23Feb
Understanding Your KPIs

KPI, start-up
Key performance indicators, also known as KPIs, are measurable values that showcase how effectively a company is achieving business objectives. Businesses set benchmarks early on and use KPIs in order to determine if they are achieving the goals they set out. KPIs can either be high-level or low-level. In other words, they can encompass the company as a whole, or focus on departmental goals. Monitoring KPIs is crucial for measuring progress and making necessary modifications to your business strategy. However, the focus should not be on the KPIs themselves. It should be on their significance and knowing their impacts. Let’s review some of the KPIs that are important for founders to thoroughly understand for strategic purposes. Please note that not all KPIs are relevant to all types of businesses.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC):

CAC is the amount of money you need to spend on sales, marketing and related expenses, on average, to acquire a new customer. This tells you about the efficiency of your marketing efforts, although it’s much more meaningful when combined with some of the other metrics below, and when compared to competitors’ CAC.

Customer Retention Rate

Acquiring new customers is one thing, but retaining them is even more important. Your customer retention rate indicates the percentage of paying customers who remain paying customers during a given period of time. The converse to retention rate is churn (or attrition), which is the percentage of customers you lose in a given period of time. When we see high retention rates over an indicative time period, you know the company has a sticky product and that is keeping its customers happy. This is also an indicator of capital efficiency.

Lifetime value (LTV)

LTV is the measurement of the net value of an average customer to your business over the estimated life of their relationship with your company. Understanding this number, especially in its relation to CAC, is critical to building a sustainable company. Consider the ratio of CAC to LTV to be the golden metric. This is a true indicator of the sustainability of a company.

Cash Flow

Cash flow will give founders indication on the state of their sales and margins. In order to determine your cash flow forecast you have to add the total cash your business has in its savings to the projected cash value for the next four weeks. Then, subtract the projected cash-out for the next four weeks. Cash flow forecasts allow entrepreneurs to notice issues with cash flow at early stages and make the appropriate modifications. Understanding your revenue and monthly expenses (fixed and variable) enables you to calculate the company’s monthly burn. If the company starts the month with $100,000 in cash and ends the month with $90,000 in cash, its burn rate is $10,000. If a company’s monthly net cash flow is positive, it is not burning cash. A keen focus on runway is critical to the survival of any startup. Runway is the measure of the amount of time until the company runs out of cash, expressed in terms of months. Runway is computed by dividing remaining cash by monthly burn.

Inventory Turnover-

Inventory turnover is a ratio that shows the amount of times a company’s inventory is sold and replaced over a given period. This is especially important in the retail industry. Basically, it is how fast a company is selling their products. This is then compared to the industry average. Inventory turnover is important because it indicates the quality of your inventory planning methods and controlling techniques. Additionally, by improving inventory turnover a retailer can easily increase its profitability by carrying fewer inventories.

Accounts Payable Turnover-

Accounts payable turnover is the ratio that measure how quick a company can pay its suppliers. When the turnover rate declines, it means that the company is taking longer to pay its suppliers. This may imply deteriorating financial situation. It can also mean a change in payment terms with suppliers. If a company seems to be paying fairly quickly this can be due to suppliers’ demand for fast payment, or that a business is taking advantage of early payment discounts.

Revenue Growth Rate-

Having an understanding of how fast your company is growing is critical for analysis. There are many accounting rules that apply as to when and how you should declare revenue. As an entrepreneur understand that your actions as a businessperson can have direct effect on how your business is portrayed. You can control when contracts are signed, how the contracts are structured, in order to affect how much revenue is declared in a given quarter.

Market share-

Market share is main tool used in order to determine the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns compared to the competition. More specifically it can be calculated with shares of unit sales, share of customers served, share of total industry revenue, share of dollar volume, etc. Market share is important because it ranks you with your competitors. It gives you the most tangible indication of market growth, the quality of your CRM programs and branding initiatives. Make sure to also determine the value of your market share as well. For instance, having 60% market share in an industry that is slowly deteriorating is a red flag.

KPIs, like metrics, are crucial for business owners to monitor. Different companies monitor different KPIs, depending on their business goals. However, these KPIs should be understood by all business owners. Though you may not be dealing with technical accounting, understanding how these affect the way your business is perceived is of priority.

