoutputandthegreatestresults.Overall,thegoalistoincreaseprofit
foranorganizationbyidentifyingthetargetcustomer(Soloman&Stuart,2003).
Valuecreation
In order to build customer relationships from with a business can profit, it is
importanttocreatevalueinmarketing.Variousauthorsstatethatcreatingvalueand
capturingvalueisessentialinthefieldofmarketing(Kotler&Armstorng&Harris&
Piercy, 2013). Butwhy is creating value so important inmarketing? Simply put, if
brands identify themselveswith a set of clear value it is easier to develop awell-
11
knownbrandidentity,reachoutthecustomerandconvincetobuytheproductsor
services. Therefore, a clear value can also be seen as a great set of benefits and
helpstodifferentiatetheproductorservicefromothers(Egelhoff,2018).
However,whichbrandvalues to focuson remainsa struggle formanycompanies.
We can see that one of the most prominent issues between customers and
businesses is the lack designing values from the customers’ point of view. This
resultsofteninfeelingsofannoyancefromthecustomersandswitchingbehaviorto
competitors (Roger, 2016). Thus, companies need to understand what the
customerswants,butalsoknowhowtoreachthemandcommunicatewiththem.As
Egelhoff (2018) states, if customers are not given the rightmessage, the business
willnotpull intheprofitsthattheywereexpectedandthus itwilldrive it intothe
ground.Therefore,asolidunderstandingofthemarketplaceandcustomerdemands
isneeded;thenextsectionwillexplainthis.
2.1.1 Understandingthemarketplaceandcustomerdemands
Whencommencingwithamarketingstrategythefirststepshouldbetounderstand
the marketplace. Even the best strategy can fail if the marketplace is not
distinguished.Thus,recognizingthestrengthofthetargetedmarketisimportantnot
only to find the right strategy for positioning a product or service but it is also
essentialtoidentifythetargetcustomerandifthereisaneedforthemarketeditem
inthefirstplace.(Anderson&Narus,1998)
Exchanges and relationships are formed in amarket. Amarket consists of a place
with potential and actual buyers of goods and services, it is a gathering of buyers
andsellers for livestock,provisionsandothercommodities,alsoknownasanarea
wherecommercialdealingsaredone.Whetherintangibleortangible,intheworldof
trade a marketplace allows economic activity. A market has the purpose of
facilitatingtheexchangeofgoodsandservicesandcanbevirtual,overtheInternet
orphysical,wherepeoplecometogetherandtheexchangeisdoneinperson(Muet
al.,Love,2018).
Marketing means pushing these markets to achieve the best possible customer
relationshipaswellasthemostprofitable.Inamarketplaceitisnotenoughtooffer
the goods and services, sellers have the responsibility to identify the needs and
12
wants of their buyers, have the best possible offers, set the price that not only
attracts the customer but also is profitable for the seller, promotion, storage and
deliveryandifneededsearchwhatthecustomerislookingfor.Alltheabovelisted
factsplayacloserolewithcommunication,distribution,productdevelopmentand
consumerresearchwhichformthecoremarketingactivities(Kotleretal.,2013).
Consumer demands play a very big role in the game of marketing as well. The
primarymarketing rule is tounderstand the conceptof humanneeds.Amarketer
cannotcreatetheneedsofhumans;theyareanormalpartofhumans.Whetheritis
aphysicalneed,suchasfood,safetyorclothing,orasocialneeds,suchasaffection,
acceptanceandbelonging, - amarketerhas to identify theseneedsandprovidea
conceptthatfulfillsthesecustomerdemands(Kotleretal.,2013).
Tomeetthesedemandsanddevelopafittingconcept,researchhastobeconducted
inorder todeterminewhat the consumersneeds are. It is important to recognize
consumer’s wishes before, after and while introducing a good or service into a
marketplace(Kittaneh,2014).
Spotting theseexpectations isnotaneasy tasksinceconsumer’swishescannotbe
generalized.Consumerbehaviorisbasedonalistofrandomelementssuchasagut
feeling,othersonlygoafterfactsandsomeareamixtureofboth.Thebestwaysto
figureoutwhatattractsacustomerandsatisfiestheirneedsistogaininsightfroma
conversation.Touncovermotivationsforbuying,themostimportantstepistolisten
to what the customer is searching for and then asking specific questions. While
askingtherightquestionsitisimportanttounderstandthedifferencebetweenneed
andwant.Somecustomersmayneedanewnotebookandsomemaywantanew
notebook.It is importanttolistencloselytothesedetails inordertocontinuewith
therightmarketingstrategy.Forsellersthedifferencebetweenneedandwantmay
invokeusing adifferent approach to get the customer tobuy their product (Sven,
2016).
Categorizingfeedbackisalsoaverygoodsteptowardcreatingcustomersatisfaction.
It helps to identify patterns and makes assumptions about the likelihood of a
companyandwhetherthecustomerdecidestoapproachthemagainornot.
13
Therearedifferentpossibilitiestogatherfeedback:
• Feedbacksurveys
• Conductinginterviews,-whichalsohelpswithcustomercontact
• Commentboxesforfreeandanonymousexpression
• Pollsonsocialmedia
• On-siteactivity
Socialmedia is known to beoneof themost effective channels to gather honest,
quick and real customer insight that helps identify demands. It is easy to share
informationonlinebutalsotorespondsandcommunicate.Thisvirtualrelationship
betweena seller andabuyer is essential to create valueandmeet thewantsand
needs of potential and actual clients. Socialmedia listening, getting personalwith
customers, create advocates and using the right tone when communication with
clientsisfacilitatedthankstosocialmedia.Throughthegreateffectsofsocialmedia
platforms, the relationship between buyers and sellers became a twoway street,
whichletscustomerthinktheyareapartofthecompanybutalsosupporttomeet
the demands and subsequently create value and loyalty (Sukhyani, 2017). These
feedback channels are the fastest way to directly identify potential marketing
problems but also to form, adapt or completely change the way a customer’s
demandismet(Leary,Vann&Mittelstaedt,2016).Thenextsectionwillexplainhow
a firm can strategically plan its marketing and why this can help reach desired
objectives.
2.1.2 Strategicplanninginmarketing
Strategic planning enables to position the product or service in the minds of the
targeted market (Egelhoff, 2018). The importance of creating a market-driven
strategy should have a great emphasis for a marketer. The objectives are to
understandand identifyproblems thatacompanymay face, implementastrategy
thatexceedsthetraditionaltextbookmarketingapproachandforcriticalthinkingin
ordertoapplyknowledgeandcreateawellthoughtthroughbusinessplan(Ioannou,
2010).
14
Amarketingstrategyshouldsettheoverallgoalofthemarketingapproach.Itshould
bewellthoughthrough,informedandshouldincludeamission,visionandgoalsof
thecompany. It is anoutline,whichaffects thewayabusinesswilloperate in the
future and decides on the direction it will go. Strategic planning is not done
overnight, itshouldbeconsultedwithcolleaguesandsetthedirectionandaimsof
your marketing perspectives. Strategic planning consists of the following
components:
• Descriptionofthebusinessplan
• Detailedmarketingtactics
• Alistoftargetscustomers
• Setofcompetitorsidentified
• Marketingplan
• Positioningstrategiestoenhanceprofitability
(Adeyoyin,2005)
The above listed components should help a company make the most of their
marketing investmentsand steer them in the rightdirection.Amarketing strategy
shouldnotbeset in stoneas thebusinessmaychangeover timeand thestrategy
shoulddevelopwiththebusinessinordertogetthemostprofitableresults.
Inordertowriteasuccessfulmarketingstrategythefollowingpointshouldbetaken
intoconsideration:
• Identifythebusinessesgoals
• Setthemarketinggoals
• Conductathoroughresearchofthemarket
• Profiletargetcustomers
• Profilemaincompetitors
• Testtheideasbeforeimplementingthem
(Adeyoyin,2005)
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Amarketingstrategyshouldoutlinethemaingameplaninordertoreachthemain
goals of a business andmake themost out of all the efforts that where put into
marketingthebusiness(Duermayer,2017).
Thefollowingsectionwillconsistofadetailedexplanationofamarketingcampaign
andwhysettingupacampaignisimportantforfuturesuccess.
2.1.3 Settingupamarketingcampaign
A marketing campaign consists of marketing activities the clearly outline a
businessesobjectivesthatshouldbemetwithinaspecifictimeframe.Whetherthe
goal is to get new customers, introduce a new product or to increase brand
awareness,professionalmarketersthinkintermsofacampaign.(Entrepreneur.com,
2003). Successfulmarketing campaigns should bewell thought out and take time
andeffortandalotofresearchtoperfectthem.Itisawellthoughtoutanddetailed
screeningofthewholebusinessanddoesnotfocusonjustonesingleobjectivebut
rather on the big picture. However it is important to emphasize that amarketing
campaign should not be set in stone, leaving room for changes as the business
develops is essential as well since the businesses grow and develop over time.
Adaptingovertimeisagoodthingforthemarketingcampaignhoweverhavingthe
groundconceptrightand implementing it likeplanedisofgreat impotenceforthe
futurevisionandgrowth(Entrepreneur.com,2003).
Inordertoachievesteadyresults, it isadvisedtodeveloponemarketingcampaign
forevery singlemarketingactivity. It is themasterplanof theentirebusinessand
should have a start and end date. Before constructing amarketing campaign it is
important to know what the business is going to be about, identify the target
audienceofthebusinessandsetspecificandrealisticgoals(Durepos,2015).
Thefocusofthenextsectionlaysonthe7P´sofmarketingandtheirimpactoneach
business.
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2.1.4 The7P´sofmarketing
In marketing a heavy emphasis is on communicating value. The factors that
influencethisvaluearecalledthemarketingmix.Thecombinationofthetraditional
four P´s, which are product, place, price and promotion continuously evolve and
expand intomore factors that influence the value of a product or even an entire
business.Whilestill remainingvery important,theoriginal fourP´sarenotenough
tosumupthecurrent-daymarketing.ForthisreasonthreemoreP´swhereadded
tothemix,thesearepeople,packagingandpositioning(Kareh,2018).
The reason why these seven factors of the marketing mix are so important is
becausetheyrecognizemarketingtactics,whichareusedincombinationtoimprove
customer satisfaction and reputation of the business. The goal of marketing is
alwaystomeetthecustomer’sneedsandwantsandthroughthetacticsmarketing
mixthiscanbeachievedinthemostpreciseform(Fennell,2004)
After planning the marketing strategy the marketing mix formula should
continuously be evaluated and revaluated. Keeping track of these seven P´s is an
important way of continuously getting themost of the business by achieving the
maximumresultspossibleinthefieldofexpertise(Tracey,2004).
Product
Aproductiswhatthebusinessisselling;includingallthebenefits
ithas tooffersuchas features,advantagesthatmightattracta
customertobuythegoodsandservices.Themostimportantfact
istohighlightallofthebenefitsithastoofferandshowthekey
featuresthatmightdifferentiatethemselvesfromotherproducts
(Išoraitė,2016)
Place
Place involves channels from where the product is sold. The
place where customer and salesperson meet and exchange
goods and services. Deciding on a place should be a very well
thoughtthroughprocess.Achangeinlocationcanaffectsalesin
largeamounts(Tracy,2004).
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Price
Pricesshouldnotbefixes. Ifpossible it is importanttoevaluate
andrevaluatethepricesthebusinesssetssincetheyneedtobe
appropriateforthegoodorservice.Itisimportanttoknowhow
thecompetitionissettingtheirpricesandalwaysaimtokeepthe
competitive advantage, it is important to lower but also
sometimes to increase your prices. This is one of the P´s that
heavily affects if the customermight return to the business or
evenpurchaseinthefirstplace(Kareh,2018).
Promotion
Refers to the activities that should be undertaken in order to
achieve a well-known name for the goods and services. Small
changes make big waves and affect the way customers might
perceive the goods and services offered. Word of mouth,
advertising,press,etc.allinfluencepromotion(Tracy,2004).
People
People are a salesperson, staff or someone that is a
representativeofthecompany.Customerserviceisabigpartof
thisparticularfactor.Thisisoneofthemostimportantaspectof
any business and should be carefully selected. The recruitment
of a professional staff can give a competitive advantage and is
thefaceofanybusiness(Akroush,2011)
Packaging
Thefirstimpressioncounts.Packagingisthefirstimpressionthat
a customer is confrontedwith and thus a very up to date and
importantfactor inthemarketingmix. Itreferstopthewaythe
productappears.Evervisualaspect isapartofpackaging.From
the way a waiting room or an office looks to the design of
brochures,itisallapartofpackaging(Tracy,2004).
18
Positioning How to position a business in the minds of the customer is
crucial. The important aspects here are to emphasize the
distinguishedbenefitsthatthecompanyhastooffer.Whatsetsa
business apart from its competition and in what way to the
customers perceive that is the main question of positioning
(Tracy,2004).
Table1.7P’s(Entrepreneur.com,2004).)
2.1.5 KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPI)
A key performance indicator is used tomeasure the effectivity of a company and
howwellitisreachingitskeyobjectives.OftenaKPIisusedatvariousstagesofthe
business inorder to keep trackofhowa company isperformingand if it is at the
predicted levelof successandwhether it is reaching its target in thedesired time.
There are to different forms of KPIs, high-level and low-level. While high-level
focusesontheoverallachievements,low-levelfocusesontheprocesseswhicheach
department is making individually. An example of a low-level KPI would be
measuring the overall process of a marketing department and investigating its
effectiveness over the years (Klipfolio, n.d.). KPIs are quantifiable measures that
showwhetherthestrategicandoperationalgoalsaremet(Investopedia,n.d).
