Big Wins with Precious Little Data

When it comes to data insights and big wins, marketers tend to underestimate the power of little. They should not be fooled. Like small faults, little findings can result in seismic shifts.

This was pointedly argued in an article about the virtues of little data, written by David Meer for “Strategy + Business.” One sentence leaped from the page as I read his piece:

A paradigm shift — away from management based on gut feelings and toward data-driven decision-making — is already underway, and accelerating.

This is an important line. Many organizations have gotten got caught up in thinking that Big Data — with high velocity, volume, or variability — is a requirement when in truth they are already sitting on a wealth of potential in the data they have. If they shift their focus to finding new ways to use what they have, such as applying a customer perspective to the information, they can generate fresh insights and management options.

Meer offered three steps that companies should follow to extract meaning from their little data. I would add one more step, and suggest that big companies, as well as small ones, would benefit from them all. Here they are, with an added loyalty spin:

Be more fact-based

Organizations should think about what information is available to gain reliable insights into the business. Even better, data analysis, when it relies on insights collected through a loyalty program, can yield even broader opportunities. Extending customer insights by using the data from a merchant-branded loyalty program that is tied to a credit card, for example, not only gathers information from activities with that brand but also activities with its competitors.

In cases where such information is not available, organizations should apply the facts at hand in their decision-making. This will lead to the next step.

Learn by doing

“Since little data applications are not commercially available via third parties, companies have to use trial and error,” he wrote. The loyalty publishing company COLLOQUY likes to refer to the importance of “quick wins” that come with data trialing, and how the returns in intelligence and business can be leveraged in the following years. Importantly, such small successes will inspire incremental management support.

Be creative

Do not underestimate the feedback that comes from employees. In-store observations, online surveys, and call-center conversations all can reveal much about customers, Meer wrote. Organizations can even offer incentives to those who provide feedback, further enhancing their brand value while also obtaining valuable information from natural interactions with their customers.

Affordable technology, such as cloud backup services, can ensure customer information is securely stored and available for staff.

Lastly, think like your customer

Marketers spend a lot of time gathering data on who buys a product, when and under what circumstances, but how often are they thinking like that end consumer, the Millennial starting a new job or a recent mother? In order to successfully analyze the data, organizations should get to the underlying motivations and aspirations of their customers.

After all, the context of the information is as important as the data they are using as the basis for “little data” experiments. Additionally, because the data can deliver sterilized results, marketers might consider introducing variables, such as spilled coffee or a screaming baby.

All of these unanticipated events, however small, can alter the brand experience. It might not feel seismic, but the power of even a little knowledge can redirect a company onto a more profitable course.

How to Create Killer Call to Actions for Your Blogs

Oh, if only that were that simple. I’d probably read through more than once. However, now that I have you thinking about the proper way to motivate someone, I’d like to share some tips on how to craft a killer call to action for your marketing campaigns.

Social media is constantly growing and evolving.

So is the way we use it in business and as marketers.

Following blogs that discuss social media and social media marketing is a great way to stay up-to-date with these changes in how social media is being run and used so that you can utilize it in the most productive way.

What Is a Call to Action?

In marketing, your call to action is the part of your advertisement that tells your target audience what they should be doing once they click on your PPC ad and hit your website or landing page. The simplest example of a call to action is “Buy now!”

The more information you can provide your potential customers with your CTA, the better it will be for all parties involved. You can let your audience know what to expect when they click on your ad, and you can help dissuade the wrong users from clicking by means of a clear and direct message.

CTA’s use strong command verbs

It’s all about being clear and concise with your CTA. You don’t have a ton of space in your ad to get your point across, with the character limit set at 35 characters per description line, so it is important to get straight to the point. Let your audience know exactly what you want them to do, and start the CTA with the desired action.

Run an e-commerce website? Start your CTA with words like “buy,” “shop,” or “order”
Promoting a newsletter or white paper? Start your CTA with words like “download” or “subscribe”
Want someone to request more information? Try “fill out a form for…” or “find out how…”

Let’s refer to that white paper example. If you’re a marketing agency promoting your latest tips and insights, you want to be sure that your audience understands exactly how to access that white paper. If your CTA read something like “Our latest white paper is available” you may not get a great click-through rate, as folks might not be sure where or when they can expect to get their hands on it.

A call-to-action such as “download our white paper today!” is much more direct and informative, which should help improve CTR.

