A few days ago, Google just released its Transparency Report, detailing all of its content removal activities in accordance with Europe’s Right to Be Forgotten policy. And while this is big news for SEO marketers, it can also be a rude awakening for aspiring tech industry startups. Sometimes reality just has a nasty way of kicking your company vision to the curb.
Times like these could be tough for your appointment setting campaign. In the past few weeks, there’s been plenty reason to second-guess the futuristic promises of many disruptive online services. Prospects could get skeptical and fewer might be keen on meeting with your sales reps as a result.
This actually happened over a decade ago during the Dotcom Crash. Much of the business world was enchanted by the promises created with the birth of the internet. But as history shows, many of these expectations fell short (or otherwise the crash wouldn’t have happened).
Asides from Google, two more aspiring companies are facing the reality that even the best sounding ideas can face unintended obstacles (and make unexpected enemies). Both Airbnb and Uber are now experiencing intense backlash from other parts of Europe, where its innovations and business models threaten pre-existing industries.
Any corporate veteran could look at this situation and say these Silicon Valley geeks should just get over themselves. Blunt as that is, there is a point. The problem is that the idea of innovation still continues to be a powerful marketing pitch (both in B2B and B2C sectors). It gives an added bonus if the company pitching is still in its little startup phase.
But like a childhood going by, these businesses can’t get away with this for long. Your message needs to grow into something that reflects your company’s overall experience.
- Openly admit your obstacles – Customers like honesty but that’s not just limited to having a transparent business. It also means being honest about the difficulties with your products (whether it’s implementation, use, security policies etc).
- Open yourself to suggestion – This is expected but can be harder to actually put into practice. Sometimes your customers can be helpful. Other times, they only ask the impossible. In all this, it’s best that your appointment setting strategy also doubles as a retention one.
- Observe your competition – Finally, your competitors are arguably more on the uptake than your customers. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so dedicated to providing what you don’t. Run surveys with the objective of understanding how your rivals are challenging your products and your business model.
While you can no longer play the start-up card for very long, there’s nothing wrong with the complete opposite: the veteran status. You’re no longer a kid company and thus, have the right pitch yourself as more experienced. However, this will only work if you’re not too attached to your star startup status.
