1. TRACTION: A STARTUP GUIDE TO GETTING CUSTOMERSA REVIEW Willa
Fogarty
2. Traction is Growth Quantitative evidence of consumer demand
A sign that something is working The best way to improve your
chances of startup success
3. In other words. Traction Trumps Everything
4. Traction Channels Viral Marketing PR Unconventional PR
Search Engine Marketing Social and Display Ads Offline Ads SEO
Existing Platforms Community Building Content Marketing Email
Marketing Engineering as Marketing Targeting Blogs Business
Development Sales Affiliate Programs Offline Events Speaking
Engagements -------------------------------------------- --
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5. Dont worry, theres a framework for that! To find the channel
that will get you traction 1. Brainstorm 2. Rank 3. Prioritize 4.
Test 5. Focusing If no channel is promising, rinse and repeat.
6. Most startups focus on this ***Product Development
7. But not you!! Almost every failed startup has a product.
What failed startups dont have are enough customers. ***Focus on
product development AS WELL AS traction. 50%--Each should get half
of your attention.
8. Test, Test, Test Inner circle tests A/B Tests Quantify your
results Do this ^^^ to combat this
9. Which way do you go? Startups get pulled in a lot of
different directions Instill goals and milestones; use the critical
path method (the path with the fewest number of steps) to get
there. **Insight: Suppose you have a traction goal of increasing
your advertising presence. Once you meet your goal, the authors
would suggest shifting focus to something else. While this makes
sense, does shifting focus too much compromise your now established
advertising presence?
10. Time to pick a channel!
11. Viral Marketing Existing users refer others to your
product; every acquired customer brings in at least 1 other. Use
inherent virality, Incentives, social networks, etc., to increase
viral loop. Viral Coefficient K= i*conversion percentage
12. Public Relations Leveraging traditional news outlets,
newspapers, and magazines to increase your startups awareness.
Notice: stories and content now filter up the media chain, rather
than down. Package your pitch to media organizations as a
compelling story.
13. Unconventional PR 2 Types: publicity stunt & customer
appreciation Publicity stunts can foster instant national
recognition.
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Customer appreciation, be awesome to your customers, more
sustainable ***Insight: I see a creative PR stunt as one of the
most effective ways to get traction these days, especially with a
generation like the millennials who appreciate a more creative
approach
14. Search Engine Marketing Placing advertisements on search
engines like Google-- works well for companies selling directly to
their target market. Testing areas include keywords, ad copy,
demographic targeting, landing pages, and CPC bids ***Insight: The
book touched on using negative keywords to prevent your ads from
showing up for certain keywords. If youre selling eyeglasses, you
prevent your ad from coming up for wine glasses However, what is
the harm in having your ad there just in case? Maybe it could
remind someone they need to change their eyeglass
prescription?
15. Social and Display Ads Banner ads, Facebook and Twitter
ads, etc. Social and display ads generate demand by building
awareness of products, hoping to eventually convert the audience to
customers. Create compelling content that people will
like/share.
16. Offline Ads Ads that appear in mediums such as TV, radio,
magazines, newspapers, yellow pages, billboards, direct mail etc.
Consider demographics Look for remnant advertising Use URLS and
unique web addresses for tracking ***Insight: Although remnant
advertising is cheap, how large are the benefits? If there are
spaces that arent selling, couldnt the publication be unpopular or
seen by less people? E.g. The New York Times probably doesnt have
trouble selling ad space?
17. Search Engine Optimization The process of improving your
ranking in search engines in order to get more people to your site.
2 Approaches Fat Head and Long Tail Your ability to rank on the 1st
page should be a deciding factor in whether to pursue this
channel.
18. Content Marketing Blogging--quality content is essential,
write about problems your customers have. Drives search and word of
mouth, users funnel through the blog and onto the website.
19. Email Marketing Email promotions for sales, discounts,
newsletters, etc. Should be personalized Lifecycle emails work well
for moving customers through your funnel.
20. Engineering as Marketing Creating useful tools such as
calculators, widgets, and micro-sites to get your company in front
of more people. Use single purpose tools, and make them easy to
find.
21. Targeting Blogs Finding influential bloggers in your area
of business-- having them promote your product.
22. Business Development BD primarily focuses on exchanging
value through partnerships. Good deals align with co. and are
focused on critical product and distribution milestones. Joint
ventures, licensing, Distribution Deals, Supply Partners, etc.
23. Sales Generating leads, qualifying them, and converting
them into paying customers. Use Situation questions Problem
questions Implication questions Need-Payoff questions Build a
repeatable sales model.^ ^
24. Affiliate Programs Paying people or companies for
performing actions such as making a sale or getting a qualified
lead. *Ability to use affiliate programs effectively depends on how
much you are willing to pay to acquire a customer. Found in spaces
such as retail, information product, or lead generation.
25. Existing Platforms Using websites, apps, or networks with a
huge number of users to gain traction. App stores, social
platforms, browser extension stores, etc. ----main goal is to rank
highly on these platforms *Focus on new and untapped platformsyour
competition isnt there yet.
26. Trade Shows Events that are exclusive to industry insiders,
and designed to foster interactions between vendors and their
prospects. Amount of preparation will determine level of success.
*Schedule meetings with people you want to meet. *Have an inbound
and outbound strategy for booth.
27. Offline Events Sponsoring or running offline events, from
small meet-ups to large conferences. Co. with customers who have
shared interests or a kind of community will benefit most.
28. Speaking Engagements Speaking at trade shows or offline
events. Tell a story through your speech. *Increases your business
visibility and connections *Presents you as an expert
29. Community Building Investing in the connections among your
users, fostering those relationships and helping them bring more
people into your circle. Establish your mission, foster cross-
connections, communicate with your audience, be transparent and
ensure quality. Results in evangelists for your company
30. Go forth and get traction! You can still build a business
without being creative. If you dont have creativity, you need
money. You need one or the other.