Author: Claire Weekes
Entrepreneurship culture in the UK is thriving and will grow further if government stimulus works. So how can brands tap in to this start-up boom and market to this audience? Claire Weekes investigates
Small businesses are springing up all over the UK, which is hardly surprising when you consider the number of people who have either been made redundant since the recession kicked in, or have pre-empted a fall-out in the place they work and decided to take a leap of faith into the world of self-employment.
According to research conducted in 2010 by marketing company Selectabase, there was an increase of around 19 per cent of new businesses being started up in the UK last year. A great deal of these small businesses, according to Selectabase, begin as home-based ones and then expand as they grow. At the same time, figures released last year by Companies House indicated a 12 per cent rise in the number of limited companies registered in 2010, making it clear that a large number of these new businesses are choosing to set-up as a limited company.
So as the start-up market continues to thrive despite tough economic conditions, the burning question is: How can business brands reach out to this audience and market their products and services to them?
1. Nurture and network
“As with most B2B audiences, a value-based approach is best,” advises Charlotte Graham-Cumming, director at B2B marketing agency Ice Blue Sky.
“If these are your audience, engage them by offering advice and access to resources, that way you’ll create a nurturing relationship. Become a font of all knowledge for small businesses.” “In many respects, working with entrepreneurs is easier than working with corporates. They are quick to make decisions and are usually passionate about their work, which can be very energising,” says Heather Baker, managing director at PR agency, TopLine Communications. “However, start-ups tend to have tighter budget constraints and are wary of working with suppliers who cannot offer clear bottom-line benefits. If your product or service can help them gain market share quicker, then they are usually very interested in working with you,” she adds.
At the same time, it’s key to remember that most people starting out in business are also actively seeking information to help them grow. “[Entrepreneurs are] typically keen on networking and getting the word out about their new business. Companies targeting this sector can tap into both of these things fairly easily, with some diligence,” says Graham-Cumming. “One thing that Business Link [the government-funded initiative being dramatically scaled back] was always very good at was ‘being where the business owners are,’ linking up with financial advisors, banks, business coaches, networking events and membership bodies, for example. All of these come into regular contact with those starting up businesses, becoming a source of information to them. [Plus] sponsoring their events can be a good start,” she adds.
2. Mentor rewards
Perhaps one of the most overlooked issues by B2B marketers looking to target start-ups is that many appear to be overwhelmed by the amount of choice now available to them – and the number of people vying for their attention.
A recent piece of research conducted by online marketing platform providers, Sign-Up, suggested that 79 per cent of small business owners feel they don’t make full use of the online marketing channels available to them – they are baffled when it comes to working out whether to text, tweet or email their own offerings. For B2B brands looking to strike up relationships with them, this indicates that small business owners crave advice, particularly with regards to marketing strategies, as much as they do solid product propositions in their early days.
“I spoke to two founders and their biggest challenge is taking the leap from focusing on just sales to relying on the power of marketing as a lead generation and brand awareness machine,” says Lance Mercereau, head of marketing at data solutions company Rosslyn Analytics.
It might be helpful for B2B brands to position themselves as mentors, offering help and support to those starting out. This will mean establishing a rapport and a longer-term business relationship. Brands can then coax start-ups (who are often harder to encourage to put their hand in their pocket, given that the pocket will be starting out small) with timely discounts.
According to Antonia Barber at PR agency Aspen Sachs, lead generation is best achieved by initially offering start-ups advice and support on areas such as how to accelerate income or maintain a healthy work-life balance. This can lead to long-term loyalty, which will reap benefit once they are established as a small business and can start parting with hard cash. “Start ups may have a longer lead-in but do remain loyal to those suppliers who gave them the initial helping hand, so time-limited offers, vouchers, etc can all help to assist this market,” she says.
“Whereas you may be targeting an established business with a pitch based on how much money you can save them in comparison to their existing provider, when targeting those who haven’t even [got an existing provider] you are asking them to spend money on something they’ve never had before,” adds Darren Fell, MD and founder at digital agency, Crunch – pointing out that ‘honesty and transparency’ are also key marketing tools when it comes to reaching out to entrepreneurs. “As consumer and business users become more sophisticated, they are increasingly shying away from services that use lots of asterisks and small print. If your product requires many pages of explanation, it is most likely too complicated.”
