Lesson Progress:

Module 7 - Sharing your story

4. Events conferences tradeshows

Once your startup gets traction, you’ll no doubt be bombarded with invitations and requests to join all sorts of events. Physical presence is a great tool in your marketing strategy but it’s also time consuming and can be very tiring so it’s worth thinking about where you spend your time wisely. On the pros side, going to industry events, conferences and tradeshows is fantastic opportunity to network and to get yourself out there. Physically being present somewhere, talking to people and building relationships is an efficient way to get noticed and remembered. That said, make sure you research events you attend carefully beforehand & look up the attendee list if it’s available. This means you won’t wander around aimlessly but rather have some idea of who you want to approach. In some instances, you may want to attend as an “observer” only and use the experience as an information gathering exercise.

Attending tradeshows early on in your journey may be a way to study your competition and understand your market more deeply. On the other hand, taking on a more active role, such as exhibiting, can be a great way to raise your company’s profile and meet new customers or partners. That said, they can also easily turn into an expensive waste of time if you don’t do your homework properly before participating. Most shows have heavy price tags attached to them and require full time staff for a minimum of 2 days, and that’s without the preparation that goes into making your stand attractive. Do a lot of research on events you might consider exhibiting at, speak with previous exhibitors and make sure that you are in a position to capitalise on potential opportunities. 

Some examples of events (this list is non-exhaustive!)

1. Anuga Food Fair, Germany (biannual)
http://www.anuga.com
2. ISM Cologne, Germany (annual)
http://www.ism-cologne.com/ISM/index-2.php
3. Fruit Logistica, Germany (annual)
https://www.fruitlogistica.com
4. Vitafoods Europe, Switzerland (annual)
https://www.vitafoods.eu.com/en/welcome.html
5. The International Food & Drink Event (ife),
UK (biennial)
https://www.ife.co.uk
6. Biofach Germany, Germany (annual)
https://www.biofach.de/en
7. Global Forum for Food and Agriculture
Berlin, Germany, (annual)
https://www.gffa-berlin.de/en/
8. Brau Beviale, Germany (annual)
https://www.braubeviale.de/en
9. Natural & organic products Europe, UK
https://www.naturalproducts.co.uk
10. Sustainable Foods Summit
https://sustainablefoodssummit.com/europe/about/
11. Euro Food & Beverages Conference
https://europe.foodtechconferences.org
12. The Food Bank Leadership Institute (FBLI),
convened annually by the Global FoodBanking
Network (annual)
https://www.foodbanking.org/what-we-do/fbli/
13. Food Innovate Summit, Netherlands (annual)
https://www.foodinnovateworld.com/programme-2019
14. Seed and Chips, Italy (annual)
https://www.seedsandchips.com/
15. Food Matters Live, UK (annual)
https://www.foodmatterslive.com/

Case study on successful marketing strategies

“Our most effective marketing initiative has most definitely been the Ambassador Programme, which has seen over 25,000 people reach out to offer to help spread the word about OLIO in their local communities. As well as supporting us on social media, our Ambassadors also take letters, posters and flyers to share locally and we’ve found that this is a really cost effective and authentic way to grow.”

-Tessa Stuart, Co-Founder at Olio

Bypassing the big guys: Going direct to consumers
There’s a lot to be said for going direct to consumers if you’re a B2C business. It’s never been easier to do this so it should be something you take advantage of. It’s often a difficult and lengthy process to convince large retailers and other established food businesses to work with you whereas doing things direct is something you can get going on very quickly. Not only does it allow you to keep control of your sales process and pricing, it allows you to build a community of devoted customers who will be ready to choose your products when you do end up hitting the shelves.

Entrepreneur testimonials on going direct & building a community

“The beautiful thing about where we are today is that, through social media and direct-to-consumer fulfilment, we have an opportunity as entrepreneurs to connect immediately and quickly with people. You know who’s buying your food.”

-Bryan Freeman, CEO of Real Good Foods (entrepreneur.com)

“We started on the right moment and started “story telling” 1.5 years before we were selling a product. We created the market ourselves by sharing our love for this plan. Our community was already there when the product launched.”

-Chantal Engelen, Co-Founder at Kromkommer

Going direct case study: Ugly Drinks

Ugly Drinks is a brand of sugar free flavoured sparkling waters in the UK and the US. Launched in 2016, Ugly has built a strong social media following and deliberately pushed its online offering selling its canned drinks through its own webshop, on Amazon and by creating a subscription service – a great way of creating regular revenue and loyal customers. After a successful launch in the UK, Ugly implemented the same strategy to launch in the US in 2018.

Breaking down the sales/marketing funnel
When developing marketing strategies, you want to keep in mind which part of the sales funnel you’re targeting.

