ABCs of strategy

There are endless promising business ideas and startups. Yet only a handful reach the relevant target group. To stand out from the competition and be noticed by potential customers and investors, businesses cannot afford to ignore communication and public relations work. There is little point in creating value, but not communicating it.

Strategic approaches in communication for startups

A shortcoming of many communication strategies is the fact that they are aimed at large companies with corresponding budgets. Special strategic approaches must be adopted if communication is to be successfully implemented for startups.

Creating identity.

The communication process starts with the company itself. Successful communication conveys the identity and thereby the strengths of a business. To do this, the company’s identity must be defined and its strengths determined. The process of forging identity is the basis for the entire subsequent strategic communication process. Honestly evaluated strengths form the core of identity.

The process of the defining the identity and analysing the strengths of a company leads to the creation of  credible stories. Stories that are easy to communicate and easy to understand. And that’s exactly what a startup needs.

Telling stories.

Startups often have few, if any resources for professional communication and marketing. That makes content all the more important. Because the power of good stories is undisputed. Good stories are credible and sustainable. They promote trust and influence how a company is perceived by its environment.

Identity is at the root of such stories. Whether investor, customer or employee: well-told stories are interesting and stay with us.

Use the network.

When the message is ready, it must be delivered to the right target group. The existing surplus of communication channels and content makes it difficult to choose the right channels.

In a first step, it is important to identify individual stakeholders or target groups for communication. Who is being addressed and what is the aim of the communication? Guided by the company’s values and strengths, individual measures are then defined to meet the  goals set for the various stakeholders and target groups. The efficiency of the various  measures is also taken into account. What activities will deliver the biggest impact at comparatively low costs? This is where the greatest investment should be made. Depending what phase a company is in, stakeholders, target groups and preferred communication channels may change.

Measuring success.

Every communication requires a verifiable goal, with clear and measurable targets. Meaningful goals are clearly formulated, realistic and linked to a clear deadline. A typical example: “By the end of August 2018, our company will reach at least 200 unique visitors on the homepage and receive five orders per week”.

Regular monitoring is particularly important for a startup, as otherwise valuable resources may be wasted on ineffective communication measures. Performance should be carefully analysed and the ensuing learnings applied so that the strategy and individual measures can be continuously adapted and optimised.

The decisive factor

Communication is not only an important component, it can also be a decisive factor in determining whether a company succeeds. That’s why startups should call on specialized communications professionals early on to understand, package and spread the company’s core messages across their network.

ESSENCE RELATIONS GmbH supports startups such as Veezoo AG  and Tecflower AG in their communication strategies and activities. Clients can count on the large network, the vast know-how and the professionalism of the ESSENCE RELATIONS team.