2.1.5.1 KPIsinMarketing
Key performance indicators are an important measure in marketing. Spending
money for amarketing campaignwhich isnot generatingprofit is anabsolute red
flagandthustrackingKPIsareagoodtechniquetoseewherethebusinessisstrong
andwhichstrategymightneedmorefocusinordertoobtainthemaximumoutcome
(Edgecomb,2017).
Manymarketers tend to focus on themost commonly used KPIs, which are sales
revenueandcostperlead.
Firstly,measuringsalesrevenueisimmenselyimportanttounderstandwhetherthe
inbound marketing tactics of a company are effective. The question here is how
much revenue the inbound marketing produced for the company, which can be
calculatedbysubtractingthetotalsalesfortheyearfromthetotalrevenuethatwas
19
generated through customers who came from inbound marketing (Edgecomb,
2017).
Secondly,measuringtheKPIsforcostperlead isaverypopularmeasureofalotof
marketersaswell.Anaveragecostperleadisthetotalamountofmoneythatwas
spent on a marketing campaign divided by the total leads that were acquired
(Klipfolio,n.d.).
The aim is to measure how cost-effective a campaign is when generating leads.
Generating a lead means winning the interest of an individual. The main aim of
conductingKPIsforcostperleadistoprovidethemarketingteamwithanumerical
figure tohelpestimatehowmuchmoney shouldbe spentonacquiringnew leads
(Klipfolio,n.d.).
ThefinalobjectiveofmeasuringtheKPIsofcostperleadisofcoursetominimizethe
costsperleadsincealowcostperleadisanindicatorthatcampaignisachievingthe
hopedobjectives(Klipfolio,n.d.).
Thirdly,anotherimportantKPIiscustomerlifetimevalue(CLV),whichmeasureshow
muchthecustomerisgoingtospendonthebusinessduringhisorherrelationship
with it. It is away of overseeingweather the strategies of binding a customer or
investingisdifferentacquisitionchannelsispayingoffandisresultinginaprofitable
long-termcustomerrelationship(Elkind,n.d.).
Evermarketerhasthecrucial taskofprovidingROI(returnof investment).ROI isa
KPI that is often used to determine the profitability of a certain spending and is
usefultomeasurethesuccessduringagreaterperiodoftime(Hawkins,2016).
Ifmoneyisspentforgeneratingrevenuethenitisimportanttofindouthowmuch
of it is exactly generating business. ROI is an important measure in a lot of
departments inabusinessbut formarketers it is essential. Thereare twoprimary
metricsthatareusedwhencalculatingtheROI.Firstly,thecosttodosomethingand
secondlytheoutcomethatisgeneratedasaresult(Leone,2018).
Afterall,beingawareofhowmuchmoneyflowsinandoutiscrucialknowledgeto
understand,strengthenandgrowanybusiness(Hawkins,2016).
20
2.1.6 CompetitiveMarketingIntelligence
Inmarketing it is important to focus on the benefits that a product has since this
mightattractacustomer.Everymarketershouldfocusonthedifferentaspectsthat
a product/service has to offer in order to increase the attractiveness for the
merchandise or service. Generally speaking, marketers are responsible for
implementing,promotinganddistributingagoodsandservices.Inordertodothisit
is essential to understand the competition and what a potential customer gets
offeredelsewhereandhowthispowertochoosefromanalternativecompanymay
influencefutureprofit(Kotler&Armstorng&Harris&Piercy,2013).Beingawareof
themarketing strategies of others and how they are implementing and attracting
theircustomersiscrucialtoknow.Thus,understandingwhatcompetitorsaredoing
is fundamental for the strategy that a marketer has to take. For example, a
marketer always needs to be aware of the competitions prices,whether they are
introducinganewproduct, if theyare targetingnewcustomersand throughwhat
kind of distribution channels they are expanding or whether they have a strong
presence in socialmediawith a lot of followers, awebsite that stands out or the
advantageofastrongbrandname.Alltheseissuesarekeytobeawareofwhoyou
aredealingwithandtodifferentiateyourselfinordertogetaheadofthem(DeMers,
2016).
However,notonlyknowingwhatthecompetitionisuptoisanimportantfactor in
marketing,thinkinglikethecustomer,gatheringinformationandcustomerinsightto
implement a successful marketing strategy. This is needed to create a good
relationship with potential clients and it creates value and customer satisfaction.
Gatheringinformationaboutcustomersisimportantbutcanbechallenging.Itdoes
generateacompetitiveadvantagebutobtaining thecorrect informationabout the
wantsandneedsofacustomercanbechallengingattimes,sincetheydonotalways
know themselves want it is they are looking for. In todays industry a number of
informationcanbeobtainedthroughtechnologywheregreatamountsofinsightsto
people can be gathered. This can lead to an overwhelming amount of data that
needstobeprocessedandsortedoutbeforemakinganexecutivedecisionhowthe
targetcustomerisandwhathisorherneedsandwantsare(Kotler&Armstorng&
Harris&Piercy,2013).
21
Competitivemarketing intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing data,
whichispubliclyavailableofcompetitorsorcustomersandthusbeingabletomake
an educated decision to achieve the target audiences. Through competitive
intelligenceit ispossibletoexpandtheknowledgethatthecompanyhasandthink
moreoutsideoftheboxandthusstayingaheadofcompetition(Kotler&Armstorng
&Harris&Piercy,2013).
Intelligence seekers have the ability to go through thousands of databases that
provideinformationonline,someevenfreeofcharge.Anexampleofthiswouldbe
theEuropeanPatentOfficesactivities,which involveprovidingpatent information,
even examining and evaluating patent applications. Over 70 million patent
documentsarefreetoaccess.Inexchangeforafee,companieshavetheabilityto
subscribe to more than 3,000 online databases and search engines. Kompass,
Hoover´s and LexisNexis would be an example of databases that provides useful
information (Kotler & Armstorng & Harris & Piercy, 2013). Nowadays, marketers
havetheabilitytogathertheinformation,whichisrelevantforthemtodecideona
marketingstrategythatachievescompetitiveadvantageinmasses.Duetothis,the
continuous investment in technology that provides this advantage angle, which
improvesorganizationsefficiencyismadeoftenbymarketingmanagers(McGonagle
&Vella,2002).Marketingmanagerswhoobtain this insighthave thepossibility to
make fact- based decisions which make sense based on the marketing data and
transform these into a tactical strategy to improve competitiveness (Heinrichs &
Lims,2005).
However, organizations, which are in competition, have the same access to this
intelligence,whichgivesnooneacompetitiveadvantage.Ifanorganizationdecides
onproceedingwiththeinvestmenttogainamoredetailedinsightintothepotential
benefitsthatmightoccurthroughthisinformation,theintelligencetheyacquiremay
bethesameastheirdirectcompetition.Therealcompetitiveadvantageisobtained
when using this information the right way. Solely obtaining the access to this
intelligence is not difficult. The real difficulty is how theyuse it andwhat theydo
withthisintelligence(Maltz&Kohli,1996).
Marketingresearchand, thus,competitivemarketing intelligence is thefoundation
ofanymarketingstrategyandofanybusinessplan.Withtheinsightthatiscollected
22
and analyzed organizations can not only adopt their existing marketing plan,
implementanewplanfornewproductsoracquireinsightonhowthecompetitionis
doingbutalsohave tostayup todatewith theeverevolving technologychanges.
Adaptingtothenewdigitalresourcesthatchangeanddevelopsoquicklyovertime
isessentialforanyorganizationssinceitgoeshandinhandwithconsumerdemand.
(Park,2017).
Eventhoughthetacticofcollectingvaluabledatafromcompetitorsorcustomersisa
helpfulstrategy,alotofcompaniesnowadaystakestepstoprotecttheinformation
thatispublicandcouldpotentiallybeobtainedfromthecompetition,Althoughitis
legaltocollectintelligencethequestionofethicsarises(Kotler&Armstorng&Harris
& Piercy, 2013). The question about how this data can be obtained without
disrespecting a customer’s privacy is also a very big issue in the marketing area.
Finding the balance in protecting privacy but also retracting public information is
crucialinthefieldofmarketing(Heinrichs&Lim,2005).
Thenextchapterwillfocusonanin-depthlookintothedifferencesbetweenonline
and offline marketing and explain which marketing tactic is useful for a specific
business.
2.1.7 Onlinevs.offlinemarketing
Thedemandforonlinemarketinghassignificantly increaseda lotyearbyyearand
continues to grow rapidly. Even though this rapid growthwasbooming in the last
coupleofyearanddrewalotofattention,agreatdealofbusinessownersstillthink
that online marketing exists of commercial sites displaying banner ads and
customersgetoverwhelmedwithemailspamcampaigns.Inrealityhowever,thereis
a lot more to it. Internet marketing is a very broad area which can reach from
creatingawebsiteuntiltheplacementofGoogleadsandanalytics(Raude,2017).
Thedifferentformsofcreatinganonlineidentity,whichthecompanyisknownfor,
areveryextensive.Searchengineoptimization isawayofrankingawebsiteinthe
unpaid“organic”searchofcustomers.Havingahigherrankinginthesearchengines
canleadtoabettervisibilityofthewebsiteandtherefore isagoodtoolforonline
marketing.(Walker, 2010). All the significant search engines like Google, Bing or
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Yahooentailprimarysearchoutcomes,whicharebasedonwhattheprevioussearch
of the user consisted of and is consideredmost relevant for the operator (Search
EngineLand,n.d).
Email Marketing is considered as one of the most common ways of online
marketing. It is under the top tools that are seen asmost effective for increasing
sales. It isaneffectivewayof targeting theemail subscribersandbinding themto
thecompanyalittlemorebygivingthemthefeelingofbeingmorespecialthanjust
regular customers. It is personalized; offers special deals or insider tips that non-
emailsubscriberswouldnotgetaccessto(Walker,2010).
Blogging,amarketingtacticthatisuprisingandboomingbecauseofitssimpleway
of putting a business more into the spotlight by a third party. Not only online
visibilityisincreasedbutalsothecompany’sproductorserviceispushedthroughso
many different social media channels and reaches customers who would have
otherwise not been reached that it is a very popular form of online marketing
nowadays(Wainwrite,2017).
Network marketing focuses on building relationships with potential customer
targets. It isbasically takingastep furtherandaimingtoconnectabusinessanda
customer(Walker,2010).Asocialnetworkingsiteisaplatform,whichenablesusers
tointeractwithotherusersthroughapublicprofile.Itcreatesaconnectionthrough
shared interests and is an ongoing circle of connecting people. It is not to be
confusedwithasocialmediasiteeventhoughtheyshareafewsimilarities.Asocial
networkingsitehasapublicofsemi-publicprofileandestablishedconnectionswhile
socialmediacanadditionallysharealotofdifferentcontent(Techopedia,n.d).
Therearealotofbenefitsthatcanbeaccomplishedwhenusingonlinemarketing.It
isacost-efficientmethodofpromotionwithcheaperadvertisingmethodsthatcan
contactcustomersfasterandmoreeffectively.Trackingresultsisalsoahugebenefit
whenitcomestoonlinemarketingbecauseitgivesthebusinessafeelingofhowthe
productorservice isdoingandhavehonestdirectresponsesfirsthand. It isalsoa
form of global marketing that reaches areas and people that with traditional
24
methodswouldnever havebeen reachedand thushas abroader reach to senda
messageandevoketheinterestofnewpotentialcustomers(Blunt,n.d).
Relyingsolelyononlinemarketingtacticsmightbethewrongapproachaswell(Red
Evolution ltd., 2015).Offlinemarketing tools target the customer using traditional
media,which a lot of people feelmore comfortablewith. There is a broad choice
whendecidingonaofflinemarketingtacticwhichdependsonwhichcustomerthe
company wants to target and how the message should be brought across.
Awareness for a product demands a different approach than the aim to bring in
direct sales. Awareness of a product or service can be generated through PR,
advertising,televisionortheradioorbyanannouncementinthepress.Offlinesales
aremostly generated throughmailing, print campaigns, announcementsof special
offers,flyers,telemarketingorthroughwordofmouthmarketing(RedEvolutionltd.,
2015).
Tosumitup,bothonlineaswellasofflinemarketingtacticshavetheirbenefitsand
drawbacks.Of course it alwaysdependson the customerand thebusiness to find
thebestfitinordertogeneratethemostprofit(RedEvolutionLtd.,2015).
Afterthecloser lookintoonlineandofflinemarketingtacticsthenextsectionaims
toshowhowsocialmediamarketing influencesabusinessandhowmarketinghas
grownbecauseofit.
2.1.7.1 Socialmediamarketing
Socialmediamarketingisacommonlyusedmarketingtacticusedinthe21stcentury
ofconductingday-to-daybusiness.Understandingtheroleofsocialmediaiscrucial
formarketersandmanagers.Itsroleistoincreasebrandawareness,driveupsales,
improve the image of a brand, facilitating information flow, reducing costs for
marketingandchangethewaycustomersandbusinesses interactwitheachother.
It´s benefits spreadoutwidely since it also gives business the chanceof following
andmonitoringconversationsand impressionsthatcustomerssay first-handabout
their product or service and then react in a thought through way and gives the
25
chance to change their strategy based on the immediate feedback thatwas given
(Reto,Rauschnabel&Hinsch,2017).
