How to Generate Traffic & Grow Your Startup - Hiten Shah | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

This Q&A session provides insights on marketing frameworks, budget allocation, finding opportunities, early adopters, driving traffic, new channels and tools, product market fit, hiring head of marketing and sales, analytics, focusing on brand building vs lead generation, and optimizing SEO and SEM.

Key Insights

• 🤩 For marketing a services consulting business, identifying key marketing channels and providing value is crucial.
• ❓ Startups should focus on inbound marketing channels that don't require much investment unless paid channels can be made profitable.
• 😫 Each startup faces its own set of challenges, and it doesn't get easier with time. Learning and adapting is a continuous process.
• 🚥 When the product is in development, generating traffic through blogging, tweeting, and audience engagement can be effective.
• 🚱 Consideration of budget allocation is essential, with a focus on non-paid inbound channels for startups with limited funds.
• 🅰️ Early adopters can be identified by talking to different customer types and understanding who finds the most value in the product.
• 💌 Building an audience and capturing emails during the product development stage can provide valuable feedback.
• 👶 Exploring new channels and tools, such as Instagram and Snapchat, can be worthwhile, but the most valuable channel is often the one built into the product.
• 🫠 Tracking metrics and conversions through tools like Facebook ads, amplitude, mix panel, or databases is essential to optimize campaigns.
• 🫠 Startups can pre-test marketing channels and messaging through landing pages and ads to understand customer acquisition costs before the product is ready.
• 🪘 Optimization of SEO and SEM should be considered as early as possible, but SEO may take longer to show results.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How does the marketing framework be adapted to a services consulting business?

The marketing framework can be adapted to a services consulting business by identifying the key marketing channels, such as events, and engaging customers by providing value.

Q: Since inbound marketing leads cost less, how can startups divide their budget between inbound and paid channels?

Startups with limited budgets should focus on inbound channels that don't cost much. If going for paid channels, consider the cost of acquiring sign-ups, leads, and revenue. Startups usually don't have much money for paid channels, so the focus should be on non-paid inbound channels.

Q: Which of your startups was most challenging, and does it get easier with time?

All startups have their own set of difficulties. Challenges vary from technical aspects to competition and fundraising. It doesn't get easier with time as each startup is unique and brings its own set of challenges.

Q: How do you drive traffic when the product is still in development?

During the product development stage, focus on generating traffic by blogging, tweeting, and building an audience interested in the problem you aim to solve. Collect emails from interested individuals to gather feedback and engage potential customers.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The marketing framework can be adapted to a services consulting business by identifying the key marketing channels, such as events, and engaging customers by providing value.

• Startups should focus on inbound marketing channels that don't cost much unless they can make paid channels profitable. Finding opportunities that other people aren't finding is crucial for startups.

• All startups face difficulties, and it doesn't get easier with time. Each startup has its own set of challenges and learning experiences.

• To drive traction when the product is in development, focus on generating traffic by blogging, tweeting, and building an audience interested in the problem the product aims to solve.