9Feb
The Importance of Brand Building

As Jeff Bezos so eloquently said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” The statement seems straightforward. But the process of building your brand is the difficult part. As an entrepreneur, you should commit to building a brand identity that resonates with your target market. So many people forget that businesses, especially those that are B2C, must have and portray a brand identity that will be the foundation of all future marketing initiatives. There are essentially 3 ways to build a brand: creating brand elements, secondary associations and marketing programs. However, before you start pouring your heart into your marketing strategy, take a moment and devise a market research plan. Investing in thorough market research is the only way to brand successfully.

How does an entrepreneur build a brand that will resonate with my customers? Though large corporations have more resources to create and develop a brand identity and conduct appropriate research, the process is practically the same. There are 6 steps to the marketing research process (click on the hyperlink for more details). (1) Defining the objective and problem (2) Determining research design (3) Designing and preparing the research instruments (4) Sampling and collecting data (5) Analyzing data and (6) Visualizing and communicating results. Though this seems complex, the hassle is definitely worth the effort. Following these steps, by conducting quantitative and qualitative research, will let you get to know your customers and their expectations of you. This implies conducting surveys, looking into credible secondary data, running focus groups, conducting interviews, testing for brand recognition, testing for recall, and associations. The goal is to know your customer enough to develop a brand identity that will appeal to them, compared to that of the competition.

If you don’t present your brand identity to the right people in the right manner, you missed the opportunity to acquire them. This will be time consuming and costly to reverse the associations people have already made with your brand. This is not to say that you can’t change your brand identity in the future. To the contrary, many successful companies have had to make brand-related changes in order to remain relevant over time. For instance, Victoria’s Secret was rebranded countless times before their angel wings took over retail, Apple nearly went bankrupt before becoming a staple in tech, and UPS used to be big and boring before it became personal and innovative. But, changing your brand image is costly and takes time. Keep in mind that you are a start-up, and will likely have a limited budget. Doing it right early on, will save you money, time and stress.

Whether you are an established business or start-up, there really only is one way to start off the branding process, and that is through market research and knowing exactly who you are targeting. We can’t stress this enough. Get to really know your customer early on. Drafting a brand narrative is strongly recommended. The objective of marketing is to create a lasting relationship, called customer retention, with the customer after the actual transaction has been made . You will only be able to do this once you’ve identified your customer’s problem, their expectations, and built a brand identity that they value.

25Jan
What Metrics Are and Why They Matter

Metrics, in business, are quantifiable measures that are used to track and evaluate business performance. It’s important not to confuse business metrics with key performance indicators (KPIs). Metrics track all areas of your business, while KPIs evaluate statistical performance. Business owners use metrics before making improvements and necessary changes to their activities. By monitoring certain aspects of business operation, including finances, marketing, competition, customer expectations and requirements, businesses will determine where their priorities lay. The ones you set for your business must follow the SMART model. They must be, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. These findings will be at the base of all of your business strategies. Metrics matter for 3 different reasons.

You gain critical information on the health of your business

Business owners need to identify the right metrics to use in order to evaluate the health of their business correctly. Just as a doctor monitors blood pressure, weight, height and heart rate, entrepreneurs need to do the same relative to their business on a regular basis. Knowing the metrics that will be of value to you will help you solve, and more importantly prevent, existing issues. The metrics that are essential to all businesses are those that measure revenue, growth and customer service.

Revenue- Monitoring revenue per sale, sale by category, seasonal variations, and purchasing trends will determine your business`s profitability. Also, track the details of all sales in order to determine which products are making you the most money. Don’t forget demographic information on the consumers buying each product offering.

Growth- To determine whether your business is growing in a scaleable manner, establish the cost of acquiring a new customer. The profit margin of each product is also important. Comparing changes in the size of you customer base with variations in revenue will indicate which products your customers are gravitating towards. It would also be beneficial to calculate how much they spend, on average per transaction.

Customer service- Customer satisfaction and retention should always be a focus. Quantifying customer satisfaction should be done through surveys, soliciting customer feedback through social media, and keeping tabs on the amount of referrals you get.

You build the foundation of your business strategy

Your metrics findings will map out your next steps. Depending on what you uncover, all strategies must complement the extracted data. Metrics are made of measurements with a target or goal in mind. So you must create benchmarks that will make your goal achievable over time. Then break this goal into measurable milestones. Your business strategy should work towards achieving these milestones. For instance, instead of setting the goal of increasing sales by a total of 10%, set a goal of increasing sales by specific amounts every month. Adjustments can thus be made at more incremental levels this way.

Improves your time management

In addition to driving improvements, metrics help businesses focus their employees and resources on more pressing matters. The information retrieved will show you exactly where your business is falling behind and where it has most potential. this is in addition to the problems that need immediate attention. As an entrepreneur with limited resources working in the most efficient manner possible is crucial. this includes the way you lead your workforce. Metrics indicate what the priorities of a company should be and the performance and focus of its employees.

