Help with Sales / Marketing / Investment for online business
Discussion
Guys
Im wanting to know if any of you could point me in the direction of companies that help with Sales / Marketing and perhaps Investment for an online business that my Mrs has set up. She and a partner has put tremendous effort into it and is (in my opinion) a fantastic niche online business and community. The problem is it was launched when Covid struck last year and has never really taken off. It is a niche membership site and she has tried to get help from various Marketing and Sales companies but they are not really understanding the business nor generating any business despite their claims!
I genuinely believe that the idea has legs but aside from pushing it up the rankings in Google etc, it's just missing that push from a Sales / Marketing perspective. We have put cash into promoting it but maybe it needs some larger investment to get the name truly out there.
Are any of you able to point me in the direction or offer advice on next steps?
Cheers
Chris
Im wanting to know if any of you could point me in the direction of companies that help with Sales / Marketing and perhaps Investment for an online business that my Mrs has set up. She and a partner has put tremendous effort into it and is (in my opinion) a fantastic niche online business and community. The problem is it was launched when Covid struck last year and has never really taken off. It is a niche membership site and she has tried to get help from various Marketing and Sales companies but they are not really understanding the business nor generating any business despite their claims!
I genuinely believe that the idea has legs but aside from pushing it up the rankings in Google etc, it's just missing that push from a Sales / Marketing perspective. We have put cash into promoting it but maybe it needs some larger investment to get the name truly out there.
Are any of you able to point me in the direction or offer advice on next steps?
Cheers
Chris
What marketing are they/you doing? And what is the niche or target market?
My concern would be "but they are not really understanding the business" if they don't get it and you've pitched it to them, what are the chances a punter is going to get it given they will see it at a glance and it needs to be interesting/relevant enough to draw them in...
My concern would be "but they are not really understanding the business" if they don't get it and you've pitched it to them, what are the chances a punter is going to get it given they will see it at a glance and it needs to be interesting/relevant enough to draw them in...
okgo said:
What marketing are they/you doing? And what is the niche or target market?
My concern would be "but they are not really understanding the business" if they don't get it and you've pitched it to them, what are the chances a punter is going to get it given they will see it at a glance and it needs to be interesting/relevant enough to draw them in...
As a buyer of marketing I seldom found marketing people who see the bigger business picture. In fact I don’t think I ever did. One very large company couldn’t understand getting me 5 to 1 was still an acquisition cost of 20% per customer, if they’d pitched a lifetime value calculation I might have listened longer. My concern would be "but they are not really understanding the business" if they don't get it and you've pitched it to them, what are the chances a punter is going to get it given they will see it at a glance and it needs to be interesting/relevant enough to draw them in...
I have been involved in pitching start up companies to investors for years - many of them mine.
It can be soul destroying and a lot of the time they don't get the potential..........but with a few years of experience I began to realise a few things.
1). If they don't get it then you are either ahead of your time, or you are pitching it wrong.
2). If they get it and are not interested it does not mean you have a bad idea, it is just that they can make more / easier money from other opportunities
3). Don't bankrupt yourself to make it work. You have less control than you think about how things pan out and losing the house for a good idea.......is not a good idea.
4). You are most likely going to get hammered on equity if you bring in investment - and up to a point you will get hammered to the same degree if you raise 50k or 500K. Think big if you are going down that route, as long as you KNOW that you can deliver.
5). Be totally honest with yourself about your company. Is it REALLY that special? Does it meet important unmet needs? Is it / can it be highly profitable? Do you want to do it for years? How are you different from existing and established competitors? Why should someone use your product / service instead of another one? How will you retain your customers? How long will it take to become cash neutral? What is your exit plan? etc etc.
Good luck with it all. There are lots of entrepreneurs who gave up too early, and lots of folks who did not give up early enough. BUT no one ever became a success by giving up!
It can be soul destroying and a lot of the time they don't get the potential..........but with a few years of experience I began to realise a few things.
1). If they don't get it then you are either ahead of your time, or you are pitching it wrong.
2). If they get it and are not interested it does not mean you have a bad idea, it is just that they can make more / easier money from other opportunities
3). Don't bankrupt yourself to make it work. You have less control than you think about how things pan out and losing the house for a good idea.......is not a good idea.
4). You are most likely going to get hammered on equity if you bring in investment - and up to a point you will get hammered to the same degree if you raise 50k or 500K. Think big if you are going down that route, as long as you KNOW that you can deliver.
5). Be totally honest with yourself about your company. Is it REALLY that special? Does it meet important unmet needs? Is it / can it be highly profitable? Do you want to do it for years? How are you different from existing and established competitors? Why should someone use your product / service instead of another one? How will you retain your customers? How long will it take to become cash neutral? What is your exit plan? etc etc.
Good luck with it all. There are lots of entrepreneurs who gave up too early, and lots of folks who did not give up early enough. BUT no one ever became a success by giving up!
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