A strategic approach to startup success
Marketing maven Erin Bury has seen it all when it comes to the do’s and don’ts of launching a new Canadian business venture into the crowded online market space.
As the managing director of Eighty-Eight, a top-flight Toronto-based creative communications agency, Bury says she sees many emerging entrepreneurs make the same predictable mistakes by charging out of the gate with no real understanding of who their target customers are, or even how to reach them effectively. It’s a critical misstep that can easily lead to personal burnout and business failure.
“An entrepreneur’s inclination is to boil the ocean — to sign up for every social media network and try every form of advertising,” Bury said. “They’re not necessarily focusing on the few core things that will reach their audience with the most impact. You have to build up a profile of who your target customer is, think about the channels they’re using, and think how you might integrate into those places to target them with your message. You have to be strategic.”
Strategy is everything to Bury. When it comes to managing the marketing for small- and medium-sized startups, she suggests taking some simple steps to ensure the arrows all hit their mark. The name of the game is to get the greatest return on the entrepreneur’s most valuable resource — time.
For one thing, Bury recommends letting your software do the heavy lifting when it comes to gathering the key analytics you will need for your marketing. If you know what your customers’ habits are online, where they go and what they chat about, you can meet them in their own play space. It’s her laser-focused attention to details like this that got her named one of Marketing Magazine’s top 30 industry professionals under the age of 30 in 2012, and what keeps her in demand as a technology marketing commentator.
Bury says the allimportant first action is to establish a website: a central online marketing hub that reflects the business brand and resonates with the target customers. Spokes can be added to the hub in the form of webinars, social networks, a blog or even connections to guest spots on third-party publications, but it all begins with a website, and more importantly, with securing a well-chosen domain name.
“I would definitely recommend that every business have a website they can refer people to,” she said. “If you’re a Canadian business and doing business in Canada, getting a .CA website is kind of a natural fit. It tells the world who you are. It’s really important to have a clear and distinct domain that ties back to your company, and that you promote that domain on all of your materials so that people know where to find you online.”
Once you’ve registered your dream domain name, it only makes sense to enhance your digital presence in the market space by creating a professional email address linked to your domain, and by securing all of the related social media handles even if you don’t think you’ll be using them until much later. The last thing you want is to have someone else grab a handle that would have been perfect for your own business.
Establishing a solid online footprint certainly makes it easier to reach a targeted customer base, and to let customers know who you are, but it can also play another important role long before you ever “go live” to market your talents and wares. Having a strong online business identity creates a professional stance that sends the right message to the partners you will need to back your venture with everything from incubator and accelerator programs, to entrepreneurial mentorship and available funding grants.
Bury says it pays to apply to major events such as TELUS Pitch and other venture competitions that are looking to give money away to startups, something Toronto entrepreneur Henry Chong knows about first-hand. He won the 2012 MaRS Up-Start! venture pitch competition, along with a $10,000 cash prize, for his electric LIFEbike project.
Chong did everything right to make his local entrepreneurial ecosystem work for him when he switched careers in 2012 to found Revelo Electric Corp. His goal was to follow his passion for designing and manufacturing portable, quick-folding electric- and pedal-powered bikes for people in congested urban centres. Chong incubated his venture at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, supported by a two-phase Market Readiness program from the Ontario Centres of Excellence. He did his homework well, and executed a perfect strategic startup plan.
There is a staggering wealth of resources available to emerging entrepreneurs all across Canada who can demonstrate they have the innovation, professionalism and determination to succeed. Provincial and territorial portals such as Small Business BC, Nova Scotia Business Inc., and Nunavut Entrepreneurship Incentive are great places to research information on local regulations and opportunities.
Nationally, institutions including Startup Canada and NEXT Canada have excellent resources on accessing mentorship and funding. The Business Development Bank of Canada — the country’s only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs — offers financing, venture capital, growth and transition capital and consulting services. It also pays to look carefully at any special circumstances that might apply to your situation, since the Government of Canada has some attractive entrepreneurial programs, grants and startup loans for Aboriginals, women, and people with disabilities.
If a boots-on-theground experience appeals, Montreal’s Startupfest, July 10-14, is being billed as a “global gathering of the world’s best entrepreneurs, founders, investors and mentors.” The tailored event will feature informative how-to sessions, interactive panel discussions, pitch competitions and corporate speed-dating.
As Erin Bury says, it’s all about making the right connections.
“Be smart about choosing the right domain that matches your brand, and be strategic about the online channels you are using to market,” she said. “Think about your customers and the strategic ways you can reach them instead of trying to be everywhere. You don’t have the time or resources to do that. Home in on a few things that are going to have the most impact.”
Set yourself up for success by showing the world you’re 100% Canadian with a .CA. Search for a domain name today at Choose.ca.