The document discusses strategies for acquiring a startup's first customer. It covers the importance of the first customer in helping resolve business and technical issues. The rest of the document outlines a scenario for acquiring the first customer, including defining target customers, crafting an effective pitch, creating a product launch plan, optimizing the website, leveraging personal and professional networks, implementing email marketing, and using Google Ads and PR. The goal is to help generate early sales and learn lessons to improve the business.

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New Frontiers
Acquiring Your 1 Customer
st

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3. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

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5. DohertyWhite Motar
Website Google Pay- Social
Email
Generate
traffic per-click media
more leads
>10% Increase in sales in 6 – 9 months

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The Importance of Your
First Customer

7. 1. Importance of 1st Customer DohertyWhite
Getting to your first customer should be priority #1
They’re the reference point for all other customers.
Help You Resolve Business Issues Help You Resolve Technical
Demonstrate demand Issues
Show you can run a business Features
Show you can handle customers Integration to other systems
Cash Deployment
Pricing Support
How to sell
How to market
How to install
Fail early, fail cheap
Learn fast and iterate through to next version /customer

8. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

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2. Who to target?

10. 2. Who to target? DohertyWhite
• Who is your ideal pilot customer?
• Someone you know ?
• Personal or professional contacts?
• Profile of first pilot - what is their
• Industry?
• Type of Organization
• Role(s) - Personas?
• Do you know any individuals who fit? Can you prepare a list of names?
• Could you get me a list of email addresses? E.g. Business.ie

11. 2. Who to target? DohertyWhite
Characteristics you look for in pilot customers ...
Making product work Referencability
Trust Big company
Cooperation Well known
Flexibility Provide case study
Workthrough teething issues
Do they need to be technically capable?
Do they have to have a budget?
Authority – do your contacts need to have seniority?
Remember, you may need to convince more than one person at a
target organization...

12. 2. Who to target? DohertyWhite
• Create “Personas” for your top 3 target customers
• They are “archetypes” representing 80% of your target visitors
• Use them as way to describe and understand those customers
Oscar Nora Liam
Role: Sales manager Role: Marketing manager Role: IT manager
Organization: SME Organization: multi-national Organization: SME
Age: 45 Age: 32 Age: 31
Goals: have easy access to Goals: manage multiple Goals: reliability and
prospect information 24/7; get channels; drive awareness of availability; simplified
better quality leads; better the company; produce more architecture; security; cloud-
pipeline and better quality leads. based infrastructure

13. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

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3. “What are we selling?”
Your pitch

15. 3. Define Your Pitch DohertyWhite
Need it …
• When talking to prospects
• On your website
• On Landing pages
• In Email campaigns
• On Brochures
• In your PR

16. 3. Define Your Pitch DohertyWhite
For <target customers>
Who are dissatisfied with <current market alternative>
Our product is a <new product category>
That provides <key problem solving capacity>
Unlike <the main product alternative>
We have assembled <key ‘whole product’ features for your
product’s specific area of application>

17. 3. Define Your Pitch DohertyWhite
Value Propositions
• From the outside, a lot of products and services look the
same to their potential customers.
• The more complex the product or service, the harder it is
for buyers to understand how to differentiate between
the available options.
• You have make it easy for buyers to quickly understand
how you can help them and why you are better than
your competitors.
• You do this by defining a clear and compelling Value
Proposition aka your pitch

18. 3. Define Your Pitch DohertyWhite
Other elements that our customers value – easy to do
business with, reliable, innovative, thought leaders,
trustworthy
The way we deliver our product or and service, our skills
and expertise
The Service
The Product

19. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

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4. Product Launch Plan

21. 4. Product Launch Plan DohertyWhite
 Objectives  Time-boxed  Actual vs. Planned
 “Who” - Target buyers  Targeted  Objectives delivered
 “What” - Value  Monitoring  Input to next period
Proposition  Integration
 “Who else” -Competitors  Repetition
 Route to market
 “How” - Select activities

22. 4. Product Launch Plan DohertyWhite
 Website
 Personal Network
 Professional Network
 Email
 Google ads (PPC)
 PR

23. 4. Product Launch Plan DohertyWhite
• Multi-touch promotion
• Synchronize your
Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk 9
activities so Wk11 lead 12
Wk10
they Wk
1 Activity 1 up to one point e.g. a
launch event
2 Activity 2
3 Activity 3
4 Activity 4
5 Activity 5
6 Activity 6
7 Activity 7
8 Activity 8
9 Activity 9
10 Activity 10
23

24. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

25. 5. Website DohertyWhite
•Explains how to make sites more usable.
•Helps you avoid basic errors.
•Main message - when we look at a web page it should be obvious, self-
evident. Don’t use text, graphics or layouts that cause unnecessary
delays or confusion.
•If you follow Steve Krug’s advice you have a better chance of steering
visitors to what you want them to do and see.

