Growth toolkit for startups: pandemic building blocks

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Following the pandemic-induced Q1 funding blow, many start-ups had money paused or on-the-table-deals stalled. The only consolation of not being alone through this time probably isn’t strong enough to see you through. Instead, here are some building blocks to keep growing your business even if your funding is currently paused.

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We’re now in June, the markets are slowly growing in confidence as non-essential shops open again; Spain’s holiday season begins; and UK workers, who need to, are filing back into the offices. How this progresses over the next 6–12 months is obviously not fully understood, the hope is for a V-shaped recovery but whether the road is bumpier is yet to be seen. What we are sure of though, is that we won’t return to the old normal quickly. If ever.

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The shock of the pandemic will live on in consumer consciousness for a long time yet. I hope there will be positive outcomes to this such as an increase in consumer savings and more flexible working to open up the job market to those with dependents or those that live away from the large economic centres.

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How people consume products and services will also change. For example, my 72-year-old mum has already agreed with her PT to continue over Zoom rather than return to the gym as it saves the gym membership whilst the PT receives 100% fee; my school friends and I will regularly drink wine via zoom in the future as it means we collectively save hundreds on babysitters and it’s socially acceptable to wear pyjamas.

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All founders are working to ensure their brand is still relevant now and in the near future, whether that means tweaking ways of working and the customer communication channels (Zara is unsuccessfully trying to run their customer service across 166 countries through their Facebook and Twitter accounts right now) or pivoting their proposition to meet their customer’s new needs.

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Here are my top three things to consider

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1. Always think customer-first

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Solving the real and immediate problems that your customers are now facing.

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Serving your audience in the way that they need it is the most important means to future-proof your business, to ensure that you are building a brand that solves the problems they have now and in the near future.

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Therefore, continual testing is essential, using this time to learn more about your audience and how your business can be more useful to them will:

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• Strengthen your product: you will build a product that is sure to meet user needs
• Create relationships with the right community: you will find your first customers and advocates

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As lifestyles and habits have changed, so too might the main problem that your product needs to solve. Find this out quickly. Here are some free tools to get you started:

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• Online survey — https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/
• Collaborative whiteboard for brainstorming with post-it notes and planning — https://miro.com/app
• Listening tool - https://hootsuite.com/

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And there are plenty of ways to thank them — consider a skill swap or a post-pandemic pint to save you the budget of sending them stuff!

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Right now, lining up potential customers (especially a database rather than social followers) will help to attract and secure future funding as well as give you a powerful launchpad of brand advocates to spread the word as well as test propositions and product features.

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And of course, this should be done for minimal, if any, budget.

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Mint — Personal Finance App

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Back in 2009, the Mint team were busy building the product that was set to change the personal finance market. Whilst building, they wanted to start by nurturing a meaningful relationship with their target audience. To do this without a product can be tough but they started a community-based knowledge centre, Mintlife, that positioned the brand as the go-to for personal finance support. They engaged their target audience by giving them what they were looking for: tangible and friendly support for their personal finances.

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The blog gave heaps of advice from experts, filled with video and infographics. By doing this, they built up a subscriber base of 20,000 digital-savvy professionals that were Mint’s lowest hanging fruit to target for launch, i.e. those already looking for personal finance support. And set them up for their future success.

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2. Be relevant or be patient

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People need brands that can help them NOW. If this is not you then tread very carefully.

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How a brand acts now might not necessarily drive immediate sales but will be remembered and respected later down the line.

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Plenty of journalists have understandable moans about getting the same, irrelevant press releases that unduly boast about what a particular brand is achieving. This may make you feel better for doing ‘something’ now but is, in fact, setting your brand up for failure, or at least a hard slog back to press and consumer acceptance. Journalists are likely to label you as the boy that called wolf, as well as potentially being ignored, or even vilified, by consumers for misunderstanding them.

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And please don’t repeat the same content as everyone else for the same, ‘got to do something’ reason. Wash and repeat content will be skipped or even worse, remembered.

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Be true to your brand values, and consider what your audience needs. Now.

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EMILY CRISPS is a brand that has done this well. During lockdown, outdoor advertising has been understandably going for bargain-basement prices, a few startups made great use of this and Emily Crisps is one of my favourites.

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3. Build up your community

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As a start-up founder, you are the product. People are investing in you. Going back to an earlier post on building your own story and being clear why and what your business does is crucial for this.

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This can be daunting for people, it definitely was for me, so I find it helpful to start a list. This will show you quite how plentiful your mental filofax is and be the basis for your future networking.

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Consider the following:

1. Potential clients
2. Professional bodies
3. Journalists
4. Organisers of speaking opportunities: events and podcasts
5. Your proofreaders/check-ins
6. Your personal board (check out Emma Maslen’s fantastic blog about how and why everyone should have one!)
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People are around for (virtual) coffee and make sure you always have a purpose. Consider objectives for yourself and the person you are meeting as well as how you would like to structure the conversation.

THAI AIRLINES — Stay home miles exchange

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Business travel may appear to be the most irrelevant market right now when we’re not even travelling to the office, but Thai Airlines ingenious campaign to not only stay relevant and front-of-mind but also reward members should ensure they are front-of-mind when business travel does

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The concept — Thai Airlines offered three million free air miles to members who stayed at home. The idea was that users would register their home and allow the airline’s app to track their location. They were then awarded one mile for every four hours they stayed put.

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Let me know what you think or ask me a question by dropping me a line, and check out my blog on How to talk about your business so people listen.