Home businesses have to launch without a high street presence and normally have a limited amount of cash to spend on marketing. It’s important to get the maximum benefit and grab attention from day one, but how can you make sure your new venture starts with a bang rather than a whimper?
If you’re relying on a virtual storefront social media, online advertising and blogging can help build traffic, the difficulty is driving digital footfall to a website when it first goes live.
James Hind, founder and chief executive officer of carwow, relied on media coverage to build an audience. The company started as an independent review site, which was unusual in a marketplace dominated by large publishers, and Hind paid a public relations company to promote their story.
“It seemed like an absolutely vast amount of money, particularly when you’re starting in your parents’ attic, but it was a massive kick start,” says Hind. “The day The Guardian piece went live our biggest competitor, which is a very large publishing group, rang and offered us investment.”
Using public relations firms is expensive and success can depend on the strength of the story, so it might not work for every home business. The companies mentioned in this article, which have paid for PR, recommend choosing smaller agencies, looking for someone with a proven track record in the specific niche you’re targeting and making sure you meet the person handling the account face-to-face.
It’s possible to go through the pitching process yourself and there’s plenty of advice available on how small businesses can get media coverage.
“There’s a lot of case study information that magazines are happy to do if it’s interesting and that keeps the costs down,” says Angela Hicks, chief executive of North Somerset Enterprise Agency, a not-for-profit organisation that supports small businesses.
Examples include the business section of a local publication covering Stow London’s story and Professional Jeweller writing about Sian Bostwick Jewellery’s launch (whose launch stories we’ll get to in a moment). Preparing press kits and making sure you have high-quality photos can help this process, and both companies prepared these materials ahead of time.
It’s possible to build up leads and traffic by teasing a website launch. Google AdWords and Facebook are two of the platforms that allow new businesses to target a specific audience at a relatively low cost.
Oliver Luke, founder of hand-written direct marketing firm Scribble Mail, says building a buzz with as many prospects as possible was central to his launch strategy.
Luke used Facebook to offer a time-limited launch-day offer to a targeted group of small businesses. Those that clicked on the advert had to enter an email address and name to access the site, and were added to a prospects list.
“Put them into an email system and send out automatic emails to them. People are learning more about you, you can give them value and they’re getting to know you, trust you and like you. It’s only a matter of time before they buy,” says Luke.
The campaign cost around £40 and generated 106 leads. Emails were sent when the business went live and follow-up reminders throughout the four-day offer period, leading the site to book £2,500 of sales in its first six hours.
One of the ancillary benefits of using a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter is that it builds a following and customer based that you can use from day one.
Carol Lovell, founder of luxury leather travel goods retailer Stow London, raised £5,300 through Kickstater to fund the company’s first production run by offering backers discounted products.
This gave Stow London an immediate and honest assessment of which designs and colours would be popular, and the fan base and the social proof created by the campaign have become a fundamental part of its success.
Trade shows, retail fairs and markets offer new businesses the chance to get in front of customers, and can be used as the centre piece of a launch.
Sian Bostwick Jewellery launched at International Jewellery London as part of the KickStart stand, which is designed for new businesses. This lead to meeting buyers, retailers and industry press, and getting the orders and publicity needed to hit the ground running.
“It’s the biggest and best way into the business that I could have thought of,” says Bostwick. “This was an opportunity to create the excitement around what I was doing, around the launch of a new jewellery brand.”
While there’s a strong argument for trying to get the most out of the launch, the business offering has to be ready. Starting in beta or making new offerings available in a piecemeal fashion may be necessary if you aren’t entirely confident.
Carwow’s evolution to a price comparison site, which happened a year after the initial launch, was done in beta starting with a single make of car because of the level of investment in technology and advertising it required.
“If you’re confident that everything’s well-rounded, that everything works and it’s a fully functioning website, you can launch with a bang. If you’re not quite confident and you want to test stuff I’d do it in beta,” advises Hind.
It’s crucial to ensure the business structure is in place too. “It’s important to get the basics sorted. Can you legally run the business? Check with the mortgage provider or landlord, and find out whether business rates or planning permission are applicable. You need to find out whether you need any trading licences or insurance, and look into health and safety,” says Hicks.
Whether you’re building hype through media coverage or a trade show, or developing a customer base ahead of the launch, giving the right impression is vital.
“The general regard for us that we’re bigger than we are. Starting with a bang is a bit smoke and mirrors, you have to be quite clever. You have to work very, very hard on the social media side, very hard on your networking and be as creative as possible with your PR,” says Lovell.
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