Interactive resources for incubators and accelerators
Interactive resources for incubators and accelerators
Interactive resources for incubators and accelerators

Marketing Plan

How do you remind leads that you are out there?

Marketing for ESOs

Hey everyone, it's Keith again. And in this particular video regarding building the new plan, what we're going to do is we're going to continue to devote our time on the new plan. In particular we're going to spend a bit of time on marketing, with linkages to sales - the how and some of the inputs. And then the second thing that we're gonna do is we're gonna talk about team.

And in my new marketing plan, we want to first start with linkages to sales. And so how we are integrating with sales is that we're reminding leads that we're out there, that we exist, that we're doing the good work that we do. And then we're directing them back to us, or to us for the first time.

And then in addition to that we're also, you know, kind of linking it into solution selling, and getting our prospects and our leads to talk about the problem. The problem that is that they're kind of experiencing or that they see. And we want them to talk to us about it in social, in emails, and in forms. And other tools that will allow us to sort of really know what it is that they're looking to solve so that we can kind of come back to them with the right solution.

So, how do we do that?

With marketing approaches, the first thing that I want to talk about is thinking about being unbranded. And there's no doubt that today people are a little bit more comfortable, a little bit more confident about marketing that is focused on individuals, and in situations. As opposed to necessarily a strong brand. So make sure that you kind of have a personal touch to it that people can connect with you, and with your team as much as they're connecting with your brand.

And in addition to that, what we want to do is make sure that we're sharing what we do, what we're doing. Some of us do a really good job of that. Melanie and the team at Impact Hub Phnom Penh, working with Olivia, is a really good example of, kind of, talking about the work that they do on a regular basis. But we need to do that. We need to talk about program launches. We need to profile the businesses that are in those programs. We need to celebrate the wins, but keep doing that constantly so that people know that we're out there and we exist.

We also want to provide thought leadership, right? And so when you're thinking about thought leadership and reminding people that you can solve problems - and in particular the problems that they have. What we want to do is we want to focus on things like thought leadership in our geography. Our city, our country, our region, in specific sectors or industries, for specific stages of business, or even for specific program types.

And where do we do this? Remember we need to have a diverse sort of set of channels that we use that can include PR, that can also include testimonials, case studies, blog posts, social media. And our goal is to build a regular rhythm by which we're sharing it in these different tools.

And we're measuring the impact. So it's really important that, that's something that we want to be doing throughout this process is knowing where we're having the greatest impact. And then, as we're building out that greatest impact, then we're also measuring it and reinforcing in the areas that we know are working best for us.

So what can some of the inputs be in our marketing process?

Remember that in this kind of, you know, changing world that we're in - Covid recession etc. - that we first incorporate the learnings, right? So the before and after journey of business resilience for ourselves and for our organisations. What are we learning from our customer discovery? Talking to our ESO partners, talking to the entrepreneurs, identifying and leveraging those messages and the language that they're using. Not our language, but use their language. That's what will resonate and be authentic.

And adapting the content to the current situation and also adapting the marketing message to, of course, the local community. whether it's country or city or region to make sure that we capture the mood, the tone, the sense of urgency that may be existing.

So these are the approaches that we need to be thinking about as we go through the marketing process.

And then just as a starting point on a new team plan, which we will dig more into after the online convening modules. We'll dig more into running the plan and working with the team. But just as a starting point, what we want to do is really think about first what do we need now, right?

So skills levels. Who's on the team and some notes that we can use. So, for example, what is the skill needed to implement existing and new plans? That is the skill level needed, right? So where a five is a very experienced person and one is a junior, where do they fit on that scale? What is the actual level that the existing team is at, and do you have someone to fulfil those needs? Or do you need to hire someone? Do you need a partner? What are you going to do in order to make that happen?

Training also is a fantastic way, of course, to build up the skill level. And so the notes, of course, can include things like Is this a repeat program? Is it online? Is it offline? Is it a one-off activity? So, what are those things that can impact our decisions around the team?

And as a part of this process we want to optimise our budget. We are all values-aligned organisations. We want to make the world a better place. We're making smart decisions around the team. We're not letting people go just because. We want to keep the great people. We want to reinforce their value. We want to build them up, right?

So, what alternatives can we use to both train the team but also skill them up and augment the team? How do we communicate openly with our team? How do we involve them throughout the process? And how do we share the pain when we need to? We're all great at celebrating success but how do we share the pain at the same time in a way that's authentic, and in a way that is uplifting to the team?

So, these are questions that I want you to explore as we're kind of heading through into the second half of this program. And as we work on running our plan.

By the way it is a fantastic time to hire people. Great people are available. Virtual hiring and onboarding of course is happening every week now. So there are great ways to bring the right people on board when the time is right.

And are there government supports out there? Grants and subsidies and other tools in order for you to leverage that? They could be local, they could also be global. So, for example, the United Nations has a program called UN Green Corps which is in certain countries, and can be leveraged for helping to bring people on board.

So, what's next? So on the marketing side, what we want to do is review our ESO pitch deck to include the language from our customer discovery.

And what I'd like you to do is create a 90-day content plan. So, set specific objectives. What messages do you want to get out there? What do you want to reinforce? What channels are you going to be using? What frequency of messaging? And how are you going to measure those? So those are the burning questions.

And then under team, just start to give some thought to how you can include the team more in the process. What are some good lessons learned there?

And also I recommend that you watch this Simon Sinek video: 'Most Leaders Don't Even Know the Game They're In'. And so the link is below so do take a look at that as well.

Start to tackle these items and I look forward to engaging around them.

Highlights

  • Think unbranded
  • Share what you are doing
  • Thought leadership based on geography, sectors, stages, program types
  • Marketing Channels: PR, testimonials, case studies, blog, social media

Next:

Leadership and Team Plan

What leadership and skill sets does your team need for your new plan?