Socialmediadraws inalmosteverybusinessnowadays.Havinga somewhatactive
presenceonsocialmediaisverycriticaltostayingaheadofcompetition.Buildingup
realrelationshipscanalsooccurthroughsocialmediasinceit isthefastest,easiest
andnowadaysmostpopularwaytoconnectpeople.Itgivescustomersthefeelingof
belongingandhavingasayinthecompanywitchmightnotonlyincreasesalesbut
alsobuildsupcustomerloyalty.MarketingonFacebookorTwittermightcomeinas
a huge benefit for a business since the posts their might not be seen as direct
adverting from a company but way more a source of information without being
directlypressured(DeMers,2014).
Thefollowingchapterdescribesthe importanceofmarketing insmallersizedfirms
and how the approaches to a successful marketing tactic have to differentiate
themselvesfromtheapproachofamarketingtacticinawell-establishedfirm.
2.1.8 Marketinginsmallersizedfirms
Theincreasingsignificantofmarketingoverthepastyearsisanimportantaspectof
afirm’sgrowthandperformance.Marketing,inadditiontoitsroleinadvertisingand
sales, isresponsibleforhowacompany isperceivedbythepublicand istherefore
criticaltoitsoverallsuccess.(Morgan&Feng&Whitler,2018)
Thevariedaspectsofmarketingarecrucial toconsider inany formofbusiness. In
smaller scale industriesmarketing is of great importance for generating revenues
andisessentialfortheproductproductionandpromotion.
Findingtherightmarketingstrategyforlargerorganizationsandmicroenterprisesis
difficult toobtain sincewell established firms relyon their reputation, theirbrand
identityandmostlyonanexternalprofessionalmarketingagencywhileforsmaller
scaledenterprisesitiscrucialtohaveawellthoughtthroughmarketingstrategynot
only promote themselves but also to differentiate themselves from larger scale
organizationsandcreatetheirownidentity.(Sadiqua,2017)
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Inorderforsmallersizedbusinessestosurvive,it isessentialtoincludeagoodbut
alsofittingmarketingstrategyintothefirm’sconcept.Thetheoryofmarketingand
thewayit istaughtdoesnotfitforeverybusinessandiftheaimistogetthebest
possible result out of the business, and individual strategy has to be applied and
alwaysadaptedasthefirmentersdifferentstages(Carson,1985).
Creating an identity is important.What does the company stand for, what is the
target customer and what should the general thinking of the company be? Then
going a little more in depth is important. What results are expected from the
marketing strategy that was applied for the company? Do they meet the firm’s
expectations or even exceed them? And what content of the firm should be
marketed,wherearethestrengththatwillattractthecustomerandthusshouldbe
pushed into the spotlight andwhere areweaknesses that shouldbedownplayed?
(Sester,2018).Alloftheabovelistedquestionsshouldbetakenintoaccountbefore
creating a marketing plan. Especially for smaller businesses that often feel the
pressuredbywell-established firms, it is important tokeepasking thosequestions
and adapting their marketing plan in their different life stages. As Sester (2018)
states, the competition never sleeps and thus it is crucial to always stay aheadof
timeinordertoattractthetargetedclientele.
Lookingatwhatthecompetitionisdoingcanbeusefulifthebusinessesaresimilar.
Whatworks for themandmost importantlywhat isnotworking for them.Finding
thatgapandthencreatinganownstrategy,whichgoesintotherightdirectionbut
stilldifferentiated itself fromthecompetition iswortha lot (DeSilva,2018).Thus,
learningfromthecompetitionbutthendiggingalittledeepertoimproveastrategy
canaid instandingout(DeSilva,2018).Whenaimingtostandout,especiallyfora
smallersizedcompany,buildingastrongonlinepresenceitcrucial.Especiallyinthe
earlystagesofthebusinessitiskeytostandoutonsocialmediaorwithawebsite
because that is what attracts the most clientele. Customers nowadays are
overwhelmedwithoffersandthusaresearchingforsomethingthatstandsoutand
isdifferenttotherest.Thegoal istomakeyourcustomershavethat“wow”effect
(DeSilva,2018).
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2.2 Start-upsandmarketing
Startingnewventuresnowadays isconsideredaseconomicgrowthandformsnew
andinnovativehorizonsforregionsandnations.Notonlydoesthecreationofnew
jobsplayabigrolebecauseofstart-ups,italsoallowscompetitiontobechallenged
bycreatingnewideas,visionsandsettingafasterpace(Baraldietal.&Havenvid&
Linné&Öberg,2018).
Thefollowingsectionswillgoalittlemoreintodetailaboutinfluencesthatastart-up
facessuchashowafounder´spersonalattributedhelpastart-upgrow,howfunding
isgenerated,astart-upstheoreticallifecycleandfinallywhatrolemarketingplaysin
astart-upinitsearlystages.
2.2.1 Thefounder´spersonalattributesandambitiontogrow
When someone decides on commencing a start-up, there is a high likelihood of
personal interest that influences the decision to dive into a new field. The high
personalinterestandcommitmentofafounderisakeyfactorwhencomparingthe
newventuretoanalreadyestablishedbusinessanditsmanager.Thishasaveryhigh
importance because the effort put into a newly founded business stands in
combinationwithitsgrowthandperformance.Thedrivethatanentrepreneurmight
havehasagreateffectonthebusinessesfuturesuccess,whichiswhythefounder’s
personalityplaysakeyroleinthestart-upfield(Barringer&Jones,2004).
The growth rate of a start-up also depends on the founder’s ambition to grow as
wellastheenvironment,whichtheyfindthemselves in is importantforsuccess. In
2011, a studywas conductedwhere a closer lookwas taken at growing and non-
growingstart-ups investigatingthereasonsbehind itmoredetailed.Thestudywas
conducted by Hansen and Hamilton, andmeasured an owner’s ambition to grow
whentakingacloserlookattheirpersonalinvestmentintothestar-upaswellasthe
time and effort they put into their work drive. Flexibility, optimism, strategic
planningskillsallwhereimportantfactorstakenintocloseconsideration.Thestudy
showed that growing firms had different attributed than non-growing firms. They
tended to be more flexible, innovative and personally invested with a drive of
ambition that also led them into the international playing field (Blackburn,Hart&
Wainwright,2013).
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Long-termsuccesscannotbeexplainedthroughluck, itreflectsthehartwork, long
hours and dedication that is put into a company. There are several traits which
entrepreneurs of successful start-ups share (Kittaneh, 2015). Firstly, these are
passion, which is important since the sole thought of making money will not
accomplishanything,often it ispassionforacompany, if someone likeswhatthey
aredoingeverydayand theyareburning tomakenewconnectionsandgrowwith
time that successfully build up a reputation. Secondly, calculations are a crucial
factorofbeingprofitable.Planningandestimatingwhatmayworkforthecompany
is just as important as being motivated and passionate. Reaching the companies
goalscanonlybemetwhencalculatingwhat ispossibleandalwayshavingagood
overviewofwhatisgoingon.Thirdly,education.Iftheownerofabusinessthinkshe
or she has all the answers, problemswill occur. Continuously educating oneself is
thekeytosuccess.Theeconomyneverstandsstill,technologyneverstandsstill,and
adapting to changes is one of the most important attributes when wishing for
permanentsuccess(Kittaneh,2015).
2.2.2 FundingforaStart-up
Convertinganideaintoathrivingbusinessitnotaneasytask.Producingcapitalwith
thisideacanbeevenharderbutthegoalofeverynewventureistohavearevenue-
drivingbusiness.Thechallengeoffindingfundingforastartupisaverybigissuefor
a lotofnewbusinesses. It iscontinuouslygettinghardertofindfundingforastart
up since competition is getting more and more intense. Investors have a higher
expectation since they want to invest and park their money securely with the
promiseofrevenueinthefuture(Newlands,2017).
An angle investorwhowants to invest personal funds and expect a percentage in
returnorpartoftheownershipisalsoapopularpossibilitywhenlookingforfunding.
Banksalsotendtofundinnewideas, lendingmoneytoupcomingstart-ups.When
considering a loan from a bank, it is important to have a good business plan and
present awell thought out strategy.Whereaswith personal investorswho canbe
family or friends, trust plays a bigger role. Trust in the business and the ability to
turn an idea into a start-up. It is still advised however to professionally set up a
contractanddefinetermsandconditionsclearly(Ahmed,2017).
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2.2.3 Start-uplifecycle
From the moment an idea is developed into a business, the businesses lifecycle
commences.Asthebusinessgrowsanddevelops,itisimportanttobeawardinwhat
stage it currently is in order tomeet objectives, set priorities and form strategies
(Petch,2016).The7stagesofabusinesslifecycleare(Shah,2016):
a) Idea: The initial stage is coming up with an idea or even just a
thought.
b) Start-up:Inthisstagetheideaistunedintoalegallyexistingstart-up
withgoodsorservicesinproduction.
c) Growth:Thebusinessdeveloped itself throughtheearlyyearand is
starting to generate revenueswith increasing opportunities coming
itsway.
d) Established:Start-upisnowathrivingcompanywithasecureplacein
themarket and customer satisfaction.Operations turnmore into a
routine.
e) Expansion:Increasinggrowthdeterminesthelifecycle.Newmarkets
and a broader target of customer categorized this stage. Larger
distributionchannelsandrevenuearestreamingin.
f) Mature:Stableprofitandsalesovertheyearsbutstatingchallenges
withthethreatoffallingsales.Thedecisionofexitorexpansionhas
tobemade.
g) Exit:Cashoutthestart-uporshuttingdownthestart-up
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2.2.4 Theimportanceofmarketingintheearlystagesofastart-up
Havingasolidmarketingstrategyfortheearlystagesofastart-upbusinessiscrucial.
Early-stagestart-upsshouldhaveaverypreciseandwell thoughtoutstrategythat
goesmoreindepthandwakesuptheinterestofpotentialcustomers.Itisnecessary
to put a start-up on the right path and to keep it there as well, there is nothing
worsethanwhenabusinessstartsoutstrongandwakesalotofinterestbutthenin
theendeffect cannotdeliver itspromises.This iswhya strongmarketing strategy
needs to be implemented, where the message of the start-up is highlighted.
Especiallyintheearlystages,themarketingstrategyshouldbestrongandevolveas
necessary(Duris,2011).
Market researchshouldbeconducted inorder tomakesurethat there isa lack in
themarketandtosecurethatthetargetedmarketisready.Amarketingplanshould
also be implemented that incorporated several marketing tactics that help reach
businessgoals,suchasaSWOT(strengths,weaknesses,opportunityandthreats)or
PESTEL(political,economic,social,technological,environmentalandlegal)analysis,
analyzingthecompetitionandbudget(Duris,2018).
Whiledevelopingandtestingthemarketinggoalsthatareset, themost important
factoristoexaminetowhatthetargetaudiencerespondstothemost.Onlineorin-
person surveys, reviews and other questionnaires help determine where the
strength of the start-up lies and where the focus should be. Making the product
standout to attract interest is key for the early stages. Theproductmustmake a
wave and impress people, becauseword ofmouth and creating hype around the
productmakesorbreaksfuturestart-ups(Manning,2017).
Thus,havingastrongsocialmediapresenceandanoutstandingwebsitealsohelps
with the way the start-up is perceived. It should be clearly structured and not
overwhelmthecustomerwith information,butgiving themenough tomake them
curiousandsatisfied(Duris,2011).
Another important activity is to develop a retention strategy to bind customers.
Thus, developed high levels of customer satisfactions to turn into loyal customers
are crucial. Therefore, giving them the service that they expect is very important,
31
because it is easy for them togo to the competitionandnot return (Duris, 2011),
alsoitischeapertokeepexistingcustomersandattainnewones.
Thenext section focuseson the start-upscene inViennaandhowthecity itself is
perceivedasanupcominghubwith its featuresshapinghow it isviewed forstart-
ups.
3 Start-upsceneinVienna
Forafounderofastart-up,findingtherightlocationisofcriticalimportance.Before
evencommencingthejourneyofdevelopingabusinessthefirstmainquestionthat
needstobeaskediswheretostartthebusiness.
Whensomeonehasthatlightningideaorthesolutiontoaproblemthatcouldtarget
anicheinthemarket,thedecisionofwheretoputdownroots isnotaneasyone.
Therearemanyfactorsthatinfluenceabigsteplikethis,forexample:whetherthe
righttargetcustomerlivesthere,iftherearenetworkingpossibilities,whetherthere
issupportfromthegovernment,officecosts,accesstofundingorstaffingneeds.All
these factorsneed tobeclarifiedbeforedecidingona location (Edgecomb,2017).
The objective of this thesis is to examine the Viennese start-up scene and what
marketingtacticswouldbebeneficialforearlystagesstart-ups.
Vienna, a city that characterizes itselfwith culture and traditionmight not be the
first city that comes tomindwhen thinking about an innovative, driven and ever-
changing start-up center. However, in 2015 there were approximately 190.000
students inViennawith a lot of nationalities that forma big pool of potential co-
founders (Bursuk&Wallner, 2017). A high purchasing power in the population of
Vienna also increases its attractiveness as well as the entry to the DACH market
(Germany,AustriaandSwitzerland),which is the largest single languagemarket in
Europe(Bursuk&Wallner,2017).
Viennahas thehugeadvantageof location. The city is situated ideally sincemany
EuropeancitiesandcapitalscaneasilybereachedfromVienna.Lessthantwo-hour
32
flightsandshortdrives toother thrivingcitiesmakeViennaan idealconnection to
otherEuropeancountries.ThegeographicallocationisabigpartwhytheViennese
start-upsceneisincreasinglygrowing(VenionaireCapital,2015).