Business metrics will give you insightful information about how your business is doing. For the most accurate and relevant data, first establish the metrics that are valuable to your particular business. Your marketing, operation management, and human resources strategies should be crafted in accordance with your findings. The goal is to establish as much specific, measurable, achievable and time-based goals based on your metrics.

25Jan
Comment Etsy peut aider votre petite entreprise

Etsy Pour ceux d’entre vous qui ne sont pas familiarisés avec Etsy, il s’agit d’une communauté d’acheteurs et de vendeurs en ligne qui se concentrent surtout sur des produits faits à la main et des articles millésimés. Etsy permet aux vendeurs de personnaliser des boutiques en ligne avec des solutions complètes de commerce électronique. Cette plateforme a permis à plusieurs personnes de transformer un passe-temps en une entreprise à plein régime. Si vous êtes une petite entreprise ou une personne qui veut tout simplement métamorphoser un passe-temps en une source de revenus, voici quelques raisons pour lesquelles vous devriez avoir une boutique Etsy.

C’est facile à utiliser

Il n’est pas nécessaire de posséder de grandes connaissances technologiques pour exploiter une boutique Etsy. Créer un site Internet avec une mise en page aussi claire et professionnelle que celle que vous offre Etsy nécessiterait beaucoup de travail de conception et de codage. Pour démarrer votre boutique, il vous suffit de suivre quelques étapes simples en quelques minutes. Le plus difficile est d’établir une gamme de prix, de décider quand offrir des promotions, à quelle fréquence ajouter de nouveaux produits, etc. Mais ce sont là des décisions difficiles que vous aurez à prendre, peu importe la plateforme que vous choisissez. Etsy offre également une application iPhone, Sell on Etsy, qui vous aide à gérer votre boutique et à rester organisé. Les caractéristiques de l’application vous permettent de gérer vos commandes, d’accéder à des données statistiques concernant votre boutique, de communiquer avec d’autres acheteurs, de gérer des listes, de recevoir des alertes lorsqu’il y a une vente, et bien plus encore.

C’est abordable

Démarrer une boutique sur Etsy est gratuit. Cependant, il y a trois frais minimaux reliés aux ventes. Vous avez des frais d’inscription d’un produit, des frais de transaction et des frais de traitement des paiements. Mettre un produit en vente vous coûtera 0,26 $. Pour chaque article mis en vente, la publication est valide pour 4 mois. Lorsque l’article est vendu, une commission de 3,5 %, des frais de traitement de paiements de 3,4 %, ainsi que 0,25 $ CA sont facturés.

Accès à une vaste clientèle ciblée

Etsy compte environ 54 millions de membres, tous spécifiquement à la recherche de produits faits à la main, et plus de 2 milliards de visites chaque mois. La consommatrice moyenne d’Etsy est une femme adulte âgée entre 18 et 34 ans. Elle est membre de la classe ouvrière ou classe moyenne. Annuellement, la plupart de ses achats sur Etsy comprennent des bijoux qui coûtent entre 21 $ et 40 $, et qui sont souvent achetés comme cadeaux. Elle aime la variété de produits faits à la main et respectueux de l’environnement. Si votre produit répond le moindrement à ces tendances démographiques, il n’y a pas de meilleure plateforme qui atteindra votre clientèle d’une manière mieux ciblée.

Testez vos nouvelles idées

Une présence sur Etsy est un bon moyen de voir comment les gens réagissent à vos nouvelles idées. Vous vous sentirez moins obligé de garder des produits qui ne se vendent pas puisque vous n’avez pas à contacter des concepteurs ou développeurs Web pour apporter les modifications nécessaires à votre plateforme. Par ailleurs, si vous avez une entreprise et un site Web existant et que vous êtes incertain au sujet d’une ligne de produits ou d’un produit particulier, effectuer des tests sur Etsy et lire les avis publiés dans les forums de discussion peut vous aider à prendre des décisions.

Etsy peut être utilisé comme un outil de commercialisation économique

Contrairement à la croyance populaire, vous n’êtes pas obligé d’utiliser Etsy exclusivement. Votre site Web et votre boutique Etsy peuvent fonctionner conjointement. Une fois que vous avez gagné du terrain avec votre boutique Etsy, vous pouvez réorienter vos visiteurs vers votre site. Si vous obtenez une quantité intéressante de vente sur Etsy, vous pouvez décider que cela vous convient parfaitement tout en choisissant de travailler aussi sur votre site Web en coulisses. Offrez un incitatif à vos clients pour les amener vers votre site Web – il peut s’agir d’articles à prix plus bas sur votre site, de cartes promotionnelles expédiées avec les commandes des clients provenant du site d’Etsy, ou d’inclure des URL de votre site dans les descriptions des produits que vous présentez sur Etsy.

