Launch Your Startup with a Trickle

Every startup wants to get a fast start out of the gates.  But starting too fast can be a mistake.  You only get one blank slate on which to build a reputation, so you better do it right the first time.  Pacing yourself at the start will allow you to offer excellent customer support as you improve the user experience.  It also lets you conserve cash until you can get a much bigger bang for your buck.

Start by driving just enough traffic to optimize every point on your conversion funnel.  Don’t worry about your initial ROI, since your overall marketing spend will still be relatively low.  Through an effective funnel optimization program, I’ve seen visit-to-purchase conversion rates improve by 2000% in just a few months.  In this case, funds spent on the exact same media after this optimization generated 2000% more revenue for every dollar invested.

Before you can begin your funnel optimization program you’ll need to determine your funnel’s baseline conversion rates through effective tracking and reporting.  If you don’t have a good tracking system, check out Google Analytics (it’s free).

Funnel optimization involves frequent tests, surveys and customer interviews.  Everything is worth testing, but surveys and interviews will point you toward tests that will yield the best results.  Be sure to isolate tests to one variable at a time.

Don’t test individual marketing programs until you have achieved significant funnel optimization.  Then many cost-effective marketing programs will be possible.  And you will also improve your chances of having satisfied customers to help you get the word out.