Eventhoughsomeofthebigstart-upcapitalslikeLondon,ChicagoorBerlindohave
a lot of features that attract start-ups, Vienna can keep up and prove itself with
Europe´s biggest start-up and innovation hub (Edgecomb, 2017). The 900 square
meterhubdefinesitselfwithauniqueandthrivingecosystemandeachyearishome
to100ofthemostthrivingstart-upsinvariousfields.Inencouragesstart-upstojoin
because of its unique offer of mentoring, networking, workshops, and individual
coachingaswellasoffersfreeworkingspace.ThismakesViennaarisingdestination
forstart-upsandshowsalotofexistingandgrowingpotential.
It also characterizes itself with a strong start-up ecosystem, which provides easy
access to knowledgeand financial support forevery stageof thebusiness.Austria
holds a lot of conferences and lecture that provide the possibility of further
education and to gain the know-how of starting a business. In term of financial
support,Austriaoffersacomprehensivesystemofpublicfundingthat isgenerated
through taxes and supportsmeasures of start-up and innovation projects. Two of
the biggest funding sources of Austria are the Austria Wirtschaftsservices GmbH
(aws)andtheAustrianResearchPromotionAgency(FFG),whichofferloansornon-
repayablegrants(Reiter-Braunwieser,n.d).
Every fifth founder with a potential start-up idea launches his or her business
abroad.AsurveywasconductedbytheEuropeanStart-upInitiative(ESI)–Start-up
HeatmapEurope2016,700founderswhereaskedabouttheirpastexperienceinthe
start-upsector.Eachofthemgotuptofivevotesfroma listofthirtycities forthe
questionofwhere theywould launch their start-upnow if theyhad thechance to
startallover.Outof2,393 total votes forestablishes foundersViennawas ranked
10th. They were also asked to rank Vienna out of five starts in terms of different
featureswherebyecosystemgot3.8 stars, talent3.2 stars,burn rate3.2 starsand
capital2.9startsoutoffive.Whenaskedhowmanypercentoffounderswouldstart
33
over in Vienna if they had the chance, 19% ofWestern Europe founders said yes
(Kavan,2017).
Thus,itcanbestatedthatoverthelast25yearsViennahasdevelopeditselfasacity
of enterprises attracting investors and founders by offering structure, financial
supportandthedrivetoactivelyworkwithnewbusinessesthatstriveforinnovation
(Preveden,n.d).Viennaisnotacitythatiseasilyoverlookedandisformingtobea
veryattractivedestinationtodevelopandlaunchanewbusinessideabecauseofits
high quality of life, abundance of talented labor and high-level research (Kavan,
2017).
4 Methodology
Generally researchers either chose toutilizeprimaryor secondary sourcesor they
even use both. Primary data is collected for a specific project or thesis,where no
other literature in this context exists. This data can be collected via interviews,
surveys, questionnaires or case studieswhen the results and findings are primary
data that caneither support the literature revieworprove itwrong.On theother
hand secondary data is collected from already existing researches, which can be
found in journals, books, reports or official statistics and should also support the
resultsofthefindings.Thisthesismakesuseofprimaryaswellassecondarysupport
the reasons of conducting this research and thereforemakes themethodology of
particularinterest.
4.1 Interviewsasaprimarysourceofdata
Oneofthemostflexibleandcommonlyusedmethodsofcollectingqualitativedata
is through interviews.An interviewbasically is a guided conversationbetween the
researcherandanexpert(Malhotra,2006).
This paper used interviews as a source for primary data and the purpose is to
investigate howmarketing tactics can be applied to support early stage start-ups
narrowed down to the location of Vienna. The decision to use interviews as a
primary source of data was made to intensely investigate a more qualitative
approach. The fundamental elements of qualitative research approaches give a
34
closerinsighttothequestion“why”.Understandingtheresearchproblemisatypical
characteristicofqualitativeresearch.Theaimistogoalittlemorein-depththrough
obtainingemotions,opinions,behaviors,etc.
Thereareanumberofreasonswhyobtainingprimarydatathrough interviews isa
beneficialapproach.Firstofall,itallowsflexibilitytoadaptthequestionsandleaves
room to support the argument with logical thinking which allows different
perceptions thatmight influenceeach individualstart-upandavoidgeneralizingall
marketing approaches. Second, a more in-depth explanation of each individuals´
perception can be examined through interviews and it also has the advantage to
understandunexpectedresults(Malhotra,2006).
Thenextsectionwillexplainthedesignoftheinterviews.
4.2 Designoftheinterview
Sincetheresearchofthisthesisisbasedoninterviewswithfoundersandexpertsin
thestart-upsector,theresultswillbecollectedonadocumentandanalyzedinthe
later following results chapter. For themostaccurate results,all individualexperts
areasked toanswerhonestlyand indetail toobtain resultsaspreciseaspossible.
Since interviews are not advised for gaining a large number of information ten
expertsofthestart-upfieldwillbeaskedtoanswerthequestionstothebestoftheir
abilities.
The Interview consists of fifteen questions that allow a detailed insight into
marketing inearly stagestart-ups.All interviewquestionsplus theanswerscanbe
foundwrittenoutintheappendixA.
Firstofall theexpertsareaskedto list theirnameandquicklyexplaintheirprofile
before going a littlemore into detail about their start-up and the role they have,
howmanyemployeesareworking inthestart-up,thereasonswhy itwasfounded
andwhatattractedthemtothestart-upscene.Thentheywillbeaskedtoelaborate
onthegrowthoftheirstart-upandhowfastithasdevelopedsincedayoneinterms
ofprofitandcustomernumbers.Afterthisisclarified,thelastquestionforthestart-
upitselfisabouttheircompetitiveenvironmentandhowcompetitioneitherinspires
35
orinfluencesthemontheirdailyactivities.Afterthesefivequestionsthefocuswill
turntomarketing.
Thequestionsinregardtomarketingaskthemtoelaboratewhatmarketingmeans
to them, how they developed theirmarketing strategy in theearly stages of their
start-up and how marketing tactics are adapted to customer demand or
competition.
Then marketing intelligence is questioned and if they made use of marketing
intelligenceapproachesandhowtheseinfluencetheirmarketingstrategy.Thenext
questionishowbigofarolethemarketplaceplaysbeforegoingintoamarketand
howthemarketplace isevaluatedbeforeattractingcustomers.Thentimewillplay
animportantfactorandtheyareaskedwhethertheyadapttheirstrategyovertime
andhowmucheffortgoesintoanearlystagestart-up.Thentheintervieweeswere
askedwhethertheyreachoutforanysupporttoenhancetheirmarketingstrategy
and to list the biggest challenges that evolved while developing their marketing
strategiesintheearlystagesoftheirstart-up.Thelastquestionrelatedtothefuture
ofmarketingandsales,whattheythinkitwillconsistofandwhatitwillbring.Also,
intervieweesweregiventheopportunitytomakeanyotherpoints,whichtheythink
arerelevanttoaddforthisresearch.
4.3 Sampleofthestart-up
Inordertoobtainsufficientpracticalinformationthatsupportsthetheoreticalpart
ofthethesisteninterviewswereconductedwithstart-upsbasedinVienna.Outof
these ten interviewees, two were experts in the field; established investors on
different start-ups and start-up owners themselves and eight were founders of
differentstart-upsormarketingmanagersinthestart-up.Manyofthestart-upsare
already up and running so in the interview the participantswere asked to reflect
backontheearlystagesoftheirstart-upinordertocollectcorrectdata.Havingthe
mixoftwoexpertsandeightworkingintenselyinthestart-upfieldprovidesacloser
lookintodifferentperspectives.Havingparticipantsfromdifferentpositionsanswer
thequestionsensuresaccuracy,validityandreliabilityofthefindings.Asummaryof
each interview, which was conducted personally or over the telephone, can be
foundattachedinAppendixA.
36
4.4 SnowballSampling
Interviews are very time consuming and therefore the experts were selected
carefullyinordertoobtainthemostsuitableoutcomeforthisresearchtopic.Inthe
start-up sceneof Vienna, a lot of deals run overwordofmouth and connections.
This can also be said for the research of this thesis. Interviewees recruited other
participants to take part of the study and through communication more willing
foundersofstart-upswerefoundthatparticipated.Forthisthesissnowballsampling
(also called non-probability or non-random sampling) was the right method since
participants that came over personal recommendation were willing to provide a
closer insightandelaborateontheiranswers inmoredetail.Themethodprovided
moreadvantagesforthisthesisthansimplerandomsamplingsinceitovercamelack
ofparticipation,detectedstart-upsthatwouldhavebeenoverlookedandwasatime
efficientwayofconductingtheinterviews.
37
5 Results
5.1 ProfileandStart-upoftheInterviewees
Thissectionwillconsistofadetailedlookintoeachstart-upthatwasinvestigatedin
ordertoprovidebetterinsighthowmarketingtacticswherebestappliedandwhere
theyhavebeenprovenmosteffectiveintheearlystagesofastart-upslifecycle.
The ten start-ups that were interviewed give different perspectives and a closer
insightwhichmarketingtactichavebeenprovenmosteffectivetothemandwhich
decisionshaveincreasedthegrowthoftheirstart-up.
Thefollowingsectionwillstateabriefoverviewofeachstart-upincludingwhothe
interviewee is and what role he or she plays in the start-up, as well as a quick
summeryofwhatthepurposeofthestart-upiswillbeprovided.
Name:DavidMirzaei
Position:MarketingManageratByrd
Start-up:ByrdwasfoundedinJuly2016inViennaandprovidesasolutionfor
onlineshops,facilitatingoutsourcingthroughtheuseofaweb-application.The
ultimate goal is to turn shipping into a stress-free experience. The growthof
this start-up was tremendously increasing since the start, now in 2018 an
expansion to Germany has been made and approximately 1000 registered
customerswithabout100 shipping regularlyhavebeen countedas clientsof
thestart-up.EspeciallytheGermanmarketshowshighinterestforthestart-up
anddemandinveryhigh.
38
Name:ChristopfHinterplattner
Position:CEOandCo-founderofBikemap
Start-up:Bikemap is a fast growing community for sports enthusiasts,with a
focusoncyclistsaroundtheworldsince2015.Mr.Hinterplattnerhadastart-up
career from the beginning on. First heworked in different kinds of start-ups
beforedevelopinghisownservice.Bikemapcantrackandsharemorethan3.5
millioncycleroutsandhasthebigadvantageofafullofflinefunctionaswell.
With13employeesthe1styearwasusedtobuildthebrandandtheproduct.In
the years after the product had a steady increase in the market and was
runningonitsown.
Name:JakobHofer
Position:ChiefMarketingOfficerandCo-founderofAnyline
Start-up: Anyline was founded in 2014 and Mr. Hofer is the CMO with 29
employeescurrentlyworkingforthestart-up.TheAnylineteamhasworkedon
itspatentedopticalcharacterrecognitiontechnologyandhasalreadyattracted
well-knowncustomers. It takesawaythepainofmanually typing indetailsof
your passport, license plat, ID, drivers license, etc. With the Anyline SDK,
smartphone cameras can processwritten characters in real time, evenwhen
offline.
Name:SabineRückeshäuser
Position:SeniorDigitalMarketingManageratJobRocker
Start-up:JobRockerisadigitalheadhuntingstart-upinViennawhere60people
arecurrentlyemployed,since2016.Ithadatremendousgrowthfromthestart
39
and customer numbers as well as profit is steadily increasing monthly. The
objective is to find themost suitable fit for a company and connect the two
partiesthroughanexternalplatform.
Name:Mag.(FH)PaulBlaguss
Position: CEO and Managing Director of Blaguss Travel GmbH. Founder and
CEOoftheViennaPass.
Start-up:TheViennaPassisacardthatopensallthedoorsforsightseeingand
givestheopportunitytodiscoverVienna,since2015.Withthefreeguidebook
attached customers not only get the ultimate experience of Vienna but they
alsocanenjoyastress-freetimetoenjoythecity.Itincludesfreeentryinover
60ofVienna’smustseesightsandmuseumsandalsogivestheopportunityto
getafeelingofthecitythroughuseoftheHopOnHopOffsightseeingtours.In
addition to that a fast track entry is also guaranteed, so customers have the
advantageofavoidinglongqueuing.
Name:ExpertX
Position:Co-founderofJourni
Start-up: Journi is amobile Travel book. It is an App constructed to capture
personal adventures and automatically put them in a timeline to avoid
forgettinganything.Pictures,videosandevennotescanallbekeptonJourni.
Launched in 2014 Journi has a strong demand. In 2017 Journi had about
500.000users.
40
Name:KlaudiaBachinger
Position:FounderandCEOofWisR
Start-up:WisRisarecruitingplatformforyoungretireeswiththeobjectiveto
connectcooperation’sandcompanieswiththesilverexperts,since2017.The
advantages of this platform are to bring different perspectives together and
helpingsilveragersbringtheirtalentsandexpertisebackintothelabormarket.
Thegoal istoshowthatcross-generationalteamscanprovide innovationand
widenthehorizonofeveryparty.
Name:ManuelZwittag
Position:CEOandCo-founderofrublysGmbH
Start-up:RublysGmbHwasfoundedin2013inViennaandhasthepurposeof
simplifying engagement between millennials and brand through a gamified
mobilemarketingchannel.Thegreatestadvantagesofthisprocessarethatthe
customer target,whicharemillennialswant tocommunicatewith thebrands
orthecompany.Itisanadvancedmarketingsolutionwithaperformancerate
up to 26 times better than a regularmobile app. The start-up has up to 50
employees.
