As we emerge from a turbulent year of problem solving, diversifying, tightening budgets and holding on for dear life… it’s been incredible to see so many small businesses, charities and social enterprises demonstrate what is possible when you apply some creativity, passion and a good old dollop of determination.
We salute you!!
As part of our mission to support social enterprises to thrive and survive the covid-19 small business crisis we enlisted the help of alumnus Melissa, a global marketing guru with over 20 years experience in tech. She joined us on the Spring 2020 Immersion Programme, and was immediately snapped up by the google supported tech for good start-up, Maji. Here we interview her, to find out what she learned following her time on the Immersion Programme.
Are you a small business doing marketing on a shoestring? If so, check out Melissa’s additional insider tips below for marketing with limited resources. Melissa’s tips will help you enter into 2021 with the confidence of having survived 2020, and a game plan for the new year…
Hi Melissa, how are you doing? Let’s just dive in shall we?
What is the most common challenge in marketing you see in social enterprises, following your experience on the Immersion Programme?
Finding a viable path, or paths, for repeatable revenue – and a revenue stream that is large and predictable enough to sustain and grow a business is key. A great idea or worthy cause on its own is not good enough unfortunately. You have to follow the money.
What is the most common mistake social enterprises make when it comes to marketing?
Hmm. Not having a good understanding of their target buyer. Often a product or service is relevant for many buyers. Honing in on the market that most needs, or is most likely to buy, is key. This is ideally the market with the least barriers to penetration. Sometimes that means a partner model versus a direct sales model, for example. It’s better to focus on fewer markets and gain early traction and build from there (i.e. a beachhead strategy).
What are your 3 top marketing tips for small and resource-limited social enterprises looking to increase their revenue?
- Absolutely and without cutting corners, take time to know your buyer. Don’t rely only on ‘what you think’ they want/need. Talk to actual prospects. Do this early and often and all the while as you iterate your product/service. And don’t be afraid to test your marketing messages with your prospect buyers, too.
- Focus marketing on the benefits v. features. Frame the problem, but sell the sizzle. How will their lives be better/easier as a result of using your product/service?
- Aim for progress not perfection in your marketing. Be brave and test different channels and messages. Be sure to give each ‘test’ a runway to really understand what’s working and not working about it. A common mistake is changing strategies/tactics too often, or not changing them often enough (when it’s clear something is not working). It’s about finding the right balance.
Bonus tip: Bring marketing expertise on board early, even if it’s just in an advisory capacity. An experienced marketer can help steer your GTM (go to market) strategy and messaging early on and save you cycles of the iteration process later.
Thanks Melissa! Are there any free digital tools you would recommend?
- Hubspot has a good free CRM product.
- Buffer is great for managing social media. It has a free version.
- Metro Retro is a great whiteboarding / brainstorming tool for running meetings, especially in the new remote work environment. It also has a free version.
- For email marketing (i.e. newsletters), Mailchimp has a good free version.
- Mentimeter is good for interactive online presentations. It has a free version.
Is there a quick win/hack that you could recommend?
It’s never too early to get started in organic (non-paid) channels, doing things like good content marketing and targeted PR.
Thank you!
A bit more about Melissa…
Melissa Ayres has 20 years of experience leading marketing and communications for scale-ups and corporates on both sides of the Atlantic. She has worked in consultancy and client-side roles, and has managed marketing strategy, programmes and teams at the global, national and regional levels. More recently, she led global marketing for Opensignal, a mobile analytics SaaS scale up. Her speciality is working with high-growth technology companies, especially in the B2B SaaS space. In spring 2020, she completed _SocialStarters’ Immersion Programme, where she helped Fintech startup Maji with its go to market strategy.
Would you like to gain 1:1 consultation and benefit from expert knowledge, experience and passion to help your social enterprise increase its impact and performance? Join our new programme starting this January! Find out more here. Register here before 20th December 2020.
_SocialStarters Blog 