Let’s say you are only one week away from the big launch for your startup company. Sure, you got the initial investment and you plan to roll big, investing every penny in your marketing campaign. It’s great that you had the courage and motivation! You are a self-motivated person who wants to make the change! But why shouldn’t startups launch as big as a Fortune 500 Company? We will cover these reasons in this article.
A Superbowl commercial is affordable for Apple and Microsoft, companies that are building on existing revenue streams and have the right to make lavish events, but for startups, this is not recommendable. Startups will have smaller budgets, and the approach to a soft launch is way better.
“Treat the resources which you have like a jealous lover, because one mistake and they are gone for forever!”
Soft startup launching has some advantages, compared with the Big Bang launch.
1. Immediate customer feedback
Customers are important for your business, and hiding is not the solution. Startups which insist on doing business in stealth mode fear the competitor response and miss even more important customer response.
2. Small real revenue today is better than large later projections
No investor will invest unless they see that your product is needed on the market. To fund a support for roll-out is much harder than funding to support a scale up, after some initial smell of success.
3. Maximum agility for required pivots
Most startups are becoming battleships that are hard to turn in a storm. To execute multiple iterations while small is critical for any limited budget startup and runway. That’s why startups need the agility to test themselves in various business models and to position messages.
4. Partners and distribution channels will take you seriously
Having validated early customers will get their attention and give you leverage when you need negotiation for support in the real business surge.
5. Build the audience and the product at the same time
Big bang rollout can be replaced with a social media marketplace and will save you a lot of money. It is easier to measure success through this type of marketing than through the big bang model.
6. Time to train and prepare staff to deal with customers
The customers are the best marketing there is, and well-trained staff will take great care in dealing with customer relationships and will leave the customers happy.sno