Your potential customers will go through these different stages before choosing your product or service:

  • Awareness: A person becomes aware of your company, product or service.
  • Interest: A person becomes interested enough to find out more about your product or service (perhaps clicking on a link, looking up your website or reviews online etc.).
  • Desire: The person moves from being interested to wanting your product or service – an emotional connection has been made.
  • Action: The person decides to act on their desire and purchases your product or service.

For each stage, have a think about how you will engage your potential customer and move them down the funnel.

Awareness: Who are the potential customers? Where do they spend their time (e.g.: can you reach them on Twitter, YouTube and/or Instagram)? Once you know answers to these questions, prioritise which platforms and tools to focus on and think about your messages. At this stage, the goal is to make customers aware of your products and services.

Interest: How can you generate enough interest for the potential customer to research more? What content can you create to add value to the potential customer? In what form and where should the content be (e.g. blog posts on website, YouTube videos, Instagram posts, customer ratings…)?

Desire: What makes your product or service desirable for the potential customer? How can you start building a relationship and make an emotional connection? Can you offer the potential customer something of value such as an e-book, a discount, a recipe or other tips/advice? Perhaps start an online chat or be very responsive in social media platforms?

Action: What do you want the potential customer to do? What is the call to action? Is it easy for the customer to understand and find? Think about how to best engage with the customer in your chosen marketing channel(s)/platform(s). Is it through e.g.: landing pages, inbound phone calls or emails? Remember to keep fostering the relationship with helpful, valuable and consistent communications.

Tools that make marketing easier & cheaper

It’s likely that there will be plenty of agencies and individuals trying to sell you their services to help you get better at marketing your product or service. Some are worth engaging with, some are not. There are plenty of tools available online that can make your life easier & make you a savvy marketeer, at least in the initial stages of your business. Here are a few to get you started and don’t forget to check online if you’re struggling with something. There’s probably a free (or cheap) tool out there that will meet your needs.

  • Bitly: A link management platform that allows you to brand, track and optimise your links so you can make the most of every touchpoint.
  • Buffer: Schedule your posts. Buffer is a social media management platform that allows you to schedule social media posts and analyse their results.
  • SurveyMonkey: Ask the audience. SurveyMonkey is an online survey tool that provides free, customisable surveys.
  • Unsplash: Need free photography? This is where you can find good quality images about basically everything without having to spend any money.
  • Mailchimp: Your go to for sending out email marketing & building a newsletter database.
  • Google Analytics & Adwords: Data is king. Use Analytics to track visitors to your website and Adwords to create target online ads with tiny budgets.
  • Canva: Having to rely on a designer for every bit of content you put out can be expensive so Canva enables you to become a designer in no time (assuming you don’t have design skills already). It has sets of template & the paying model allows you to upload your brand settings so whenever you want to design something, it will be quick and easy.
  • Rapportive: An integrated tool for your email which shows you whether an email is linked to a LinkedIn profile, very useful when generating leads or trying to guess people’s email addresses.
  • The Noun project: A great database of icons to represent different nouns. These can be particularly handy when you’re putting together marketing presentations or pitching documents.
  • Fiverr: If you’re really struggling to do it yourself and want to find freelancers to help you. Fivver is a platform that labels itself as “Freelance Services for the Lean Entrepreneur”.

General marketing tips

  • Get inspiration from other brands and entrepreneurs but don’t be a copycat. Stick to your own tone of voice and come up with your own ideas that support your desired brand image and goals. Don’t solely follow competitors and brands in your industry but be openminded and look for inspiration from a wide range of sources.
  • Remember that a modern brand is diverse and inclusive; be careful not to stereotype – either in the images that you use, or other kinds of communication – and remember that by showing different types of people and lifestyles in your marketing materials you will massively increase your appeal. A 2018 Accenture’s Survey found that, of Millennial-age consumers, 70% are more likely to choose one brand over another if that brand demonstrates inclusion and diversity in its products, services, promotions and in-store experiences. This trend will only get stronger the younger the audience you go for.
  • Don’t think you need big bucks to make progress, have an impact and share your story. Do as much as you can by yourself in the beginning – e.g. social media, blogging, online sales and direct fulfilment provide great opportunities to build your brand without needing to spend a lot of money. As Tony Robbins has said “It’s not the lack of resources, it’s your lack of resourcefulness that stops you.”
  • Make sure you have a clear objective for your marketing activities, there’s no point in spending money in advertising/marketing if they don’t have a defined target. What do you want to accomplish with each activity? What do you want the potential customer to do (e.g.: sign up for a newsletter, post/tell about your brand in their network, place an order, increase their average spend…)? What is the call to action?