Name:DICamillaSievers
Position:CEOandCo-founderoftreats.Contemporarysnacks.
Start-up:Treatsoffers100%healthysnacks. ItsearcheswithinEuropeforthe
healthiest snacks and drinks and delivers them straight home to their
customers.Thestart-upwasfounded in2015andenableseasyandeffortless
ways of delivering the in-between snack that cannot be found in the
41
supermarkets. Itsgoal istoattractcustomersbypromisingahealthy lifestyle,
boosting their energy and at the same time tasting delicious. Its target
customersare individualsaswellascompanies. It start-upconsistsofaround
10employees.
Name:KatharinaKlausberger
Position:CEOandCo-FounderofShpockApp
Start-up:LaunchedinSeptember2012Shpockisanappthatenablesusersto
buy, sell of even give items away for free.Millions of private clients try to
distributetheirgoodsonthisplatform.Itbringscustomerandsellertogether
andsimplifiestheprocessofinteraction.Itsattractivenessdefinesitselfbynot
charging a fee of customers when a successful purchase or sell has been
made.Thefleamarketappattractsupto10millionusersearnedthe“Android
App Excellence” award in 2018. With about 120 employees Shpock is
continuouslyrisingandincreasingingrowth.
5.2 Findingsformarketinginearlystagestart-ups
5.2.1 Theroleofmarketingandsalesforearlystagestart-ups
Thefirstquestionthatwasaskedinthemarketingpartoftheinterviewwas:“What
does marketing and sales mean to you and your start-up? What is/was your
marketing strategy in the early stages of your start-up?” The purpose of this
questionwastoopenuptheheavyfocusofmarketingthatthisthesisistacklingand
to obtain a general feeling how the participants stand towardsmarketing in early
42
stages of their start-ups. Out of ten interviewees, eight responses contained the
importance of customer approach. Building trust and raising awareness in the
targetedmarketisoneofthemainchallengesthatstart-upsfacerightatthestartof
their launch.Creatingnoise intheB2Csectorandgraspingtheattentionandmost
important the interest of customers is what marketing is all in the early stages.
Marketingplaysakeyrolewhentryingtoattractcustomerssince in thebeginning
phaseofanybusinessthatcanbeoneofthemostchallengingparts.Thefollowing
quote demonstrates the importance of marketing for the Co-founder of treats:
“Marketingopensupthemarketplaceandraisesawarenessoftheproduct.”
5.2.2 Designingthemarketingandsalesstrategy
Whenthequestion“Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?”was
asked, opinions started to go in different directions, which is logical since the
investigatedstart-upsoperateindifferentfieldsandtargetdifferentgroups.
Twoofthestart-upsthatwerequestionedgaveaprettysimilarresponse.Theyboth
statedthatdesigningamarketingstrategywasputoffinthebeginningbecausefirst
ofallitwasimportanttobuildupthestart-upinterimandthenpresentingittothe
targeted customers. The Quote by the Senior Digital Marketing Director of
JobRocker: “In the early stage of JobRocker, the main focus was to hire the first
employeesandbuildtheoverallprocessofhowweoperate.Marketingjustbecame
importantalittlelateron.”
TheChiefMarketingOfficerandCo-founderofAnylinestated:“Itwasimportantfor
us to understand,whoweneed to convince. Target the right developers, the right
project managers and the right audience and then we designed the marketing
strategybasedontheoutcomeswehad.”
In the literature review, KPIs were looked at more detailed and how these are
importantmeasuresinmarketingtoseehowabusinessisperformingandwherethe
strengthsandweaknesseslie.TheresultsshowthatKPIsareanimportantfactorto
considerwhendesigningamarketingandsalesstrategy.TheCEOandCo-founderof
rublys GmbH stated that making a detailed outline, setting up goals and KPI is
essentialtoobservehowthestart-upisdevelopingandifthegrowthisasexpected
orifthestrategyshouldbechanged.
43
ForthefounderandmanagingdirectoroftheViennaPassdescribedthegrowthof
the start-up andhow it exceededall expectations. In the fist year theywanted to
make25.000passes,inthesecondyear50.000passesandinthethirdyear100.000
passes.
Theyendedupmaking42.000 inthefirstyear, inthesecond89.000passesand in
thethird135.000.Thegrowthexceededeveryexpectationandisincreasinglyrising.
Thegrowthofthisstart-upcouldbeexplainedbythedesignoftheirmarketingand
sales strategy. The following quote briefly explains their approach for designing
strategies:
“Wehavequiteafewmarketingstrategies,buttheoneproventobeveryeffective
has been the distribution of third parties. Here a third party helps distribute the
ViennaPassandwillgetaprovision for selling it.This ishowwe rapidlyexpanded
the growth of our product and got the word out. 80% of the Vienna Passes gets
purchasedonlinehoweverandthusourpresence inverystrongonallofouronline
platforms.”
5.2.3 Adaptingmarketingtacticstocustomerdemand
Adaptingmarketingtactics is importantforstart-upsaswell.Especially intheearly
stageswherethemarketisnew,start-upsneedtotakeacloselookwhatworksand
what could be improved. Responding to customer demand fluctuations and
gathering feedback is one of the most mentioned actions the interviewees
highlighted.Responding tocustomerneedsstrengthens thestart-upandgathering
firsthandinputiscrucialforfuturegrowthsinceitisawayofbindingthecustomer
andbuildingupastablerelationshipandloyalty.TheCEOandCo-founderofShpock
said:“Byanalysingtheirdemandswetrytofulfiltheirwishesasbestwecan.”
5.2.4 Understanding the marketplace before entering the market to
attractnewcustomers
Inthetheoreticalpartofthethesis,understandingthemarketplaceisdescribedasa
key factor for future success. Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of the
market,which is entered important for positioning a product or service andhelps
identify the targeted customer. The importanceof understanding themarketplace
44
canalsobeprovenbytheanswerstheparticipantsgave.TheCEOandCo-founderof
Bikemap agreed by stating: “It is important to launch a test product before
implementing the original.We conducted a lot of surveys and gathered feedback,
then we adapted to this feedback. We actively communicated with users and
answeredconcernsandquestions.”
The senior digitalmarketingmanager at JobRocker stated that understanding the
marketplacebeforehandisinevitable.Itshouldbethefirststepeverystart-uptakes;
if this is not done correctly it is hard to generate demand and hype around a
product.
5.2.5 Competitiveenvironmentandmarketingintelligence
Intheliteratureofthisthesistheimportanceofbeingawareofthecompetitionwas
highlighted.Itwasstatedthatbeingawareofthemarketingstrategiesofothersand
knowing how they attract and their customers is a key factor to investigatewhen
developinganownstrategy.
Themajority of the respondents say that they implement their own strategy and
that although they know what their competition is up to is important, they still
believe in doing their own thing and providing a unique angle that will attract
customers.
Two of the interviewees stated that they do have competition but no direct
competition,soitwouldbehardforthemtodesignastrategybasedonanalready
well-establishedcompanyiftheydonothavethesameuniqueangleasthem.
TheChiefMarketingOfficeandCo-founderofAnylineworksoncloseproximitywith
his competition because he said that for his start-up they share leads and
partnership which helps develop and create a market. This is called healthy
competitionwherebothpartiesbenefitfromeachother.
For a start-up like Bikemap,which had a later entry into themarket, competition
was high since their main competitor was Runtastic, an already well established
start-upinthesamefieldasBikemap.TheCEOandCo-founderofBikemaphowever
statedthatlearningfromtheircompetitionwasessentialfortheminthebeginning.
45
“Inthedailymarketingstrategywehavetobeverysharpinfocusandpositionitnot
asageneral sportsad. It is important to stay in the fieldofbiking (themarket for
that is big enough). Since there is a lot of competitionwe knew that therewas a
place for Bikemap in the market and we learned a lot through failures of our
competitors. “For thisparticular start-up, thecompetitionhelped themto improve
andgrow.
5.2.6 Theamountoftimethatearlystagestart-upsfocusonmarketing
Timeisofgreatimportance,especiallyintheearlystagesofabusiness.Accordingto
theintervieweestherealwaysseemstobetoolittleanditischallengingtoworkon
everydetail of the start-upat the same time. Theanswers spreadout indifferent
directionsforthisquestionaswell.Somesaidthatmarketingtookupaquarterofall
theeffortsandsomesaidattheverybeginningmarketingwasnottheirmainfocus
so it took up little to no time. “I think in the early stages itwould be a very little
amount since the resources in an early-stage start-up are very limited. The focus
wouldratherbeongettingtoknowthemarketandstartingwithsalesanddoPR.I
think it would be around 20-30%.” Demonstrated by the senior digital marketing
managerofJobRocker.
TheCo-founderoftreatsevenwentasfarassayingthatmarketingandsalesefforts
sumup to¾of the time invested in thestart-up. “Theearly stagesdemanded the
mosttimeandeffortofourmarketingandsalesstrategies.Iwouldevensay¾ofthe
timewasinvestedintheseareas.“
5.2.7 Reachingoutforsupporttoenhancemarketingoutcomes
The majority of CEO and Co-founders of start-ups that were asked to provide
insights,reachedoutforsupporttoenhanceandimplementtheirmarketingtactics.
Whether it was through workshops or through in-house marketing departments.
Externalexperiencedprofessionalshavethejobofknowingwhatexactlyisgoingon
in themarketandhave the rightknow-howto investigatewhatstrategywouldbe
thebestfirfortheproductorservice.BoththeViennaPassandJobRockerbelievein
Googleadwordsandreachedoutforprofessionalhelpinthisdepartmentbecause
46
theysaypositioningtheproductrightisakeyfactorforsuccess.EventheCEOand
Co-founder of Bikemap said:” I am not the biggest fan of paid channels but the
qualityoftheproductmightgetlostifwedon’tuseit,soyeswedidreachout.”
5.2.8 Biggest challenges faced when developing a marketing strategy in
theearlystagesofastart-up
Itisdifficulttogeneralizethebiggestchallengesthatstart-upfaceintheearlystages
sinceevery start-uphas their individualangle.The theory in the literature suggest
thatstrategicallyplanningwhereabusinessplan,detailedmarketingtacticsalistof
customers and so on, is themost challenging part for successfulmarketing in the
earlystages.Someoftherespondentsgaveexactlythatanswerandelaboratedhow
difficult itwastosetupastrategysincetheindustrymightpivot,somesaidthat it
was learning from their mistakes as well as learning from the mistakes of their
competitionandsomesaiditwasgatheringtheresourcesneededtobecreativeand
comeupwithideashowtogeneratemoneyandresources.
Howeversomestart-upsgaveresponsesthattheliteraturedidnotseeasoneofthe
biggest challenges that start-ups might be confronted with. For Vienna Pass the
biggestchallengewasputtingupacontractwiththesightofViennaandnegotiate
about the provision and forWisR, the biggest challengewas how to use the right
wording forseniors, thewrongwordingmighthavehadanegativeeffectonthem
andthiswouldhavehurtthecustomerrelationshipandsales.
Thisshinesaclearlightonthefactthateverystart-upworksintheirownwaysand
hastheirownstrengthsandweaknessesthattheyneedtofocuson.
5.3 Futureprognosesformarketinginstart-ups
In the last questionof the interview, respondentswere asked to give their option
aboutwhatthefutureofmarketinginearlystagestart-upswillbringandwhatthey
thinkwillbeasuccessfulapproachwhenusingmarketingtacticsinearlystagestart-
ups.Theopinionspartedalittleonthisspecifictopic.BoththeMarketingManager
atByrd,theCEOofWisRandtheSeniorDigitalMarketingManageratJobRockerare
convinced that growth hacking will influence early stage start-ups in the field of
marketing a lot. They believe that the mix of marketing, analyzing data and the
47
overviewofhowthestart-up isdeveloping isanessentialpart forupcomingstart-
ups.Thegoalofgrowthhackingistoachievegrowthintheearlystagesofthestart-
up in order to awaken awareness. The senior digital marketing manager at
JobRocker stated: “Growth is extremely important in the first years so finding
creativewaystogainsustainablegrowthwillalwaysbethechallenge.Founderswho
are looking for marketing talents should definitely look out for analytical and
creativethinkerstotacklethischallenge.”
Growthhackingisknowntobetheoptimalcombinationofproduct,userexperience
and marketing and takes these three factors as main influencers of a start-ups
growth.
ThefollowingquotestheChiefMarketingOfficerandCo-FounderofAnyline:“Ithink
foreverystart-upinthefutureitisimportanttofirstlyknowwhothecustomerwould
beandof there isaplace in themarket for thisproduct. Listen toyourcustomer.”
Understandingthedemandoftheproductfirst,beforeimplementingaproductwas
alsoacommonopinion.Quitea fewrespondentswereconvincedthat researching
themarketplacebeforehandandtestaprototypeisasimportantnowasitwillbein
thefuture.
FortheCEOandCo-founderofShpockandtheCEOandCo-FounderofBikemapthe
futureofmarketinginearlystagestart-upswasquitehardtopredictsincetheyare
oftheopinionthateverystart-upshouldfocusontheirmainstrengths,whichmost
of the time cannot be generalized. The following quote demonstratedby theCEO
andCo-founderofBikemap:“Nevergeneralizemarketing in start-ups.Whatworks
forAmightnotworkforB.”
TheCEOandCo-Founderat rublysGmbHcriticizes that commonlyusedmarketing
tactics where the personal touch to the customer can easily get lost will have a
negativeeffectandraisequestionsofethics insocialmedia.Hestatedthatpeople
will bemore hesitant to provide their personal details and thatwill take a toll on
marketingoffirms.