Si votre marché cible est constitué de personnes qui visitent Etsy régulièrement, faites-en l’essai. Que vous soyez artiste, une personne avec un passe-temps, ou que vous exploitiez déjà une entreprise, vous pouvez profiter des nombreux avantages et beaucoup apprendre en administrant une boutique Etsy. Le pire qui puisse arriver serait que vous n’aimiez pas l’expérience. Mais même dans ce cas, vous aurez essayé une plateforme et vous aurez appris ce qui fonctionne et ce qui ne fonctionne pas pour vous.

12Jan
When to Say “No” to an Investment Offer

startup, investment, VC, venture capital Finding an investor is challenging. So it is understandable that when you are ready to start accepting term sheets that you would be tempting to accept your first offer after having reached out to countless investors. Though lack of financing can cause you to overemphasize the pros of accepting an investment offer, remember that there is much more at stake when dealing with an investor than your finances. Sometimes simply saying ‘no’ or ‘you are no the right fit’ is the smartest move. In order to evaluate compatibility with your potential investor, there are two things you should focus on:

The Term Sheet

It’s not just about how much money you get, but about how much you are willing to give up for it. Your term sheet is an agreement that establishes the terms and conditions at the base of an investment. It addresses information pertaining to the identification of parties involved, initial purchase price, contingencies that may constitute changes in your agreement, time frames for decision making, equity, etc. It is your responsibility to know and understand its content. In most cases your term sheet is the starting point for negotiations. Investors, backed with their professional experience and legal team, will draft term sheets in favor of their interests. Be ready to come to the negotiating table equally prepared. If you do not see eye-to-eye on an important matter, it may be best to walk away from the offer.

What your investor can offer you

Money will help businesses grow. However, it should not be the only thing that the investor has to offer. The reputation of the venture firms is often taken into consideration. Having a credible investor attached to a startup can assist with credibility, which can be helpful in forming business partnerships and hiring new employees.Many investors wind up taking board seats, so for these roles it can be helpful to find someone with industry experience or an expertise in scaling startups. Investors can help with problem-solving and can also make introductions. A good investor should be available to communicate with you, offer expertise, and give you honest feedback on your operations when needed. You should also look to see if said investor has a contact pool that you may be able to leverage in the future.

Declining an investment offer doesn’t mean you are closing the door to a particular relationship. Explain your business needs are for the time being, and express to an interested investor that you look forward to doing business with them in the future. Refusing to accept an investment offer does not have to be a negative experience. Show gratitude, explain your reasoning, and exchange pleasantries on your way out. You never know when you may cross paths in the future.

10Jan
4 raisons pour lesquelles les petites entreprises doivent avoir un blogue

blogue Si en tant que propriétaire de petite entreprise, vous envisagez de commencer un blogue, arrêtez de considérer la question et commencez à écrire. Plus d’excuses! «Je ne suis pas un bon écrivain» «Je n’ai pas d’idées originales» ou «Je n’ai pas le temps» ne sont pas de bonnes raisons; d’autant plus que les avantages d’un blogue dépassent de loin les inconvénients. Si l’on considère que d’ici 2020, les clients gèreront 85 % de leurs relations sans parler à un être humain, et que les blogues sont classés comme la 5e des sources les plus fiables d’informations en ligne. Ce que coûte vraiment un blogue vous est le temps.

Si vous faites partie de la minorité qui n’a pas encore joint le mouvement, voici 4 raisons pour lesquelles nous croyons que vous ne devriez pas attendre plus longtemps :

C’est économique

Il est généralement très peu coûteux de créer un blogue et de le tenir à jour. Les blogues peuvent être intégrés à votre site Web déjà existant, ou être créés indépendamment. Peu importe, c’est un mode de commercialisation parmi les moins coûteux pour les entrepreneurs. Il y a aussi de nombreux hébergements WordPress bon marché et fiables parmi lesquels vous pouvez choisir.