Provoke emotion

You want to be able to elicit a strong response from your audience as a result of their enthusiasm. If your CTA is enthusiastic, then your audience will be enthusiastic too. Take a CTA like “buy now and get 50% off!” – not only are you providing them with a massive benefit but who wouldn’t be thrilled to get their order for half off?

For someone looking to book a trip with their family, a CTA such as “plan your dream vacation today!” will excite them about the notion of a family trip and make them eager to click on your ad.

Give a reason for the desired action

In other words, what’s in it for them? Will it help them do their jobs better, lose weight, or save money? This will tie in heavily with your value proposition, or unique selling point (USP). Your USP is arguably one of the most important pieces of acquiring new leads, so creating a nice USP/CTA mash-up is a great way to increase clicks.

A good example of this would be something like “call today to schedule your free consultation!” Not only have you stated the action you want the user to take (call today), but you have also provided them with a reason why they should take that action (a free consultation).

Know your devices

Creating a killer call-to-action is important, that’s no secret. But I also urge you to consider customizing your CTA based on the device being used by your audience.

Google considers desktop and tablet as the same device, as the screen sizes are roughly the same, and people use them for search in similar scenarios. An example of this would be a person sitting on the couch at night, who sees an ad on TV for a product they’re interested in. The next thing they’ll probably do is grab their laptop or tablet and search for more information on it.

However, mobile devices tend to have different user behavior and search intent than desktop/tablets, making it prudent to tailor your CTA based on the device. Users who search for something on their desktop or tablet are typically still doing their research, and are not quite ready to commit.

But users searching for something on their mobile phone are often looking for “instant gratification” or fast results.

Someone could be walking down the street when they see an ad on a moving bus, and whip out their phone and quickly search for what they saw before it leaves their brain. Their search will also likely result in a phone call to complete the desired action, rather than browsing a website.

My advice is to create a more phone call-centric CTA for your ads that appear on mobile devices. You could try something like “call now to get started” or “call us today for more information,” and that should help guide your target audience to take the action you want them to take.

There are two ways you can make this tactic even more effective:

Google gives you the ability to set a mobile preference for your ads, which allows you to designate certain ads to only appear for searches completed on mobile devices. With this option, you can focus your CTA on generating more phone calls.

You can also enable call extensions, which allow you to display your phone number alongside your ads. This option is available for all devices, and I strongly recommend that you take advantage of it, but Google automatically adjusts the way your call extensions are displayed on mobile searches. Instead of your number appearing, a small “Call” button will be display, allowing for one-touch dialing.

Be creative

It’s important that you keep your CTA’s fresh, much like you should with your ad copy in general. A good, old-fashioned A/B test is a great way to identify which CTA’s bring you clicks, and which CTA’s bring you frowns.

While your tried and true calls-to-action like the ones we’ve already discussed are always good to use, you really never know how they’ll perform in your account until you actually use them.

PPC is definitely a game of trial and error (which is why it can be frustrating!), and your calls-to-action are no exception to the rule. Something could look great on paper or may sound great when a colleague recommends it to you, but the only way you’ll absolutely know for sure if something will work for your account is if you test it out.

Your target audience may not respond well to what could be considered a “surefire CTA,” which is enough to make you pull your hair out. I recommend not only testing different CTA’s but being creative with them too. If your target audience isn’t responding well to your ads, you might as well try to think outside the box a bit!

Use numbers when possible

We, consumers, respond well to seeing numbers such as pricing, discounts, promotions, incentives, etc. It helps us to determine whether or not it’s worth splurging on items we desperately want but probably aren’t essential to everyday life.

So when the opportunity arises, why not appeal to your target audience that way?

I am always a big proponent of including pricing information in your ad copy in general, and that includes your CTA. If a user sees your pricing information in your ad and decides to click through to your site, then you know they are still interested in the product or service you are offering.

Now you know you have yourself a valuable click and an increased chance at generating a conversion. But, if you don’t include your pricing information in your ads, someone may click through to your site, excited about your products/services, but then get scared off by your prices; now you have yourself a less than desirable situation.

This leads to the dreaded wasted spend in your account, and who wants to deal with that?

Try experimenting with your pricing information in your CTA, as well as any other applicable numerical information. A CTA such as “Shop today for TVs under $300!” not only shows a user how little they will pay for a TV, but it also hits on the FOMO element as well.