48
6 Conclusion
6.1 Finalremarks
Theresearchquestionof this thesis is“Marketingtacticsusedbyearlystagestart-
ups, an analysis of the Viennese start-up scene” and this question opened up a
detailed research into the start-up scene inViennaandhowstart-ups in thatarea
implemented and usedmarketing tactics to enhance their chance of success. The
researchconductedshowsthatthestart-upsceneinViennaisbooming(Venionaire
Capital,2015).AlthoughViennamightnotbethefirstcitythatcomestomindwhen
thinking about start-ups, it has a lot of advantages for start-ups to form their
headquartersinthecity.Fromlocationuntilnetworkingopportunities,Viennaisan
up-and-comingstart-uphubthatshouldnotbeunderestimated(Edgecomb,2017).
Thisthesiswasabletoprovideinsideintohowtenstart-upsmanagedmarketingin
the early stages andwhat tactics benefited themmost.Overall, the feedbackwas
very positive for marketing. Not one interviewee said that it works without any
marketing tactics, but of course the amount of marketing the start-ups use if
differentfrombusinesstobusiness.Afact,theyallagreedonwastheimportanceof
understandingthemarketplacebeforeentering.Eachstart-upspentintensetimeon
elaborating the market and conducting detailed research on how to position a
product.Sinceamarketconsistsofaplacewheregoodsandservicesareexchanged
and potential customers are found it is crucial to understand amarket nomatter
whethertangibleorintangiblegoodsareexchanged(Muetal.,2018).
Marketing research is considered tobe a very important feature that needs tobe
evaluatedbeforedevelopingastrategy.Theliteraturesuggeststhatmarketresearch
isoneof the foundingstones that influenceanykindofbusiness,especially in the
early stages (Anderson&Narus,1998).Theparticipantsagreewith the theoretical
approach that obtaining insight into a market and conducting detailed market
researchisofcriticalimportancewhendesigningamarketingandsalesstrategy.
Developing a marketing strategy, and even calling in external help for the
developmentisalsoacrucialpartofthisthesis.Theliteraturereview,aswellasthe
practicalpartofthisresearch,suggeststhatformingawellthought-troughstrategy
49
isthefoundationofanysuccessfulstart-upthatwantstogrow(Egelhoff,2018).The
importanceof settingupamarketing strategy shouldbeaware toeverymarketer
andalotoftimeshouldbespentontryingtoreachtheobjectivesthatacompany
setsitselfintheirearlystages(Ioannou,2010).
Oneof themain findings from the interviews is howdeepmarketing affects early
stage start-ups. It is important to raise awareness, position the product, attract
customers, bind those customers and keep sales up. A detailed strategy that
containsabusinessplanandamarketingcampaignholdingallthefutureobjectives
structures the start-up. Setting up KPIs is essential to monitor the business and
analyzeifallgoalsaremetasplanned.Marketingspreadsitselfintothebonesofa
start-upandisessentialforsuccess.
6.2 Limitationsandrecommendationsoftheresearch
Even though the researchwas conductedwith interviews,which gave insight into
opinionsandfactsaboutmarketingintheearlystagesofastart-upinVienna,there
arelimitationstothisresearch.
For the practical part of this thesis, a qualitative researchmethodwas conducted
through ten interviews.Thismethod isbeneficial togain in-depthknowledge into
theinvestigatedareabutalsocomeswithlimitations.Asaqualitativemethodoften
providesopen-endedresultsbecausealotofpersonalexperienceandperceptionis
collected, it gives the participantsmore control over the end results andover the
datathatiscollected.Thismeansitishardtoprovetheresultsinadifferentsetting
andresultsarenotseenobjectively.
When conducting interviews, fewer participants are asked to provide their input,
which means that generalizing the findings is difficult due to the fact that fewer
peoplewerestudies.Thisthesisprovidesresultsfortenaskedfoundersofastart-up
andthusisonlyconductedamongstasmallsample.Thereforeitcanbestatedthatit
is limited to explaining something rather than having the possibility of making a
decision. It is a less structured research method, which collects information to
explain peoples reasoning and motivation. Selecting participants who are able to
50
supportandrepresenttheresearchedtopiccorrectlyisnotaneasytask.Interviews
mayhaveabiasedeffectduetothemoodoftheparticipantortheinteractionwith
theinterviewer.
Quantitativemethods use numerical analysis to generalize opinions andbehaviors
andthusprovideadeeperinsightintoresultsgeneratedfromalargesamplingpool.
A quantitative approach is also less time consuming than a qualitative one and
thereforegivestheopportunityofreachingawiderrangeofparticipants.
Theaimandobjectivesofthisthesisarestatedquitebroad.Animprovementwould
betospecifytheresearchquestionmoreinordertoobtainmorepreciseandexact
resultsandtoincreasetheleveloffocusofthestudy.
Another limitation that may have occurred when conducting this thesis might be
thatitislimitedtothecityofVienna.Thestart-upfieldiswidelypopularallaround
theworldandapproachesmightbedifferentfromlocationtolocation.Eventhough
atheoreticalplanforconductingamarketingstrategyisexplainedverydetailedina
lotofbooks,howthetheorycanplayout inthepracticemightbedifferentdueto
culturaldifferences,preferencesandopportunitiesthatthesurroundingareahasto
offer.
For this research topic face-to-facedatawas collectedandhasbeenproven tobe
extremely importan (Malhotra,2016)tsincea lotof therespondentsgavedetailed
insightandelaboratedontheirreasonsoftheiranswer.Althoughaccuratescreening
andcapturingtheemotionsandbehaviorsofrespondentsinanimportantaspectof
thisforofdatacollection,therearequiteafewdownsidestothistacticaswell.For
example, limited sample size and the attitude of participants’ counts a lot. The
interviews conducted always took up to 30 minutes and because of this a lot of
potentialstart-upsthatwerecontacteddeclinedtoanswerthequestions,sincethey
didnotfindthetime.Abiggersamplesizewouldneedmoretimetofind,however
mighthavebeenanadvantage for the research inorder toprovidemore in-depth
results and it would be easier to generalize the results and give an objective
statementofthefindings.
A recommendation to this problem, suggested by one of the start-up founders
wouldbe toconduct theresearch in formofasurveysince this is timesavingand
51
thustheremightbethepossibilitythatmorestart-upswouldbeinterestedtotake
fiveminutesandanswerthequestions.Asurveyhastheadvantagethatitiseasyto
developusingspecificsoftwarethatsummarizesalloftheresultsatonceandstating
aclearoutcome.Thiscaneasilybedoneonlineandcouldattractmoreresponses.
The downside of this would be the fact that respondents could not elaborate on
theiranswers.Itwouldsimplybeanalternativewayofgathermoreinputthanwith
data-collection.
Alsosincemarketingisawidelyspreadoutfield,anotherrecommendationwouldbe
tofocusononespecificmarketingtacticinsteadofdivingintothebroadtopicofit.
For example, focusing just on the competitive environment and how marketing
tacticsareusedtoobtainacompetitiveadvantagemightmeofadvantagewiththe
samplesizethatwasresearched.
Marketingtacticsusedbyearlystagestart-upswascarriedoutinthestudybutalot
of start-upswere alreadywell establishes and thuswere asked to reflect back on
theirearlystages.Anotheradvantagefortheresearchwouldhavebeenifallofthe
start-upswereestablishedwithinthelasttwoyearsandthismighthaveaeffecton
the results aswell since experience is different andmarketing tactics changeover
theyears.
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7 Bibliography
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AppendixA
Interview1washeldonthe8thofMaiat09.30withDavidMirzaeitheMarketing
ManageratByrd.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).DavidMirzaei. IamMarketingManageratByrdandcurrently finishingmyMasterDegreeinMarketing.
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?We provide a complete fulfillment solution for online shops, based on aweb-application that makes outsourcing incredibly easy and turns thepainfulprocessofshippingintoahassle-freeexperience.
o Canyouelaborateinthereasonswhyyoufoundedthisstart-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscence?Ididn’tfounditmyself.ButAlex,ourCEO,hewasalreadyenrolledinaspecializationduringhisbachelordegree,calledentrepreneurship&innovationwhichreflectshisentrepreneurialspirit.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customer numbers, profit) What are your prognoses for the future?byrd was founded in July 2016 in Vienna and since then it has alreadyexpanded to Germany. We have approx. 1000 registered customers ofwhich100areshippingonaregularbasis.Especially, inGermanyweseealot of demand and potential for future development as e-commerce isbooming.
o Howisthecompetitiveenvironment?Howmuchdoesthisinfluenceyourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?ThereisalotofcompetitionoutthereandthisisthereasonwhywetrytopointoutourUSPtopotentialcustomers.However,wefocusmoreonourcompanyandtheservicewedelivertoourcustomers.
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3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Atthebeginning,itwasespeciallyimportantapproachcustomersinthecontextofdirectmeetingsinordertobuildtrustandconvincecustomers.PRisveryhelpfulwithregardtobrandawareness.OurTVpresenceinastartupshowwasincrediblybeneficialinordertoberegardedasatrustworthycompany,whichhadapositiveimpactonsalesactivities.Duetolimitedbudgetformarketingwearefocusingononlinemarketingwiththeaimofmaximizingconversions.
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?InmeetingswithinterdisciplinaryteamsfromSales&marketingonabi-monthlybasis.
o Howdoyouadaptforexampleyourmarketingtacticstoyourcustomerdemandandcompetitors?Wetrytorespondtocustomerdemandfluctuationswithrespectivemarketing&salescampaigns.
o Canyouexplaintomehowimportantitisforyou(yourstart-up)tounderstandthemarketplacebeforegoingtomarket?Aswellasbeforeattractingnewcustomers?Theknowledgeofcustomerneedsiscrucial,inordertobuildrequiredinternalprocesseswhichhelpstofulfillthoseneedsaccordingly.SatisfythecustomersandpromoteWOM!
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yes, a startupevolvesover timeand this requires changes. Inour specificcase,wechangedourcustomersegment,whichrequiredareorientation.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescompared to the total activities of your start-up, what would that be?
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Themajorityofthetaskswererelatedtodailybusiness,developinginternalprocessesetc.attheverybeginning,whileoutboundsalesweredonebyarather small sales-team andmarketing as well. As the allocation of workvariesovertime,itisratherdifficulttogiveanestimation.
o Didyoureachoutforsupporttoenhanceyourmarketingstrategies?Whyandinwhichway?Workshopsofinvestor-ecosystems.
o Whatwerethebiggestchallengeswhiledevelopingyourmarketing
strategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Itisimpossibletoplanaheadbecausethebusinessmightpivot.
o Lastly, what do you think the future will be for marketing and start-ups?
Growth-hacking.
Interview 2 was held on the 22nd of Mai at 8.00 o´clock with Christopf
HinterplattnertheCEOandCo-FounderofBikemap.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).Christof Hinterplattner, CEO & Co-founder of Bikemap. I had a classicalstart-upcareerandactivelyalwayshadjobsinthestart-upscenetogatherexperiencebeforestartingmyownstart-up.
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Bikemap is a fast growing active sports-community of cyclists around theworld,whichcantrackandsharemorethan3.5Mcycleroutes.Fullofflinefunctionsaswellasoutstandingsolutionsofnavigations inmorethan100countries.13peopleworkatBikemap.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?I have always been attracted to the start-up scene and worked as aconsultant and communication departments before taking the step iffoundingastart-up.
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o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?In the 1st yearwe build the product,whichwas not really year for activegrowth.Thentookastepbackforplanningandimprovementsandthentheproductwasrunningonitsown.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?The start-up did have a later entry into themarket and one of themaincompetitorsthatwasalreadywellestablishedwasruntastic.Uptonowstillalotofcompetition.In the daily marketing strategy we have to be very sharp in focus andposition itnotasageneralsportsad. It is importanttostay inthefieldofbiking(themarketforthatisbigenough)Since there is a lot of competition we knew that there was a place forBikemap in the market and we learned a lot through failures of ourcompetitors.
3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-upo Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/was
yourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Marketingforus isatooltogenerateattraction intheB2Csector.Wearehighly engaged in marketing and especially in the early stages it wasimportant forus tohavea strong strategy thatdifferentiatedus from thecompetition.
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Identifyexistingandpotentialcustomersneedsandconductthenecessarymarket research. Highlight strengths and create enough noise that thetargetaudienceknowsaboutyourproduct.
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Feedback loops, for example Facebook and actively participating indiscussionboardstoobtainknowledgeaboutallthepossibilities.
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yesitwaseasyforussincetherewasalreadyquitealotofcompetition.Welookedatcompetitionandimprovedourproduct.
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o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?It is important to launch a test product before implementing the original.Weconducteda lotof surveysandgathers feedback, thenweadapted tothis feedback. We actively communicated with users and answeredconcernsandquestions.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yesbecausetherecanbenoonesinglesolutioninanexperimentalfield.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?First 2 years we introduced the product into the market organically andafter those 2 years we started adding tracking tools and synchronized itwiththerightmarketingtactics!thegrowthwasfasterthatway.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?I am not the biggest fan of paid channels but the quality of the productmightgetlostifwedon’tuseit,soyeswedidreachout.
o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Itwasamixtureoflearningfromfailureandlearningfromcompetition.Itishardtoadaptastrategyifyoualreadyhaveyourmindsetuptosomething.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Nevergeneralizemarketing in start-ups.Whatworks forAmightnotwork
forB
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Interview3washeldonthe22ndofMaiat9.30o´clockwithJakobHofertheChief
MarketingOfficerandCo-FounderofAnyline.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).JakobHofer,ChiefMarketingOfficerandCo.FounderatAnyline.Iworkedinanadvertisementagencyuntil 2012before I got into the fieldof Start-upswithAnylinein2014.