Génère du trafic vers votre site

L’ajout d’un blogue à votre site Web peut considérablement augmenter la circulation très ciblée de votre site. Les recherches démontrent que les entreprises qui bloguent reçoivent 97 % plus de liens vers leur site Web. Afficher des nouvelles convaincantes et perspicaces dans votre blogue, tout en utilisant stratégiquement des mots clés pour optimiser les moteurs de recherche, grâce à des publications en temps opportun, vous aidera à construire un public fidèle.

Positionnez votre marque en tant que chef de file éclairé

Les blogueurs accomplis sont des experts en stratégie de marque. Les blogues offrent aux entreprises l’occasion de discuter de questions importantes dans le secteur de leur industrie. Par ailleurs, les blogues permettent aux entreprises de montrer à leurs consommateurs qu’ils font plus que simplement vendre des produits ou offrir un service. L’utilisation de cette sorte de plateforme vise à attirer les lecteurs qui ne cherchent pas nécessairement à acheter quelque chose. Il y a de fortes chances que ces lecteurs reviennent dans le futur, quand ils seront effectivement à la recherche d’un produit. De nos jours, les consommateurs ne font pas qu’investir dans des produits, ils investissent dans tout ce qu’une entreprise représente. Les blogues constituent la meilleure façon de manifester que vous représentez le style de vie que vos consommateurs souhaitent connaître.

Établir des relations avec vos clients

Les blogues permettent d’offrir une touche personnelle. Cet aspect informel vous permet de créer une relation amicale de confiance avec votre public. L’ajout d’une section pour les commentaires, ou d’option de répondre à vos messages peut contribuer à susciter un dialogue intéressant. Idéalement, ces relations publiques positives permettront d’enrichir votre image de marque en vous présentant comme une entreprise qui se soucie de ses clients. Si vous créez régulièrement du contenu perspicace pour votre marché cible, vous pourrez vous établir comme source d’information importante.

Maintenir un blogue a aidé de nombreux entrepreneurs à faire passer leurs activités de la misère à la richesse. Dooce et Shoemoney en sont d’excellents exemples. Si ces raisons ne suffisent pas à vous convaincre qu’écrire un blogue est essentiel, posez-vous une question simple : Qu’ai-je à perdre en démarrant un blogue? Exactement. Rien que du temps bien dépensé. Essayez!

21Nov
Why So Many Crowdfunding Campaigns Fail

crowdfunding, startup Crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, have become mainstream in the past few years. There are many reasons why early stage entrepreneurs have turned to crowdfunding. Some of these reasons include not wanting to take out more debt, validating product market fit or simply to create a brand following. Crowdfunding serves many benefits such as crowdsourcing, opportunities to pre-sell, and starting a campaign is usually free. As great as these things might sound, having a successful crowdfunding campaign is harder than it seems. For every successful Kickstarter campaign, two fail, and about 9 out of 10 Indiegogo campaigns fail to reach their goals. Here are a few reasons why experts believe that so many crowdfunding campaigns fail.

Companies Fail to Establish Credibility

There are so many projects and initiatives on crowdfunding platforms, you must find ways to stand out in the clutter. Many crowdfunding initiatives have a reputation for unmet promises. Highly publicized credibility issues run deeper than product or supply-chain issues. The PME funded company, Revols, had managed to avoid such issues with their highly successful Kickstarter campaign, which garnered 2.5 million dollars in just a month. Their Kickstarter video showcased their credible partners, endorsements from industry experts, and specific accreditations to their name. They also hired a PR firm in order to make sure the right image was being spread prior to launch. Two weeks prior to starting their campaign Revols visited established media outlets with product demos in various North American cities. Like Revols, you have to be on top of your PR game.

The Video is Too Long

A video that is too long is not likely to be shared on social media platforms. Keep your video length between 1 to 3 minutes long, so that people who would like to share your video with their network will be likely to. Sharing aside, people are also busy and have short attention spans. They want something, short and informative to watch.

The Video Doesn’t Tell a Story

Videos have the capability to tell stories better than any other medium. Your video should have a story line that elicits emotional feelings from the viewer. If your video doesn’t seem sincere, you will have a difficult time getting investments or even people following-up on your brand down the line.

Companies Aren’t Clear About How They Will Use the Funds

If you know exactly what you’re going to be using your money for, so should your backers. Investors want to know how their money will help you. Putting out vague statements such as “help our business grow” or “we need your help to expand” does nothing to show that you have a strategic plan moving forward. To our previous point, not being specific also doesn’t do anything to boost your credibility.