26. 5. Website DohertyWhite
Purpose of Website
•To generate sales leads
•To generate sales
Source: DemandBase and Focus.com 2011 Survey of B2B IT and marketing professionals

27. 5. Website DohertyWhite
• Call To Action – understand what that means
• Encourage sign-ups – use home page, all internal pages
• Understand search patterns – use Google keyword tool so you can
identify phrases to target
• Use Landing Pages for your recruitment campaigns

28. 5. Website DohertyWhite
Top 10 Website Elements – rated “Important/Extremely Important
Description of service/products 87%
Which Industries You Serve 78%
Success stories / case studies 73%
Professional website design and presentation 69%
About us / biographies 64% 87%
Client list 64%
Online resources/content (white papers etc.) 60%
Video or online presentations 57%
News items 47%
Podcasts or audio content 40%
Source: “How clients buy 2009 Benchmark Report”, RainToday

29. 5. Website DohertyWhite

30. 5. Website DohertyWhite

31. 5. Website DohertyWhite
Example
landing page
layout

32. 5. Website DohertyWhite
Convince them to
Bring people Persuade them Persuade them to
renew each year –
(traffic) to to sign-up for a pay for your
retain your
your website Free Trial service
customers
Traffic Conversion Subscription Retention
Traffic Conversion Subscription Retentio
n

33. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

34. 6. Personal Network DohertyWhite
Mr. Big
Who do you know that will get you to Mr. Big?

35. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

36. 7. Professional Network DohertyWhite
• Associations e.g. IMDA, Irish Hotel Federation, SFA
• Professional Bodies e.g. Institute of Chartered Accountants
• Chambers of Commerce
• Women in Business
• University Alumni Association
• LinkedIn – groups, alumni, business associations
• Facebook ?

37. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

38. 8. Email marketing DohertyWhite
• Use an email service provider – Mailchimp, ConstantContact etc.
• Build your list – a list of emails from your target group
• Design your email so it looks professional
• Offer either (1) Pilot sign-up or (2) content e.g. a White Paper
• Or carry out a survey e.g. “Your use of Technology X”, offering something in return
• When someone clicks, bring them to a landing page
• Plan what your response should be – phone call, email, other ..

39. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

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9. Lunch

41. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

42. 10. Pay-per-click ads DohertyWhite
Your ad here
 These kinds of ads are called “Pay per click” – get them on Google and Bing
 How it works – tell Google that if someone searches on “phrase” they are to show
your ad; if someone clicks on your ad, then they are brought to a Landing Page
 You only pay when someone clicks; you know in that case that they were
searching on a relevant term for your business
 Keyword selection – find all the relevant words and phrases
 Write your text ad - offer “Free sign-up, this month only”
 Bring visitors to specially designed Landing page
 When they register, think through the follow-up e.g. Email, phone call ...
 Store the contact details ! OnePageCRM, ZohoCRM, your email system, Excel ...

43. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

44. 11. PR DohertyWhite
 PR is free, and really effective
 But ... to get coverage means you have to write something interesting and/or local
 Can issue a press release publicising your new product
 Or could promote a seminar, or a product launch
 Or you could carry out a survey and then publicise the results

45. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

46. 12. Sign-up Process DohertyWhite
 Follow-up all leads within 24 hours
 It’s in your interest to get them to sign-up so make an effort
 Help during sign-up and test – use webinars, even call round for the first few
 Do not let them work it out for themselves
 Provide someone for them to contact 24/7 – these are your pilot customers so it’s worth it
 Be prepared for a “4 touch” cycle – email, phone, email, email ...
 Record what you are doing – it can quickly get confusing
 Sketch out a workflow diagram showing how it should work

47. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

48. 13. Conversion DohertyWhite
 Are they using your product?
 If you take it away will they miss it?
 Can they see the value they obtain e.g. Money saved, time saved, revenue generated?
 What will it take to get them to buy?
 How does your pricing compare with comparable systems?
 Does someone else need to sign-off on the purchase?
 How do you know they understand the value?
 How do you test pricing?
 Big difference in saying “would be interested” versus providing credit card details
 Can you handle a card payment?

49. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

50. 14. Referral DohertyWhite
 Starting point – you have your first happy customer
 Will they give you a referral
 Why would they give you a referral?
 Can you incentivize them? E.g. 6 months free for every new customer?
 Can you offer something else?
 Value of offer should relate to value of customer e.g. If new customer worth 1k per year,
what “commission” will you offer to referrees?
 Examples: Perlico, ConstantContact, the Ecomist, Blueface ...

51. Contents DohertyWhite
Scenario Time
1. Intro – Why your first customers are so important 10 -10.30
2. Who to target 10.30 – 10.45
3. Define Your Pitch 10.45 – 11.15
4. The Product Launch Plan 11.15 – 11.30
5. Website 11.30 – 12
6. Personal Network 12 – 12.15
7. Professional Networks 12.15 – 12.30
8. Email Marketing 12.30 – 1
9. Lunch 1-2
10. Google Ads 2 – 2.30
11. PR 2.30 – 3
12. The Sign-up Process 3 – 3.30
13. Conversion Process 3.30 – 3.45
14. Referral Process 3.45 - 4

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Presentation Zen

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55. DohertyWhite Automated Marketing That Drives Sales
michael.white@dohertywhite.com
01 969 8029 / 07491 16689
086 383 8981
Thank You @michaelgwhite
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