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Founded the start-up in2014and IamtheCMO. Wehad twoandahalfinvestment rounds. 29 people areworking in the start-up.With Anyline Ibuild up everything from job organization, hiring people, projectmanagementandmarketing.TheAnylineteamhasworkedonitspatentedopticalcharacterrecognitiontechnologyandhasalreadyattractedwell-knowncustomers. Ittakesawaythe pain of manually typing in details of your passport, license plat, ID,driverslicense,etc.WiththeAnylineSDK,smartphonecamerascanprocesswrittencharactersinrealtime,evenwhenoffline.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Itstartedwiththeagencywherewehadtoworkcloselywiththecustomersandthecustomersmadethedecisions,which Ididnot likeso IdecidedtostartmyownproductandgetinchargeofhowandwhereIpromoteit.Outofthisproductthestart-upestablished.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?We never had the typical growth of a start-up we had a lot of contacts,whichhelpedusgrow.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Wedon’thavemanydirectcompetitors.WedohaveoneinCroatiabutwedon’thavegeneralcompetitorsinVienna.In our case competitors help develop themarket sowe are very friendlywithourcompetitionandweshare leads,weevenhavepartnershipswith
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some. Competition is not something we are afraid of. There arecompetitors,butwedon’treallyworkagainstthem,weworkwiththem.
3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Westartedinawaythatwefirstdevelopedtheproductandthoughtsellingitwouldbeeasy.Turnedout itwasn’tthateasyandwehadtodefineourproductmorepreciselyandcommunicatewhatweareactuallysellingandwhat theprice for that is.Marketing started tobe important foruswheninvestorrelationscommenced,inordertobetterpresentwhatourstart-upis all about and getting their interest, then we focused more on HR andother departments withmarketing. Ourmarketing strategy suffered a bitbecause we always wanted to grow as fast as possible and didn’t thinkaboutthefuturealotwestayedmoreinthegrowthphasethatwewerein.This was a big mistake and we changed it in 2016 and executed a newmarketingstrategyin2017.
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Itwasimportantforustounderstand,whoweneedtoconvince.Targettheright developers, the right project managers and the right audience andthenwedesignedthemarketingstrategybasedontheoutcomeswehad.
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?
Weadapteverythingtoourcustomersbecausetheneedsofthecustomersarethemost importantthingforus.Wetrytotakeall their feedback intoconsiderationandworkoutnewtactics.
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?
Sinceweworkquiteclosewithourcompetitionwealways lookedatwhatworks for themandhowwe could improveourproductbasedonwhat itworksforthem.Wedidformastrategybasedonourcompetitionandtooka closer look intowhat they are doing andwhichmarkets they own.Wealways lookedat their behaviour and thought if something thatworks forthemmightinfluenceourstrategy.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?
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Extremelyimportant.Wealwaystookacloserlookatthedifferentkindsofindustries because the government industry works different than thehospitality industry and forus it is very important tounderstandhow thedifferentindustriesworkandhowdowetackleourtargetcustomersthereand what the differences are there. Si I would say knowing the marketbeforegoingahundred%inisveryimportant.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Wedoadapteveryweek.Withthefine-tuning,tryoutnewthingsandseewhat might work and how we could execute a strategy based on newfindings.Inmyopinionmarketingisabouttryingoutalotofstuff.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?Formarketingin2016wespentaquarteroftheeffortintoourstart-up.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?
Wehaveamarketingdepartmentwith aheadofmarketing.WealsohadexternalslikeaPRagency.When we changed our marketing strategy in 2016 we hired an externalexperiencedprofessionalheadofsalesforacoupleofmonths,whohadthejobofsettingupthestart-upinanewwayanddefineusinamoredetailedway.
o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Understandwhatthemarketwasandfindthetargetcustomersand listentotheirwantsandneeds.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?What works for us is to really understand the customer first and get toknow how they think about our product. I think for every start-up in thefuture it is important to firstly knowwho the customer would be and ofthereisaplaceinthemarketforthisproduct.Listentoyourcustomer!!!
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Interview 4 was held on the 3rd of Mai at 14.00 o´clock with Sabrina
Rückeshäuser,theSeniorDigitalMarketingManageratJobRocker.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).Sabrina Rückeshäuser, Digital Marketing ManagerBachelorofArts inMediaandCommunicationStudiesat theUniversityofVienna
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Senior Digital Marketing Manager at JobRocker International GmbH.JobRocker is a digital headhunting start-up from Vienna and we arecurrentlyabout60people.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Ipersonallyhaven’tfoundedJobRockerbutIamdefinitelyattractedtothestart-up scene.Themost interestingand fascinating things formeare thecultureandthefastpaceofstart-ups.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?SinceJobRockerstarted,ithasgrowntremendously.Ourcustomernumbersandprofitisgrowingmonthly
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?The competitive environment is definitely strong in the field of HR.Everyoneistryingtohirethebesttalentrightnowsoit’sacrowdedmarketwith a lotofheadhunters, software companies and ...We constantly lookoutforourcompetitorsanddocompetitoranalysis.
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3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?JobRockeroperatesonatwo-sidedmarketplace.Ontheonehandwehavetoacquirenewcandidates/jobseekersforourplatformjobrocker.com.Andontheotherhand,wehavetosellourservicetocompanies.Salesisaveryessential anchor for JobRocker. Without Sales, we wouldn’t be able toacquirenewpositionsandthereforemakeanyrevenue.SoSales ismostlyimportantontheB2Bside.On the candidate side,Marketing is themain driver. In the early stage ofJobRocker, the main focus was to hire the first employees and build theoverallprocessofhowweoperate.Marketingjustbecameimportantalittlelater on. In the early stages PR and networking and spreading the wordaboutourproductwasthemainfocus.
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?WesetourselvesgoalsandKPI’sfortheupcomingyearandbreakitdowntomonths and based on those we build the strategy and a roadmap foreachteamindividually.
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?We do a lot of user testing to see how job seekers use our platform.Furthermore Sales and Marketing department work closely together soMarketingcangetinputfromtheSalesteamonwhatthecustomersneed.Furthermorewehaveaweeklyproductmeetingwherewediscusshowtodevelopandpromoteourproductfurther.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?
Understanding the marketplace and the customers is inevitable. It is thefirststepwhenbuildingaproduct.WhenyoustepintotheHRmarket,youhave to know thepain andproblemsof peoplewhodoHR in companies.Youhavetounderstandhowyoucanhelptheminotherwaysnooneelseonthemarketcan.Ifyouknowthoseproblemsyoucanbuildyourproductandyourmarketingstrategy.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?
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Not adapting a strategy is nearly impossible, at least in a start-up. Likementionedbefore,thepaceisveryfastandeverydayisdifferentthantheotherandhasotherchallengestotackle.Ifyouplantodoa3-monthonlinebannercampaigntogeneratenewleadsandnoticeafter4weeksthatyouare not generating any leads, youhave to change the strategy and spendthe money on different channels or find out how you can generate thatnumberofleads.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?I think in the early stages it would be a very little amount since theresourcesinanearly-stagestart-upareverylimited.ThefocuswouldratherbeongettingtoknowthemarketandstartingwithsalesanddoPR.Ithinkitwouldbearound20-30%.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?We reachedout to anexternal growthhackingagency to supportuswithGoogle adwords.We also had someexternal advisors that gave us somecounselalong
o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Thebiggestchallengesaretheresources.LikeImentioned,asanearlystart-up,mostofthetimesyoudon`thavethefinancialandpersonnelresources.That’swhyyouhavetobecreativeandthinkofwaysthatdon’tcostalotofmoneyandusemethodslikegrowthhacking.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Marketing in start-ups will shift even more into the direction of growthhacking and analytics. Marketers have to know the numbers of themarketing funnel from acquisition to revenue. Resources are limited andexperts who can think outside the classic marketing-box are needed.Growthisextremelyimportantinthefirstyearssofindingcreativewaystogain sustainable growth will always be the challenge. Founders who arelooking formarketing talents should definitely look out for analytical andcreativethinkerstotacklethischallenge.
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Interview 5 was held in the 10th of Mai at 15.30 o ´clock with Maunel
ZwittagwhowastheCEOandCo-FounderatrublysGmbH.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).ManuelZwittag–IamtheCEOandCo-founderofrublysGmbH.
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Rublys GmbH was founded in 2013 in Vienna and has the purpose ofsimplifyingengagementbetweenmillennialsandbrandthroughagamifiedmobilemarketingchannel.Thegreatestadvantagesofthisprocessarethatthe customer target,whicharemillennialswant to communicatewith thebrands or the company. It is an advanced marketing solution with aperformancerateupto26timesbetterthanaregularmobileapp.Thestart-uphasupto50employees.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Ithoughtthatmarketingchannelsshouldbemorecreativeandaddictivetocustomersandfoundthisgapinthemarket.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?Foundedin2013ourstart-uphashadanincreaseindemandovertheyears.The first yearwas to develop the strategies and the product and find outwhothetargetcustomer is.Wehadamarketingpush in the fistcoupleofmonthsin2014.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Weconsidercompetitionhealthyandasighthatthereisactuallyaplaceinthemarket forour idea. The fist yearswithinAustria competitionwasnotthatstrong,butitdevelopedovertimeandthestrategycaughtonandwasimplementedbyothers.
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3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Everyoneshouldtakemarketingandsalesseriously. It formsanddevelopstheentirestart-up.Inourfirstcoupleofmonthswefocusedondevelopingmultichannelstrategies,whichhasadeepfocusonmarketing,sales,targetcustomersanddistribution.Thiswasaveryimportanttimeforusbecauseitbuildsupthebusinessandputitupforfuturesuccess.
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Wemadeadetailedoutlineofalltheexternalfactorssurroundingourstart-upandsetupgoals,whichwewanttoachieve inthefuturebysettingupKPIsandmeasuringtheoverallsuccessthatwehaveachieveduntilacertainpoint.
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Acustomersdemandisthemostimportantfactorinourstart-up.Ifwedonotadapttotheirwishesthenwewouldnothaveaproduct.Thethingwedidwastogatheralotoffeedbackanddoalotoftestruns.
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yesbutwedidnotlieaheavyfocusonthatintheearlystages.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?Of immense importance. It is important toknowwhat thegeneration thatweweretargetingwantssincetheyaredrawntocompletelyothersfeaturesthan other generations. Identifying their preferences was of utmostimportanceforourstart-up-
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yes because especially with our target customer there are always newtrendstocomeoutandifyoudonotadapt,youdrawn.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?
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Intheearlystagesthemostweightwasonmarketing.Itwasthemosteffortweput into the start-upbecausewedidn’thavea routineyet.Everythingwasnew,everythinghadtoberesearch,sotheconcentrationofallofthismarketresearchwasalotofwork.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Notinthebeginningbutovertimewerealisedthatwehadtoifwewantedtoexpendandgrow.
o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Drawingattentiontoourproductandconvincingourtargetcustomerofouridea.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Ithinktheethicsofsocialmediawillbeputmoreintothespotlightandthatwill have a big effect on a lot of businesses. Scepticism of customers isdangerous in this area so I think in future newways ofmarketingwill bedominant.
Interview 6 was held on the 25th of Mai at 16.30 o´clock with Klaudia
BachingertheCEOofWisR.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).
KlaudiaBachinger,CEOofWisR.
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Wearearecruitingplatformforretiredpeoplewhostillwanttowork.Itisanonlinemarketplacewhereretiredpeoplecanfindajobandatthesametimeaservicewherecompaniescanfindexperiencedbutretiredpersonnel.Thestart-upconsistsof8employeeswith3co-foundersandwe launchedthecompanyinDecember2017.
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o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhat
attractsyoutothestart-upscene?I was a documentary filmmaker and I knew that the society has a hugeproblemwith theagingpopulationwhostillwant to findworkhowever. Ialsoknowfrommanysources,evenmyownfamilybackgroundthatpeopleoftengetdepressed that theycannot finda jobanymorebut stillwant towork,sowecameupwithasolutionforthat.Itisahugeburdenofsocietywhenpeoplefeeluselessanddepressedandlackofappreciation,sowearetryingtofillthegapandcreatesomethingwithimpact.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?Ihavebeenworkingontheideaforaround2yearsnow.Ittookmealmosta year to find the right co-founder, which was probably the biggestchallenge. Then I started testing whether there was interest from bothsides. (From an organization and a retired potential customer). Thendevelopingofthefirstprototypestartedandwehavearound350retireesinthe last month, without any marketing tactics. And for testing thecompanies demand we had customer’s development interviews withinterviewguidelineswitharound50corporatesand5companiestofindoutwhat there pinpoints were and what they would be expecting. And nowthatwehave thebudgetwecangoanddogrowthhackingand seewhatprofilescomefromwhichmarketingtechnique.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?General HR solutions are obviously a competition for us but they are amarket that is focusingon isvery targetorientedand isasmallerniche inthemarket. InAustriathereisnodirectcompetitioninourfield,sinceit ismostly offline or through organizations. There is one platform in Canada,which is very similar and has been very successful over the past year inCanada.ButthereisnoonlinesolutioninEurope.
3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Marketing for seniors is pretty challenging. The fine line betweenmakingthem feel old and not accepted and highlighting their potential is verychallengingaswell.Marketinginthisareaisalittledifficult.Ourstrategyisgoingintoplatformsthatareveryyoungorthatseenyoung,likeFacebook,Google,Pinterest.