No Testing

By testing we are referring to two things. The testing of the product and the testing of your Kickstarter page prior to launch. Before investing people want to know that your product has been tested and that it has garnered positive reviews from users and industry experts. Investors and backers want to be sure that their money is going into a quality good that has been vouched for. Testing your Kickstarter page means sending it to friends, family, mentors and trusted individuals in order to get feedback on its presentation and content. Building social capital prior and during your launch will have immense payoff.

Your Goals are Unrealistic

Don’t aim to get millions of dollars right off the bat. Even Revols had the objective of raising only $100,000 before they reached their $2.5 million mark. You should plan and set a timeline for the investments you hope to receive. Being conservative with your estimates is always better. Your goals should be SMART, in other words, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

These are some of the main reasons why crowdfunding campaigns fail. If you do the right planning in order to avoid these mistakes your crowdfunding campaign will already be more likely to rise above the clutter. Even if you don’t achieve your campaign goal, you should still be leaving the platform with more than you entered. You should have more supporters, a longer e-mail list, and most importantly, a better idea of what it is that your consumers want.

21Nov
Pourquoi tant de campagnes de financement participatif échouent-elles?

Financement Participatif

Au cours des dernières années, les plateformes de financement participatif, comme Kickstarter et Indiegogo, sont devenues dominantes. Il y a plusieurs raisons pour lesquelles les jeunes entrepreneurs peuvent se tourner vers les campagnes de financement participatif, incluant, en autres, le désir de ne pas s’endetter, valider l’adéquation produit / marché, ou tout simplement créer une visibilité de sa marque. Ces campagnes de financement offrent de nombreux avantages tels que l’externalisation ouverte et des possibilités de prévente, sans compter qu’il n’y a généralement aucuns frais pour démarrer une campagne. Cette approche peut sembler très excitante, mais c’est plus difficile que ça en a l’air. Pour chaque campagne Kickstarter réussie, deux échouent, et environ 9 campagnes Indiegogo sur 10 ne parviennent pas à atteindre leurs objectifs. Voici quelques raisons pour lesquelles les experts croient que tant de campagnes de financement participatif échouent.

Des entreprises ne parviennent pas à établir une crédibilité

Il existe tellement de projets et d’initiatives sur les plateformes de campagnes de financement participatif que vous devez trouver des façons de vous démarquer de la masse. Plusieurs de ces campagnes ont acquis une réputation de promesses non tenues. Des problèmes de crédibilité hautement médiatisés vont bien au-delà des questions sur les produits ou sur la chaîne d’approvisionnement. La société Revols, financée par PME, a réussi à éviter ces problèmes grâce à une campagne Kickstarter très réussie qui a recueilli 2,5 millions de dollars en un mois. Leur vidéo Kickstarter présentait leurs partenaires crédibles, le soutien d’experts de l’industrie, et une adhésion spécifique à leur nom. Ils ont également embauché une agence de relations publiques afin de s’assurer de propager l’image désirée avant le lancement. Deux semaines avant de lancer leur campagne, Revols a visité des organes d’informations reconnus de différentes villes nord-américaines avec des démonstrations de leur produit. Tout comme Revols, quand il est question de relations publiques, vous devez bien maîtriser votre jeu.

La vidéo est trop longue

Une vidéo qui est trop longue n’est pas susceptible d’être partagée sur les plateformes de médias sociaux. Limitez la longueur de votre vidéo à 1 à 3 minutes — ainsi, il y a plus de chance que les gens la partagent dans leurs réseaux. Mais, même si on laisse le partage de côté, il faut admettre que les gens sont très occupés et qu’ils ont une capacité d’attention limitée — ils veulent regarder quelque chose qui est court et informatif.

La vidéo ne raconte pas une histoire

Mieux que tout autre moyen, les vidéos offrent la possibilité de raconter des histoires. Votre vidéo doit avoir une trame qui suscite des émotions chez le spectateur. Si votre vidéo manque de sincérité, non seulement aurez-vous du mal à obtenir des investissements, mais les gens auront peu tendance à retenir votre marque.

La façon dont les fonds seront utilisés n’est pas claire

Si vous connaissez exactement la façon dont vous utiliserez l’argent, vos bailleurs de fonds devraient la connaître aussi. Les investisseurs veulent connaître comment leur argent vous aidera. Des déclarations vagues comme «contribuez à la croissance de notre entreprise» ou «nous avons besoin de votre aide pour grandir» ne démontrent aucun plan stratégique pour l’avenir. Comme nous l’avons mentionné ci-dessus, le manque de précision ne fait que renforcer votre manque de crédibilité.

