Although one would assume that a startup is the same as any small business that is at the start of its journey, there is actually a difference between the two. A startup usually has two main characteristics that set it apart from other businesses: with a focus on innovation, a startup tests assumptions that haven’t been tested before, and it has the potential to grow exponentially rather than linearly.
To state it plainly, a startup is a business experiment with potential.
While testing assumptions is already quite a risky business, when you add this to the traditional risks of starting a business, which include managing investors, cash flow risks, operational risks, and team management, it is no surprise that these kinds of businesses have a higher chance of failure. The main challenge many startups face is generating new business and that is why it is integral to focus on creating a constant flow of leads in the sales pipeline to increase the number of closed deals. To do this, businesses need to make use of sustainable marketing campaigns that:
- Grab the potential buyer’s attention and retains it,
- Tells the product apart from hundreds of services offered by other businesses,
- Solves the buyer’s problem independent of a hard sell, and
- Offer more customer-centric experiences.
A lot more can be added to the list, but you get the idea. It is pivotal to have a strong conversation starter to capture your desired audience’s attention. Think of the process of awareness creation and prospect attraction as an elevator pitch.
How do you say as much as possible about your start-up in as little time as possible? Daunting, we know! For this reason, we’ve dug through all the business and startup focussed archives we could get our hands on and identified a few tips that, when paired with a solid corporate gifting strategy, can yield the desired sales traffic. Read on for some insights.
Make The Right Kind Of Noise To Generate Leads For Your Startup
This should be considered a rule of thumb, because it’s gospel truth concerning business. There are so many marketing tools out there that business owners often get stuck in limbo while trying to decipher which channels house a majority of their desired audience, what kind of content or marketing collateral to use as bait, and which strategies and supporting tools to use to retain the audience’s attention.
However, they miss the part that matters most. The modern-day pool of buyers can no longer be lured in by only using well-curated marketing campaigns with amazing visuals. Yes, those help in higher budget instances, but on a smaller scale, experiences with a personal touch remain more effective. Instead of traditional ‘let me tell you about my product’ meeting request mailers or free trial offers, you can use corporate gifting to drive reward-driven marketing. Here’s how:
- Instead of sales-driven email subjects, utilize a gift first approach by using your gift offer as the main subject and the reason for your meeting request as the secondary subject.
- Instead of generic event invites, send gift invites that are redeemable upon attendance.
- According to a recent study, involving more than 28,000 internet respondents in 56 countries, 92% of consumers said they trust earned media, such as recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. So, using gift-driven referral programs won’t only assist in retaining your current client pool, but will earn your business referral-based reach.
Wave The Exclusivity Wand
It is a deeply embedded human trait to be attracted to things out of reach and to want what only a select few can access. If enough hype is created around an item or experience that only the cream of the crop can access first, then there’ll be more demand, consequently creating positive sales friction for your brand.
Utilize this tactic by launching ‘limited offer’ promotions that give an air of being available to a select few or for a limited time. Pair these with referral programs, and watch human-accelerated marketing work for your startup. Incorporate gifts into these campaigns to sweeten the deal and add a personal touch, and you will make an even better impression.
Host Competitions to Generate Leads for Your Startup
Like exclusive offers, competitions attract numbers. Again, people are prone to almost all things that promise more benefits for a little labor and dollar value for a dime. For this reason, it would be beneficial for startups to utilize giveaways as a means to generate more traffic to their website or social platforms. Instead of opting for a single winner, offer multiple gift prizes and utilize the entry pool to find some qualified leads. With Giftsenda’s easily free-choice gift links, sending prizes to winners across the globe is as easy as a few clicks. Don’t waste time manually sourcing gifts, let a gifting platform do the work for you.
Sales Automation Tools
Do you spend endless hours every day managing and expanding your sales? Luckily, there’s a better solution! Sales automation tools can simplify and refine your sales process, allowing you to concentrate on closing more deals. However, with the multitude of options available, how do you determine which tools are worthwhile and cost-effective? In this blog post, you can find a list of 30 sales automation tools that will help you increase sales. Don’t forget that our gifting platform can also help you automate certain aspects of your sales when it comes to sending gifts – we even offer integrations with HubSpot and Salesforce.
Launch Holiday And Event-Based Gifting Campaigns
Holidays are season-driven and quite tentative, but business is continuous and revenue-based. Strategically pairing the two means business can capitalize on the emotion-based buying spirit carried by the same winds that help Santa’s reindeer fly. To ensure that your brand stays top of mind and yields results even after the mistletoe goes back into its box, send your clients and qualified prospects holiday-centered gifts with personalized messages. Whether you’re looking to retain current business, reignite old business or engage prospects, holiday gifting is the way to go!
In the nutshell, startups need to introduce themselves as human-focused, driven, and sustained entities, and using corporate gifting as a core tool will help seamlessly demonstrate this idea. Ready to get started with corporate gifting on a global scale? Book a 30-minute demo with one of our Gift Campaign Managers to see how our gifting platform works and to get access to Giftsenda so that you can start gifting.