In terms of tracking down lists of UK start-ups, Graham-Cumming suggests trawling both Companies House lists, as well as using organisations such as Selectabase, which provides good contact lists for targeting this audience. For the most part, the advice is to get out there and be where your potential audience is.
“Social media is one example of an increasingly popular way to strike up conversations with start-ups and entrepreneurs owners. Twitter has become an incredibly rich mine of data for many B2B marketers. The service is rife with people asking for business advice and recommendations,” says Fell. “If you decide on a content-led marketing strategy – [for example] publishing helpful guides and articles on a company blog, social media can be an invaluable tool for getting your message out there.”
3. Government tactics
So where can we see existing examples of those marketing their products and services to the start-up sector? In the past year, Number 10 has put a very public voice behind its ambition to support the start-up sector. David Cameron has spoken much about his support of East London’s so-called ‘Silicon Roundabout’ – an area around London’s Old Street housing an increasing number of (mainly tech) start-ups – and an area that is also being touted as the UK-version of the US’s San Francisco ‘Silicon Valley’.
Google has just signed a 10-year lease on a seven-storey office block in the area, and has pledged to share the space with entrepreneurs. “Google plans to open up the space to other organisations that support technology entrepreneurs, working together to provide a launch pad for new London-based start-ups and developers,” the search engine giant said in a statement in September. Launching the space is of course tactical – it will give Google close contact with some 300 companies already working in the area. Google plans to host activities ranging from speaker series to product demonstrations and training workshops to the start-ups it provides workspace for. It has positioned itself right in the centre of an entire tech community, which it will now help to shape and mould. It’s a clever move.
Meanwhile the Government’s tactic in marketing itself as a champion of entrepreneurship appears to be rooted in endorsing private sector initiatives such as Google’s. While its own small business support network Business Link downsizes, it gives full backing to private sector-funded initiatives – StartUp Britain being the most significant. StartUp Britain is touted as delivering the ‘very best’ support and advice for start-up companies – led by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. When the initiative launched in March, David Cameron praised it, saying that “the people best placed to help business are the people who do business.”
StartUp Britain launched with the backing of big business names, including AXA, Barclays, Intel, BlackBerry and Google, and has been hugely active in marketing itself to the entrepreneurial market since launch. Within two months of its creation, the search term ‘start-up’ rose by 25 per cent, more than 2800 ‘Start-up guides’ were downloaded and thousands of corporate offers activated.
A six-month campaign to drive awareness launched in May, and in July a full week, run in partnership with the Marketing Agencies Association, was hosted where marketing agencies were able to offer guidance – and ultimately, win business.
The economic outlook may remain uncertain, but for as long as it does, the entrepreneurial market will surely continue to thrive. As a B2B marketer you’d be mad not to cash in on it.
Five top tips on how marketers can target entrepreneurs
Author: By Philip Lett, CEO of Blur Group
So if you’re looking to target the start-up market, how do you get started?
1. Support network – Provide a level of free support to entrepreneurial networks. We built a community, now 2000 strong, at innovators.com and provided this service for free.
2. Accountability – When dealing with entrepreneurs, remember they are spending their own money. They’ll want to know where that money is going and what it will bring them in return.
3. The long game – Accountability doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t get a huge ROI from them. By accepting a small budget project at the start, as they grow – they’ll remember it.
4. Keep it snappy – You can spot an entrepreneur in a restaurant a mile off. They’re that person with two phones who cannot resist checking every ten minutes. So talk to them in language that is their own. Straight to the proposition and lots of technology to keep it quick and impactful. 5. Knowledge – Companies look to you as a marketing expert but also as a business expert. Make sure that you know their industry and the key players in it. Also, don’t feel afraid to impart a bit of entrepreneurial wisdom to them. Making them successful is going to be good for everyone.