If you are running a special promotion for shipping, you could try something like “order by Sunday for 1-day shipping.” Maybe you are an auto body shop looking to incentivize your audience with a discount; your CTA might look something like “Book today! 15% off your next visit.”

Startup Business Ideas to Implement for Success

Many of our clients are startup owners. So, we have analyzed there struggles and successes to write an article on actions you should implement in startup business ideas.

However, focusing on startups creation, this process is not as easy as you may think. This will be a brief guide for those who are seriously thinking about becoming a startup.

Here are some ideas we think are most important that you can use in your own start-up journey:

Develop ideas for success

The development of an idea and realization of a startup is a laborious task. Many things are to be taken into account to make a startup effective.

The main thing is to show your vision of the startup through problems of people.

Needs of people are more important than the business plan. At the same time identify your motivation and purpose in life. Pay attention to your leading advantages.

The main criteria for the successful idea are as follows: durability (value over time or long-term importance), trustworthiness (possibility to defend it), and sustainability (possibility to fulfill the idea over some period of time).

So, you are ready to create a startup. Here is the question, where the idea is to be taken from? We have distinguished empirically several ways that can help you find a great idea for a startup:

Thinking over what you or people close to you are insufficient in

The great example is Glen Tullman and his company Livongo Health that uses cloud technology to help people manage chronic illnesses, starting with diabetes.

Modernization of your hobby

Shabnam Mogharabi always wanted to tell stories that would change the world. Now he heads SoulPancake, a growing media empire in Los Angeles focused on spirituality with annual revenue equal to $3.9 million (2014) and 3-year growth of 3,044%.

Finding market areas not yet noticed

This is typical for established professionals who are already involved in developing an existing business of other people. Bai Brands used its imagination in combining ingredients, including organic coffee fruit and white tea extracts and earned $100 million revenue in 2015.

Development of the area in the new thriving sphere

The reason for developing the area in the new thriving sphere is that companies are not able to manage all demands appearing there. For example, the pet industry on which nearly $61 billion was spent in 2015.

The Seattle-based startup (Rover.com) has been regarded as the Airbnb for dog sitting. Greg Gottesman and Philip Kimmey founded Rover.com in 2011 and raised more than $50 million.

Startup business ideas to explore the market

Understanding your market is a key to success. If you do not know particular features of the business sphere you have chosen, your efforts will be in vain.

Stay within the area you know. Don’t start anything you are not familiar with. Remember about consumers and feel like they do, figure out their needs.

Startup business ideas to be nimble

In their interview to Business Insiders the leading Internet entrepreneurs Kevin Ryan, Thomas Gensemer, Marc Andreessen, and Mark Zuckerberg are as one on the issue of speed and quickness.

Reacting fast to changing market needs is crucial for a successful startup.

Be creative for startup business ideas

Unusual thinking is also essential for getting the first investment and starting your business. The great example is Airbnb, whose first object of the lease was their room with air mattresses.

Its founders have displaced many established companies in the hospitality industry and earned billions. So, don’t be afraid to go beyond generally accepted business schemes!

It is about you and your uniqueness!

Startup business ideas … don’t ignore risks

Risks are natural companions of any new undertakings. They should not frighten you or hamper your development. In general, a startup can face several risks.

Market risk

Is there a market for your product? Is it necessary for somebody? Will people pay for it? Answering these questions is one of the main tasks before releasing your product to the market. If this risk falls in your favor, your business is to succeed.

Product risk

Another top priority while creating a startup is to identify your product, its features, problems that are solved with its help, and its worthiness to be invested in.

If you are not able to do it, obviously potential customers will not be interested in it.

Team experience risk

One person cannot cope with all risks by himself or herself. That is why the issue of a team is a topical one. You should build a team of such specialists who have enough experience and knowledge of the business area.

Besides, the team is necessary to develop ideas concerning product’s building, it’s bringing to the market, etc.

Financial risk

Most startups require investments to get up and running. At first, it can be your friends, family, angel investors, and venture funds. It is necessary to identify business boundaries when you are searching for new investments.

Your potential investors pay attention to your ability to articulate a business plan, to reach each new stage of development successfully.

Risk of copycats

There is always a risk that competitors will copy your product. It is particularly topical for IT industry. It is easy to give your idea away while searching for investors or executors. It is also possible if the development is not dynamic.

This list of risks can be continued and new ones can be added. Nevertheless, risks connected with your startup are not issues out of control.

There are always ways to manage them. One of them is to build an MVP, the essence of which is to narrow down your idea into the smallest quantity of things that validates your assumptions.