Aucun test

Par test, nous faisons référence à deux choses. Tester le produit et tester votre page Kickstarter avant le lancement. Avant d’investir, les gens veulent savoir que votre produit a été testé et qu’il a reçu des critiques positives des utilisateurs et des experts de l’industrie. Les investisseurs et les bailleurs de fonds veulent être certains que leur argent est investi dans un produit attesté de qualité. Tester votre page Kickstarter signifie l’envoyer à des amis, la famille, des mentors et des personnes de confiance afin d’obtenir des commentaires sur la présentation et le contenu. Développer le capital social avant et pendant votre lancement offre des avantages considérables.

Vos objectifs sont irréalistes

En partant, ne vous fixez pas comme objectif d’obtenir des millions de dollars. Même Revols avait pour seule ambition de récolter 100 000 dollars avant d’atteindre la barre de 2,5 millions. Vous devez planifier et fixer un calendrier pour les investissements que vous espérez recevoir. Il est toujours préférable d’être prudent dans vos estimations. Vos objectifs doivent être SMART, en d’autres termes, spécifiques, mesurables, atteignables, réalistes et temporels.

Voilà donc quelques-unes des principales raisons pour lesquelles les campagnes de financement participatif échouent. Une planification appropriée qui évite ces erreurs vous offrira déjà plus de chances de vous démarquer de la masse. Même si vous ne réalisez pas votre objectif, vous devriez tout de même être en mesure de quitter la plateforme plus fort que vous ne l’étiez à votre arrivée. Vous devriez avoir plus de sympathisants, une liste de courriels plus longue, et surtout, une meilleure idée de ce que vos clients veulent.

7Nov
How to Find Investors for Your Business

investors, business, start-ups Finding the right investor for your business, let alone any investor, is a difficult task. You have to know where to look, who to network with, and the kind of resources your business needs. The last thing you want is an investor who can only provide financial support. You will likely speak to over a dozen of investors before finding the right one for you. It will be a tiring process, but meticulousness is necessary if compatibility is what you’re looking for. Here are 4 tips on how to find investors for your business when the time is right.

Get an introduction from a mutual acquaintance

Asking members of your professional and social networks if they know any investors should be your first step. Entrepreneurs will have an easier time to get a meeting with an investor when introduced by a mutual acquaintance that the investor trusts. It is important you network constantly and consistently. Networking, whether in a social or professional setting brings about many advantages. The more good relationships you build, the better your chances of being introduced to an investor that is willing to give you his time. Remember that when networking you are not just gaining exposure, you are building connections with the networks of others as well. If someone they know has a need that matches your business, or vice versa, and you’ve made a good impression, chances are you will get a referral.

Research where they’re going to be

If you have particular investors in mind, research where they are going to be. Many investors spend time at speaker series and conferences open to the public. In order to get the attention of your prospects make sure to attend these events, and have your elevator pitch ready. You might just have a small window of opportunity to speak to them, so make sure you provide them with just enough information to spark their interest, and provide them with your business card. Make sure to get permission to contact your prospect in order to continue the discussion further.

Understand your KPIs and market

Your KPIs and market will help you determine exactly what kind of investment your business needs. This is what will lead you to the finding the right investor for your business. Understanding your KPIs will showcase precisely where your business is lagging and where it is prospering. You will therefore be able to identify your selling points to your investor. Additionally, understanding your market will indicate the kind of experience you need your investor to have. Which companies have they invested in? What industries are they most interested in? how does their investment track record look? What do they provide the companies they invest in?

Research credible online communities

LinkedIn is a great online platform to find investors. It is, however, not the only one. There are many social networks that connect you directly with investors from other countries. These investors are usually interested in contributing to the global business environment. Such platforms include Crunchbase, AngelList, Xing, Plaxo, Startup Nation, and Meetup. While it will take much more work and precautions to assess compatibility with an investor you met this way, it should not prevent you from expanding your search to online resources.

Finding investors for your business will be a difficult task. Especially at the beginning stages of business development when your business hasn’t gained much traction yet. Just keep in mind that your relationship with your investor is worth more than a business transaction. Therefore, make sure you know exactly where you are looking and what you are looking for.

18Oct
What Your MVP Should Accomplish

MVP, start-up, business, Montreal Your business’s MVP is more than just your minimum viable product. Sport teams aren’t the only ones with a most valuable player. As an entrepreneur in the product development stage, your minimum viable product is without a doubt your most valuable player. A team’s most valuable player teaches, remains focused, sets reasonable goals, is a representation of security, and gets the job done. All of these are also embodiment of a quality minimum viable product. Saying that your minimum product is also your most valuable may sound like a contradiction. Here are a few reasons why they are not mutually exclusive and what your MVP should accomplish.