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o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?
Wehaveaheavyemphasisoncontentmarketing.Wealsodocooperation’sandaffiliatemarketing(sincea lotofthemhavethe same target group). PR for raising awareness, event marketing andofflinemarketingaretoolsweuseoftheretirees.Forthecompany’sside,onlinemarketingisourwaytogo
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Bytalkingtopeople.That is themost importantpart; it isalsoourwaytogatherqualitative feedback.AndthenofcoursealsothroughperformancemarketingandtrytotrackandanalyseourKPIsandbasedontheresultsweadapt.
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?
Since we have a nichemarket we can cooperate with others in the areasuchaskarriere.atorLinkedInandthiswouldbemorecomplementarythancompetitive.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?Itisveryimportanttounderstandthemarketplaceinordertounderstandifthereisevendemandfortheproductorservice.Asstatedearlierwetestedand gathered a lot of feedback from both sides and tested our service inordertobesureifwehavearealisticchanceinthisarea.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?It is very important because there is somany offers out there and if youdon’tpullwiththemasses,youhaveabiggerriskofsinking.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?Nowthatwestartedthegrowthhackingprocessalotmoreeffortwillflowintoourmarketingandstrategieswillbedevelopedandtested.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?
Mostofitwedevelopedourselvesbutnowwiththegrowthhackingwewillgethelpfromthejointventuregrowthbase.
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o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Probablythewordingfortheseniors,westillhavenogoodwordexceptforsilveragers.It isnotidealtousedwordslikeseniors,50+orretirees,sincethat does not give them a positive feeling. Getting rid of the bias thateveryone has in their heads when they think of elderly people is verydifficult.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?I think that performancemarketing and growth hacking will definitely bethebiggestadvantagethatstart-upswithhaveagainstcooperate.Itisveryeffectiveandhasahugeadvantagecomparedtobigmarketingagencies.
Interview 7was held on the 28th ofMai at 16.00 o´clockwithMag. (FH)
PaulBlagusstheFounderandManagingDirectorofViennaPass.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).PaulBlaguss.IamtheCEOandManagingdirectorofBlagussTravelGmbH.InadditiontothatIamthefounderoftheViennaPass.
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Vienna Pass can be ordered to facilitate the planning process of travel inVienna. It offers a free guidebook and provides the possibility to exploreViennafromallthesightsuntilpublictransportationwithouthavingtopayagainafterpurchasingtheViennaPass.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Ihavealwaysbeenstronginthetourismsector,Ifoundanopportunityanddecidedtoactonit.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?In the fist yearwewanted tomake25.000passes, in the secondyearwewanted to make 50.000 passes and in the third year we wants to make100.000passes.
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Weendedupmaking42.000 inthefirstyear, inthesecond89.000passesand in the third we produced 135.000 passes. The growth exceeded ourexpectationsandisincreasinglyrising.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Therearequiteafewrisingupnow.Thesehoweverdonothaveaverybigshareofthemarket.ForexampletheViennaCard,whichisnotanall-inclusiveproductthough.
3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Marketinginthetourismsectorisoneofthemostimportantfactorsofhowto get the product distributed. It is important to have a strong presencewhengoingintothemarket.
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Wehavequitea fewmarketing strategies,but theoneproven tobeveryeffectivehasbeenthedistributionofthirdparties.HereathirdpartyhelpsdistributetheViennaPassandwillgetaprovisionforsellingit.Thisishowwerapidlyexpandedthegrowthofourproductandgotthewordout.80% of the Vienna Passes gets purchased online however and thus ourpresenceinverystrongonallofouronlineplatforms.
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Weevaluated themarket and identifiedwherewehad a strongpresenceanda lotof salesand therewego inmore indepthwithmoremarketingtacticsandmoremoney.Wetrytodefine,asbestpossiblewerewehavealotofpotentialcustomers
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yeswelookatourcompletionindifferentcountriesbutintheendwepullthroughourownstrategy.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?
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It is important to understand the marketplace because people fromdifferent countries purchase the Vienna Pass on different platforms.GoogleworkedwellforusuntilnowbutweneedtomonitorhowFacebookisdeveloping.For Russian customers for example Google is not working at all. So as aresultitiscrucialtoidentifythemarketplaceandwhatworksbestforthem.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?
YesIdobutwehaveaverystableconceptwerecustomers’keepflowingin,sowestayedtruetoourconceptuntilnow.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?
A lot of time and money flows into our marketing strategies. With thedistributionofathirdpartywehaveabout20%ofprovisionaswellaswiththe online platforms. If it is positioned right however, these expenses formarketingresultinapositiveoutcome.Quitealotbutitworks.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Yes we reach out to online marketing agencies that know where to usewhich platform and can identify how to position the product best fordifferentcountries.
o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Thecontractwiththesightwasthemostchallengingtonegotiate.
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Interview8washeldonthe17tzhofMaywithexpertXtheCo-founderof
Journi.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?The idea is to create photo books. We want to make this as easy assnappingapicturetomakememoriesunforgettable.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Sincepeopleare looking to facilitateeverythingwe though itwouldcatchonfast.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?At firstpeople thought itwouldbevery complicated that’swhy itdidnottakeoffrightawaybutwithtimetheeasyfeatureswererecognizedanditstartedtoexpand.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Everybusiness faces competition,which I think ishealthybecause it givesyou the drive but we found a gap in the market and had no directcompetition.AtleastnotonebasedinAustria.
3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Thebetterthemarketingthehigherthesales!
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Firstwetapedinthemarketwithaprototypeandevaluatedtheresponseandthenwebuildupamarketingstrategywithanexternalteam.
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o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Wehavetheexternalteamforthatwhichknowshowtoplaceourstart-upandwhokeepsaneyeonthecorrelationbetweenmarketingandsales.Theyhavetopresenttouseverymonth.
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yesitisimportanttomakeuseofcompetitiveintelligence.Itisalwaysgoodtoseewherethecompetitionwasstrongandwheretheywereweak.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?It is the most important thing. Without knowing if your product has achanceornotitwouldbeawasteofmoneyandtimetolaunchanything.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yesveryimportant.Wedonotwantourcustomerstoseethesamestrategyallthetime.Itisgoodforraisingawarenesstomixitupfromtimetotimedependingonsalesandcustomersatisfaction.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?Atfirstitwasmoreimportanttobuildtheprototype,implementitandgetalotofmarket researchbefore launchingmarketing ideas.Ourearly stagesconsistedofdevelopingourstart-up.Whenwefoundourcustomerweputalotofeffortintomarketing.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Yeswehaveexternalsupportfrommarketingprofessionals.
o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Findingtherightpeoplethatwouldsupportthestart-up.Atfirstweneededcheaplabourandthatishardtocomeby.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?
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WehavedonealotofgoodexperienceswithgrowthhackingandIbelievethatwilldominateinfutureaswell.
Interview 9was held on the 8th of June at 15.00 o´clockwith DI Camilla
SieverswithCo-founderoftreats.Contemporarysnacking.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).DI Camilla Sievers and I was the CEO and Co-founder of treats.Contemporatysnacks.
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Treats is a start-up founded in 2015 and the goal is to provideour targetcustomer with healthy snacks and drinks that are not only a biologicalproductbutalsosatisfyeachcustomersindividualtaste.WearelookingforthesnacksthecustomerwantsthroughoutEuropeandthensenditdirectlytothecustomer’shome.Easyandeffortless.Thetreatsidentifythemselvesthroughtheirhealthy,practicalandenergyboostingattributesandofferamodernwaysofgettingtothesnacksanddrinksyouwant,whichmightnorevenbeofferedinthesupermarket.Treatsalsooffershealthyalternativestobusinessbyofferingtodeliversnacksanddrinks.Thestart-uphasaround10employees.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?I have always been highly fond of the start-up scene and I dedicatedmyentire carrier to it. I CEO andCo-founder of treats and until today I lovewhat I am doing. I have also challengedmyself and now play a role in IPAustriaGmbH,whereIsupportstart-upswiththatlightningideaandtrytogive young start-ups the chance to use TV as one of their marketingchannels.Thisprocessiscalled“Media4RevenueShare”.The start-up scene gives me drive and inspiration and I hope I have thechanceofcontinuinginthisfieldforalongtimesinceIthinkyoucanneverbetooinnovative.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?Sincewe startedwith thebig boomof thewish for a healthy lifestylewehadaverystrongdemandatfirst.Weoftenhadmonthswhereweneeded
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to step back and define our product better but mainly we had a steadyincreaseinsales.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Competitiveenvironmentisprettyhighfortisarea.Wetrytodifferentiateourselvesfromthecompetitionbyofferingsomethingexclusivebut inthisfieldcompetitionwillalwayshaveabigimpactonourstart-up.
3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Itisimportantthatmarketingandsalesrunhandinhand.Marketingopensup the marketplace and raises awareness of the product while sales itimportant topgenerateprofit.Twohavethesetwoaspectof thebusinessupandrunningisofgreatimportance,tosaytheleast.
o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?
With detailed information and investigation about our customers and ourproduct. We have an own market research expert on board who knowshow,whereandwhattoposition.Withthiswesetourfutureobjectivesandworkhardtowardsachievingthem.
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?
Wecollecta lotof feedback fromourcustomersand try to figureoutournextstepsorwhatwecouldimprovebasedontheiropinion.Thisishowweadaptourmarketingtacticsaswell.Wegiveourcustomersthefeelingliketheyarepartofthestart-upandhavesomethingtosay.
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?
Beingawareofour surroundingshasalwaysbeenvery important forus. Imyopinionanideaonlyformsthroughinfluencesofmanyotherideas.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?
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Inmy opinion any formof success is not possible to obtain if there is noknowledge about the marketplace beforehand. Researching if there isdemandfortheproductandwhetherfuturegrowthispossibleisthemostimportanttraitwhencommencingwithastart-up.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?
Definitely. Withoutrespondingtocustomersreactionsandopinionstherewouldbenofuturesuccess,
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?
Theearlystagesdemandedthemosttimeandeffortofourmarketingandsalesstrategies.Iwouldevensay¾ofthetimewasinvestedintheseareas.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?
Yes, we reached out for help and hired marketing experts that couldprovideuswithaninsightintothemarketandhelpedusidentifywheretoplaceourproductandhowtoadvertiseitforthehighestpossibleoutcome.
o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?
Theofferofprovidinghealthy snacks in the last coupleof yearshasbeenone of the biggest trends. Since their in a high demand for a healthylifestyle,ithasbeenchallengingtostandout.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?
IreallybelieveinwhatIamdoingfor“Media4revenue”rightnow.Ithinkfor young start-ups who have an idea that catches on a TV marketingchannelwouldenhancetheirperformanceandgetthemtothenext level.Eventhough it isa riskand isconnectedwithcosts, I think in thestart-upscene you have to listen to your gut and taking risks is an unavoidablefeaturewhenbringinganideatolife.
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Interview 10was held on the 8th of Junewith Katharina Klausberger the
CEOandCo-founderofShpock.
1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience
etc).Katharina Klausberger. Board member, CEO and Co-founder of Shpock. IstudiedatWirtschaftsuniversitätinViennaandfinishedmydegreein2010-
2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are
workingatyourstart-up?Shpock is a platform that allows people to buy and sell their goods easyonline. It is also known as a flea market online. We have a bout 120employeesandarecurrentlyalsolookingtoexpand.
o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?I saw howpeople view fleamarkets and saw how theywere dying downand people looked for alternatives so I though why not digitalise it likeeverything else nowadays and find a solution that might awaken theinterestofalotofpeople.
o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?The ideaboomed immediately,wehavegrown120%overthe last2yearsandmyprognosiswouldhavetobethat itwillkeeponsteadily increasingwithtime.
o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?SinceweofferacheapersolutionthanourcompetitorssuchasAmazonorEbaywehaveneverhadthedirectinfluenceofthesebigcompetitors.
3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up
o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?
Wehaveauniqueanglethatweneededtobringacross,somarketingwasvery important for us. Finding the right angle to position our product andraiseawarenessforitwasnotaneasythingtodo.
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o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?
Alotofmarketresearch,whichallowsinsightintothemarket.Listeningtoour customers and approaching they’re needs and by offering a uniquesolutiontotheirpainsandneeds.
o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Byanalysingtheirdemandswetrytofulfiltheirwishesasbestwecan.
o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Of coursewe take a detailed look how our competition is doing, but ourmainfocusliesonbringingouruniquenessacross.
o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?It is the most important aspect of any start-up. If you don’t know themarketyouarteentering,youwillfail.Researchingiftheideahaspotentialtogrowisthemostimportantaspectofanystart-up.
o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?I think it is important to change over time and not stay still throughoutyearsbutsofarourconcepthasworkedverywellandwehavenothadanyseverechanges.Wetrytochangeitupwithourmarketingtacticsandthelayoutofourappbutwenotwithchangesinconcept.
o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?A lot of effort goes into this areas.Withoutmarketing theproductwouldnot reachour targetcustomerandwouldnotbebroughtacrosscorrectly.We spend a lot of time andmoney in these departments since there areresponsibleforourgrowthsofar.
o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Yeswehaveaprofessional teamofexperts thatadviseuson futurestepsandpotentialstrategies.
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o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Attractingcustomersandgettingthewordoutintheopen.Wehadtomakealotofnoisetoawakethecuriosityofourcustomers.
o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Ithinkitishardtosaysinceweliveinfastchangingtimesandeverystart-upneedstofindtheiruniqueangletopromotetheiridea.