It is rather important for any company to create the simplest version of its product that is ready to be launched onto the market, thus helping to collect initial data about potential customers.

The main benefit of it is that you will not have to spend much money until you know there is a market and a target group for your product. It illuminates risks of uncertainty surrounding a startup.

Even if your first try of creating a successful startup is not so rewarding as you expected, don’t give up to the difficulties. Remember, RubyGarage team stands by you at any time!

Startup business ideas … be resilient

Steve Jobs famously said that the difference between those who make it and those who don’t is perseverance. At one point I remember hearing “Folks, I don’t know if we’re going to be here next month.”

It’s frightening not to know where you’re going to be next month, but you have to continuously figure out how to get a few more customers and extend your runway.

You can’t “make it” or succeed if you don’t exist, so you can’t quit.

https://digitalsparkmarketing.com/incredible-things-to-learn/

Make customers the center of everything

At Text Request, we spent hours with our customers. We built whatever they asked for (if it fit with our goals and other customers could use it too). We also gave away a lot of free software.

If you want to grow and gain customers, you have to create a needed product that solves your target customers’ problems.

Determine who your target customers are, ask them what they need, and then tailor your solutions for them.

Startup business ideas … focus on the basics

When you focus on doing the basics, opportunities open up. When you commit to SEO basics, your targets will find you online, and a big fish will occasionally swim by.

When you provide fantastic customer service, a few users will leave reviews and tell their friends. When you keep your head down and do the work, eventually you’ll look up and have hit a big milestone.

Business Information: How to Completely Change Your Success Priorities

Startup business ideas … hire the best people

This is one of the critical lessons from Jim Collins’ Good to Great. Thankfully, the small team had the right people from the beginning. Brian and Jamey Elrod had already started a successful company from scratch (Educational Outfitters).

The third co-founder Rob Reagan has created software for twenty years and published a book last year on building apps for global scale.

Rob brought a couple of top-notch developers with him, and the rest of us showed up determined to figure the business out.

If you’re going to take a company from $0 to $1 million, every member of your team has to be dedicated to working together for the long-term benefit of the company over self-interest.

Keep customers longer

Our support is perhaps our #1 competitive advantage. One of the things we’ve learned is that a lower price, and sometimes even new features, won’t keep customers around longer.

To keep your customers from churning, you’ve got to do two things:

First, provide a smooth onboarding process that immediately teaches customers how to gain value (solve their problems) with your product. Otherwise, they won’t pick it up, and they’ll eventually leave.

Second, always be there with kind words and helpful content whenever a customer needs help. If you aren’t, they’ll get frustrated and find someone else to help them.

Digital Spark Marketing’s Firestorm Blog

Need some help in finding ways to *grow your customers**? Such as creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers? Or perhaps finding ways to work with other businesses?*

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of collaborative innovation. And put it to good use in adapting to changes in your business environment.

It’s up to you to keep improving your learning and experience with innovation and creativity efforts. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.

When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.

Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.

Check out these additional articles on business and its performance from our library:

Retail Design …11 Ways Businesses Are Responding to the Future

7 Surprising Things to Know About the Zillow Business Model

10 Lessons for Successful Entrepreneurs You Need to Know

Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.

Use these Content Marketing Creative Ideas and Video

How would you like to be able to create awesome content marketing so interesting that people can’t help but be drawn into reading your subject? It’s every marketer’s dream – to hit on something that’s both entertaining but also refreshingly honest. One way is to use content marketing creative ideas and video.

Although very few of us can claim to fulfill such a tall order on a consistent basis, there are companies out there who have completely revolutionized how people see them – so that they’re no longer just another “me too” player in a crowded sphere. Wouldn’t that be great to join that crowd?

Everyone is blogging, so you should to right? Although blogging can be a great way to generate traffic, it takes time before you will see results.

Content marketing works, but it takes a few years before you see great results. So if you are going to create a blog, be willing to invest 2 years before you are happy with the results, as this video says.

In his book, Contagious, Wharton professor Jonah Berger showed that one of the key reasons people share content online is because it arouses a person’s emotion. His point … content has to go beyond just being useful; it has to be unforgettable. Rather than trying to churn out quantity, take the time to figure out what kind of emotions move your audience.

In doing so, it’s important to remember that not all emotion is created equal. In his research, Berger identifies that certain kinds of emotions – those that get people “aroused” like awe, passion, and anger – are much more likely to drive shares than those that make people feel toned down – like sadness, relaxation, or contentment.