Fix the basic problem you are trying to solve:

This is your testing stage. It is the first step you must take in order to validate consumer need. What do your customers want? How will your product satisfy consumer needs before you decide to invest a significant amount of capital into your product development? Here is where you must balance your product efficiency and usability. At this stage you must aim to identify the core problem your product is going to solve. Products can have a varied set of interesting features, however, if you are unable to prioritize and rank your features based on importance you should probably take a few steps back and re-evaluate your strategy. Your MVP is supposed to be the most basic version of your final product. This will allow you to make the necessary modifications, if need be, based on the responses you will get. An MVP is about learning from your potential customers, not about impressing them. The goal here is to learn about your product and your customers’ expectations in order to prevent spending on unnecessary costs in following stages.

Identify your Early Adopters

Your early adopters are your trend setters. Identifying the wants and needs of your early adopters during this testing stage is key. First of all, this will help you define your marketing strategy and sales process in the upcoming stages. Because early adopters are very knowledgeable on the industry you intend on entering, they are known to be credible sources of information to members of their network. By identifying who your early adopters are and how you will be able to satisfy their needs, you are bettering your chances at word-of-mouth advertising. Secondly, from the perspective of feedback, they are your most honest critic. They know of most products out there and are not interested in the popularity of your brand or impressing those in their surroundings by purchasing your brand. Early adopters want quality. Early adopters live for new and cutting-edge products. Learning about their expectations will allow to create a quality product and a compatible marketing plan.

Figure the amount people are willing to pay for your product

Finding out the price customers are willing to pay for your product during the MVP stage will give you further indication on the positioning of your product in the market versus other competitors. This will also give you a better idea for your pricing strategy moving forward. If you are met with feedback that indicates a higher willingness to pay for your MVP, you can explore the possibilities of a more expensive pricing strategy for example. Of course, such a decision also depends on how much it costs to make your MVP.

Inform yourself on the positioning of your product

Simply put, positioning symbolizes the place your product holds in the mind of the consumer. If you intend to enter a market where you will be competing against numerous other similar products, it is crucial you occupy a unique and easily identifiable place in the consumer’s mind. Because your MVP is such a basic version of your final product, there is much flexibility with the route you can choose for branding. The goal here is to start developing your brand persona and identity based on the feedback you get from your testers. Of course, this in addition to marketing research will lay the foundation for your marketing strategy moving forward. For instance, based on the feedback you will be getting on your MVP, you will be able to identify your main product differentiators, your strengths, weaknesses, and base some of your market research on these components.

Map out your following stages toward market

Learning from your MVP, means setting up metrics and different forms of measurement prior to testing. Your MVP findings will be your foundation in mapping out the following stages of your business activity. What you need to do is find tangible ways to record and monitor your feedback and research findings. There are some Pre-MVP considerations you should establish prior to testing. You can create a grading scale for answering each of the questions listed below. For instance, a low response would mean 0 points, medium; 5 points, and high level; 10 points. Lower points for questions would require further investigation justifying the unfavorable responses.

Whether the problem you are trying to solve is really important to users
Whether users are actively trying to solve this issue now with other services or self-made solutions
Are they active during the interview
Do they agree to come and discuss the solution with you when it’s ready
Do they agree to refer other people to you
Are they ready to pay for the solution right away

There are also many available online programs and application that will not only help you with the planning process of creating an MVP, but also provide you with useful KPI tools.

Your MVP is your most valuable player. Think about it. A general manager of a sport`s team first secures his star player, his MVP. The team’s MVP is the reliable player that can be counted on to lead the team, deliver the needed results, and perform. At this point the general manager starts to form the team around his MVP. Hence, your added product features. Without your MVP your product loses almost all of its value to its customers. Would you have bought tickets to a Chicago Bulls game if you knew Michael Jordan wasn`t playing? Probably not. At this stage, the goal is to learn. Sometimes this can mean going back to the drawing board. But, what this always means is that you are saving yourself time and money moving forward.

Si vous faites partie de la minorité qui n’a pas encore joint le mouvement, voici 4 raisons pour lesquelles nous croyons que vous ne devriez pas attendre plus longtemps :

C’est économique

Génère du trafic vers votre site

Positionnez votre marque en tant que chef de file éclairé

Établir des relations avec vos clients

La vidéo est trop longue

There are also many available online programs and application that will not only help you with the planning process of creating an MVP, but also provide you with useful KPI tools.