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Driving out to the Belmar center in Lakewood, I’m questioning if I entered my destination address correctly. Belmar doesn’t seem like the place typical startup office. But, as I enter the main doors into the immense headquarters of The Integer Group, it dawns on me: The Integer Group isn’t a typical startup. The innovative marketing agency, which was founded in 1993, has now grown to over 500 employees and is positioned directly in the heart of the shopping center. (One wing even has a direct view inside of the climbing wall inside of Dick Sporting Good’s.)
The Group has been known for decades for their successful campaigns with clients, such as Miller Coors, Kellogg's, and P&G, but with the increasing changes to buyer strategy and the overload of buyer-centric technologies, the company has reformulated its vision and reinvented its proven marketing strategies. I met with VP of Insight and Strategy Koert Bakker and Ben Kennedy, Group Director of Mobile & the new leg Digitail, to discuss trends and shifts in marketing. Here are Bakker and Kennedy’s top strategic observations for low-budget startups to consider:
1. Don’t devalue your product.
Price differentiation can create false markets, and this has been increasingly evident when we analyze the price-slashing trends that come with discount sites/ apps. The coupon models aren’t sustainable. Use for trial periods, but be wary not to continuously offer discounts: they will degrade your product offering and value.
2. Look at the hard facts: ask yourself, “Would I bother?”
If you wouldn’t spend time to use it, why would you expect someone else? Secondly, ask yourself: does the technology solve a problem for the user or is it attempting to solve an nonexistent problem? If the technology is ‘looking for a business’, then it’s time to reassess its worth.
3. Test, pivot, and test again.
Just because it was a tried-and-true method, doesn’t mean the practice will work for you. “The learnings and data you get from the experience is the heartbeat of the strategic roadmap,” Kennedy said. You must rely on data, how aspects of the technology are being consumed, and constantly modify to match the findings.
4. Knock it out of the park to seal a union.
The end goal is to build a long-term relationship: “If you don’t get the first date right, the marriage probably isn’t going to happen,” Kennedy said. To maximize the first impression your technology has on a user, attempt to create a “seamless personalized contextual experience” that integrates daily life and taps into “sticky” behavioral habits.
5. Identify the ideal utility for your product.
Don’t treat all screens as one. Engagement is different between “lean forward” devices versus “lean backwards” devices. Analyze your user’s mode of engagement to determine the interface.
6. Building an audience isn’t as easy as a few Facebook posts.
Building an audience isn’t free. It is expensive. It takes work and capital. Due to the sheer magnitude of apps, entering the market isn’t what it used to be. Especially if you’re entering a space where competition is fierce. Be realistic and know that virality isn’t commonplace. Product consumption isn’t always the end goal: accept that attention and data are new forms of currency.
7. Leave your perfectionism behind.
Due to the proliferation of screens that you have to develop for, stick to agile methods and optimize as you go. Steer away from concentrating too much on the product design and not the actual activation of the product.
Read Koerrt's blog if you're interested in reading more on marketing trends and analysis.