Don’t be afraid to rock the boat.

Employ social media content creation tools.

Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?

Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.

More reading on marketing and advertising from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

Guinness Marketing Campaign Shows Their Creativity

Secrets to Share on Lego’s Marketing Campaigns

12 Lessons from Ben and Jerry’s Marketing Strategies

Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.

When it comes to data insights and big wins, marketers tend to underestimate the power of little. They should not be fooled. Like small faults, little findings can result in seismic shifts.

This was pointedly argued in an article about the virtues of little data, written by David Meer for “Strategy + Business.” One sentence leaped from the page as I read his piece:

A paradigm shift — away from management based on gut feelings and toward data-driven decision-making — is already underway, and accelerating.

Meer offered three steps that companies should follow to extract meaning from their little data. I would add one more step, and suggest that big companies, as well as small ones, would benefit from them all. Here they are, with an added loyalty spin:

Be more fact-based

In cases where such information is not available, organizations should apply the facts at hand in their decision-making. This will lead to the next step.

Learn by doing

Be creative

Affordable technology, such as cloud backup services, can ensure customer information is securely stored and available for staff.

Lastly, think like your customer

After all, the context of the information is as important as the data they are using as the basis for “little data” experiments. Additionally, because the data can deliver sterilized results, marketers might consider introducing variables, such as spilled coffee or a screaming baby.

All of these unanticipated events, however small, can alter the brand experience. It might not feel seismic, but the power of even a little knowledge can redirect a company onto a more profitable course.

Oh, if only that were that simple. I’d probably read through more than once. However, now that I have you thinking about the proper way to motivate someone, I’d like to share some tips on how to craft a killer call to action for your marketing campaigns.

Social media is constantly growing and evolving.

So is the way we use it in business and as marketers.

Following blogs that discuss social media and social media marketing is a great way to stay up-to-date with these changes in how social media is being run and used so that you can utilize it in the most productive way.

What Is a Call to Action?

In marketing, your call to action is the part of your advertisement that tells your target audience what they should be doing once they click on your PPC ad and hit your website or landing page. The simplest example of a call to action is “Buy now!”

The more information you can provide your potential customers with your CTA, the better it will be for all parties involved. You can let your audience know what to expect when they click on your ad, and you can help dissuade the wrong users from clicking by means of a clear and direct message.

CTA’s use strong command verbs

A call-to-action such as “download our white paper today!” is much more direct and informative, which should help improve CTR.

Provoke emotion

For someone looking to book a trip with their family, a CTA such as “plan your dream vacation today!” will excite them about the notion of a family trip and make them eager to click on your ad.

Give a reason for the desired action

A good example of this would be something like “call today to schedule your free consultation!” Not only have you stated the action you want the user to take (call today), but you have also provided them with a reason why they should take that action (a free consultation).

Know your devices

Creating a killer call-to-action is important, that’s no secret. But I also urge you to consider customizing your CTA based on the device being used by your audience.

However, mobile devices tend to have different user behavior and search intent than desktop/tablets, making it prudent to tailor your CTA based on the device. Users who search for something on their desktop or tablet are typically still doing their research, and are not quite ready to commit.

But users searching for something on their mobile phone are often looking for “instant gratification” or fast results.

Someone could be walking down the street when they see an ad on a moving bus, and whip out their phone and quickly search for what they saw before it leaves their brain. Their search will also likely result in a phone call to complete the desired action, rather than browsing a website.

My advice is to create a more phone call-centric CTA for your ads that appear on mobile devices. You could try something like “call now to get started” or “call us today for more information,” and that should help guide your target audience to take the action you want them to take.

There are two ways you can make this tactic even more effective:

Be creative

It’s important that you keep your CTA’s fresh, much like you should with your ad copy in general. A good, old-fashioned A/B test is a great way to identify which CTA’s bring you clicks, and which CTA’s bring you frowns.

While your tried and true calls-to-action like the ones we’ve already discussed are always good to use, you really never know how they’ll perform in your account until you actually use them.

Use numbers when possible

We, consumers, respond well to seeing numbers such as pricing, discounts, promotions, incentives, etc. It helps us to determine whether or not it’s worth splurging on items we desperately want but probably aren’t essential to everyday life.

So when the opportunity arises, why not appeal to your target audience that way?

