Delivery is about finding a suitable channel that makes it convenient for your customers to purchase your product or access your service. Two important things you must know in creating a distribution channel in a start-up is that a great product alone is not enough to succeed. The other is that no amount of channels will make a crap product/service gain a large market share.
A product/service with better distribution will always win over a superior product with poor distribution.
Once a start-up is ready to commercialize its product, you must determine how the product will reach your target customer segment and factor in how your other customer segments will know about it. Don’t rely on just one channel for customer acquisition because dependency exposes your start-up to problems (if distribution partners change strategy or become difficult in negotiations).
Oftentimes, start-ups go through fatal experiences because they assume they have to operate like large organisations. What they fail to understand is that, start-ups are not smaller versions of a large companies according to author and serial entrepreneur, Steve Blank. It’s like feeding a baby with adult meals thinking babies are smaller versions of adults. See the wrong thinking there?
Such approach at the early stages of your business may be detrimental to its sustenance and survival. Spending on delivery channels like large corporations would do will only bankrupt your business. You want to exploit cheaper ways to deliver your value proposition as a startup. That’s surely the lean way to go.
How do you capture potential customers’ attention without breaking the bank? Here are a few channels, out of many others, that I believe will be very helpful and effective for you to reach out to your potential customer segment:
Online Channels
These offer a cost-effective and scalable way to acquire customers directly. These days, mobile phones and fast speed internet are what your business needs to be on-the-go. It is now relatively easy to set up a professional website and make good use of your social media platforms to get your audience (like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp) at almost no cost at all. You can also drive traffic through online advertising, social media marketing and search engine optimization. This will raise awareness about your presence in the market and hopefully generate some sales.
Another effective way to catch the interest of your audience is to take advantage of content marketing. Create an environment where you can educate your reader about something useful or interesting that they may not have known before. As Gregory Ciotti puts it, content marketing is the best way for people to know you, like you and trust you. If you write things that people actually want to read and you are able to distribute it strategically, you will earn a loyal audience for life and knock down resistance for potential customers.
Partnerships
Partnerships can make or break startups – especially ventures that rely solely much on them. However, when you know how to handle them, they can be of a great source for new pointers. Joseph Walla, from HelloSign, explains that not all products are suited for partnerships and not all partnerships are good for your product. What matters most before everything else is that you have an actual product that has a market niche and is already selling by itself without having to rely on any partnership.
Once you have this, then you will be able to evaluate opportunities, prioritize them and choose the right partners. Partnering with companies who aren’t competitors but share the same customer base and targets a very similar market segment will be highly mutually beneficial for both parties. This will provide their customers with new value and your startup with increased credibility, visibility and additional profits.
Referral and Affiliate Programs
This is about using your existing customers and their network of friends to spread the word about your product. Referral programs can offer customers something in return like freebies or even a product voucher, if it makes sense for your business. On the other hand, affiliate programs can allow you spread awareness on mutual networks where you think your target market spend quality time.
Don’t be afraid to take a chance, experiment with and keep track of all your channels whether they be old or new. It will pay to keep an eye out for new channels that have a strong alignment with your target market or niche. Who knows where the next potential customer might pop out from?
Divine Beneth
Business Developer and Consultant
Eminent Foundation Africa
divine@eminentfoundationafrica.org
