Get free social media tips to your inbox to start marketing your way to success immediately!

6 Tips for Effectively Marketing Your Startup #tccelebrate

October 24, 2013

I’m currently in Downtown Las Vegas at the Tech Cocktail Celebrate conference. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in Vegas for a conference and I’m doing my best to follow my own tips on how to avoid conference fatigue in Las Vegas. I would like to thank Tech Cocktail for inviting me to this innovative event. It’s an honor to be here in the company of so many successful entrepreneurs and leaders in the tech industry. Tech Cocktail has traveled the nation seeking the hottest new startups and brought them all together here at Tech Cocktail Celebrate. The startup competition that’s currently happening reminds me watching the show Shark Tank. Hopeful entrepreneurs are sharing their business to the audience and panel of judges and up for grabs is $10,000 along with other prizes. I’ve talked to over a dozen startups and am amazed at their enthusiasm and ambition for their companies. To contribute to their success I have created a list of tips that I feel will be helpful for startups to continue their quest for success with both consumers, investors and in this case judges of the startup competition.

Tech Cocktail Celebrate

1. Keep your pitch short, sweet and on point– I walked around the expo/ startup pavilion this morning and there were several companies that just lost me when trying to explain their company. After leaving their booth I still had no idea why I would use their product. These companies all tried to give me a really long pitch with information that was not relevant to me. The companies that really caught my attention were the ones that could explain their product/service to me in just a few sentences and make me immediately feel like they were giving me a solution to a need.

2. Practice and time your presentation- When presenting to investors or in a competition like the one currently being run at Tech Cocktail Celebrate you have a limited amount of time to speak.  Here at the competition, when your time ends, there is a corresponding  loud “cowbell” ring. Most companies weren’t done with their pitches when the bell rang because they spent too much time on information unrelated to their product/service such as talking too much about their own background. If an investor or judge is interested, they will most likely ask you about your background after your pitch. I do a lot of public speaking and have learned that it’s extremely important to time and practice your speech to ensure you’re within the time constraints so you’re able to get all the important information across.

3. Make sure your demo works– Nothing is more disappointing than having a demo that doesn’t work. Have a backup plan, have a backup plan to your backup plan and make sure that even if your demo stops working, no one will ever know because you’re so prepared with your back ups.

4. Answer tough questions before they are asked- Investors, judges and even consumers ask the same questions over and over again. Tough questions involve revenue, growth model and safety concerns.  Include these answers in your pitch or presentation so that you’re already overcoming objections before they’re asked. This also adds an element of credibility to your company because you’re touching on subjects that really matter. This can even be done on social media. If your startup has a blog (which I highly recommend) utilize your blog and other social media channels to provide answers to commonly asked questions.

5. Know your numbers– This tip is pretty straight forward. When someone asks you a numbers questions, you should know the answer immediately. Know how many people are already in your community, how many users you have, how much revenue you’ve made, how much profit you’re made, etc.

6. Stop saying “we haven’t done any marketing”– As a marketing professional, this phrase makes me cringe! Not doing any marketing is nothing to brag about. I have heard it from at least 3 different start ups already. And after this phrase usually follows a list of publications and blogs the start up has been featured in described as their PR.  PR itself is part of your marketing strategy so to say that no marketing has been done, is false. Maybe it’s because I specialize in marketing but if i’m going to invest in a company I want to hear all their strategic marketing plan and how they’re going to reach out to people who are potential customers. Rather than down playing your marketing, show that you really understand how to successfully market your startup by talking about marketing successes.

I am fairly new to the startup scene so as much as I hope that people can learn from this post, I also want to acknowledge that I’ve personally learned so much myself just by being here. I’ve learned about new technologies, marketing strategies and I’ve been inspired to have a more positive mindset about succeeding in anything you set your mind to. Thanks again so much to Tech Cocktail for this amazing opportunity. If you’re at Tech Cocktail Celebrate I look forward to connecting with you.

Marketing Melodie at Tech Cocktail Celebrate

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get new blog posts delivered right to your inbox.