I am always a big proponent of including pricing information in your ad copy in general, and that includes your CTA. If a user sees your pricing information in your ad and decides to click through to your site, then you know they are still interested in the product or service you are offering.

This leads to the dreaded wasted spend in your account, and who wants to deal with that?

Try experimenting with your pricing information in your CTA, as well as any other applicable numerical information. A CTA such as “Shop today for TVs under $300!” not only shows a user how little they will pay for a TV, but it also hits on the FOMO element as well.

If you are running a special promotion for shipping, you could try something like “order by Sunday for 1-day shipping.” Maybe you are an auto body shop looking to incentivize your audience with a discount; your CTA might look something like “Book today! 15% off your next visit.”

Many of our clients are startup owners. So, we have analyzed there struggles and successes to write an article on actions you should implement in startup business ideas.

However, focusing on startups creation, this process is not as easy as you may think. This will be a brief guide for those who are seriously thinking about becoming a startup.

Here are some ideas we think are most important that you can use in your own start-up journey:

Develop ideas for success

The development of an idea and realization of a startup is a laborious task. Many things are to be taken into account to make a startup effective.

The main thing is to show your vision of the startup through problems of people.

Needs of people are more important than the business plan. At the same time identify your motivation and purpose in life. Pay attention to your leading advantages.

The main criteria for the successful idea are as follows: durability (value over time or long-term importance), trustworthiness (possibility to defend it), and sustainability (possibility to fulfill the idea over some period of time).

So, you are ready to create a startup. Here is the question, where the idea is to be taken from? We have distinguished empirically several ways that can help you find a great idea for a startup:

Thinking over what you or people close to you are insufficient in

The great example is Glen Tullman and his company Livongo Health that uses cloud technology to help people manage chronic illnesses, starting with diabetes.

Modernization of your hobby

Shabnam Mogharabi always wanted to tell stories that would change the world. Now he heads SoulPancake, a growing media empire in Los Angeles focused on spirituality with annual revenue equal to $3.9 million (2014) and 3-year growth of 3,044%.

Finding market areas not yet noticed

This is typical for established professionals who are already involved in developing an existing business of other people. Bai Brands used its imagination in combining ingredients, including organic coffee fruit and white tea extracts and earned $100 million revenue in 2015.

Development of the area in the new thriving sphere

The reason for developing the area in the new thriving sphere is that companies are not able to manage all demands appearing there. For example, the pet industry on which nearly $61 billion was spent in 2015.

The Seattle-based startup (Rover.com) has been regarded as the Airbnb for dog sitting. Greg Gottesman and Philip Kimmey founded Rover.com in 2011 and raised more than $50 million.

Startup business ideas to explore the market

Understanding your market is a key to success. If you do not know particular features of the business sphere you have chosen, your efforts will be in vain.

Stay within the area you know. Don’t start anything you are not familiar with. Remember about consumers and feel like they do, figure out their needs.

Startup business ideas to be nimble

In their interview to Business Insiders the leading Internet entrepreneurs Kevin Ryan, Thomas Gensemer, Marc Andreessen, and Mark Zuckerberg are as one on the issue of speed and quickness.

Reacting fast to changing market needs is crucial for a successful startup.

Be creative for startup business ideas

Unusual thinking is also essential for getting the first investment and starting your business. The great example is Airbnb, whose first object of the lease was their room with air mattresses.

Its founders have displaced many established companies in the hospitality industry and earned billions. So, don’t be afraid to go beyond generally accepted business schemes!

It is about you and your uniqueness!

Startup business ideas … don’t ignore risks

Risks are natural companions of any new undertakings. They should not frighten you or hamper your development. In general, a startup can face several risks.

Market risk

Is there a market for your product? Is it necessary for somebody? Will people pay for it? Answering these questions is one of the main tasks before releasing your product to the market. If this risk falls in your favor, your business is to succeed.

Product risk

Another top priority while creating a startup is to identify your product, its features, problems that are solved with its help, and its worthiness to be invested in.

If you are not able to do it, obviously potential customers will not be interested in it.

Team experience risk

One person cannot cope with all risks by himself or herself. That is why the issue of a team is a topical one. You should build a team of such specialists who have enough experience and knowledge of the business area.

Besides, the team is necessary to develop ideas concerning product’s building, it’s bringing to the market, etc.

Need some help in finding ways to *grow your customers**? Such as creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers? Or perhaps finding ways to work with other businesses?*