How do I start creating my go-to market strategy?
Our photo app will have a 18-30 target market. I'm thinking college students is the first target. How do I get inside the walls of a campus to introduce our app? Are there marketing firms that can help penetrate this and similar barriers?
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Sep 10, 2014
When I was in college, the way I learned about new things was when a bunch of people my age were on campus and handed out printed materials catered to the college student. Before class had started, those pieces of paper were all anyone was talking about.
Think about a problem your target audience faces. From there, think about what solution your app will provide and deliver that on a postcard or similar printed mail pieces. You can then recruit people from those universities to hand them all out. They'd be a credible source to hear the message from.
If this is something you're interested in, please let me know, I'd love to help with the printed advertising piece
Thanks!
Kayla
Sep 8, 2014
I agree with the comment left by Marzena Kmiecik.
I guess you figuratively mean "inside the walls". In order to market your product you need to understand some basics.
1) Know how your product is different/better/improves on what is before it/unique, whatever...your USP is.
2) Understand the mind of your target audience
3) Know how they interact with the Internet (I am an SEO / Internet marketer so although I consider offline marketing I focus upon the online end result). Focus upon which social areas they are likely to hang out in. Spend some time reverse engineering this and doing some research and build up a portfolio of potential target sites. Create a gestalt picture of your market and what they do.
4) See how other companies have already done this, copy it and improve on it. If they produced great marketing material then spot the flaws and improve on them - all of the time bear in mind the mindset and what triggers the "buying mode" in your audience.
5) Integrate yourself into the online world of your target audience, learn from it and think of ways how your app could be of benefit within it. Take note of the things that get shared socially or through blog links etc, target this.
These are SOME of the basics.
Sep 8, 2014
Well, I guess yes you can get yourself inside the walls of the campus by taking the help of social media, try creating a page about your application, running ads over the social media sites that you are giving some freebies. Yes I said freebies that's what college students are hungry for. You can create a event over the Facebook page that your team is going to at xys...blah..blah.. place for some promotional campaign and just make sure that you start thing campaign just near to ... any I am sure college kids will come for sure ! Offer some freebies with your promotional ads over the freebies.
All the best ! :)
Sep 6, 2014
Brian,
Narrow down that ideal client. (You said thinking college students) Make sure of who you are marketing to and then use the Marketing in the year that we are in. Use the social media platform that your ideal customer is going to be on. DO NOT SPAM!! You can create a business account on those sites, Look at Snap Chat since that is closer to the bracket you want. Market it, but make sure you are branding yourself and not your product. If you want to brand the product, then do that in addition to your branding. Make yourself trusted and liked. People have to trust and like us before they will buy anymore! I agree about going on campus and finding the best appropriate way for that campus. Last but not least, I have to caution you as Chuck did. There are so many photo apps out there and many are free- look at ALL of them and emphasize how YOURS is different than the others. That is going to be your selling point that will get you the best results!
Sep 6, 2014
Brian, Congrats. College students are a great market place today, With their short breaks from school work, holidays and weekends, I imagine the Internet is a marvelous convenient shopping venue.
I would suggest you contact a local college, IT department . Although unless you sell educational material almost exclusively, you may not be successful in getting into the schools network.
Student Unions, off campus meeting places may sell you advertising rights. The Internet with proper website marketing techniques should do the trick. Google ranking is key to this, so great content is required.
Sep 5, 2014
Planning for a marketing strategy isn't something like a game you can play easily. Deciding what you should do and take action eventually would affect your business in a way or another, so making a plan that's guaranteed to be unique can be your advantage. Why not try the power of compelling and engaging animated video marketing.
Sep 5, 2014
Brian ... Your target audience/market is too open. It needs to be more defined and refined.
What research have you done? You can't start drawing your blueprint for success without having a deep understanding of the market, your competition, potential distribution channels — and yourself.
Have you conducted a SWOT and PESTLE analysis? Have you developed a gap analysis? Have you asked your potential target audience what they need and want from a photographic application? How is your app different from the other photo apps out there? Have you conducted focus groups to get their feedback on your app?
If you haven't, you need to. Based on your listed constraints above, I'd recommend.
(1) Look around your neighborhood. Talk to the kids and young adults and demo your app to them. Invite them over for a party. Talk to their parents and get their email addresses or have their parents direct their kids to a website to demo the product.
(2) Talk to the Alumnus department at the school you got your degree from and arrange a day(s) on campus to set up a table in the student union to demo and test your app. In return offer a donation to the school.
You can't begin drafting a go-to-market strategy without answers to these and many other questions.
The answer to your last question is YES! There are numerous marketing firms near you and across the nation who can help you with drafting a blueprint for success.
If you don't know any, I'd suggest you go to http://www.agencyfinder.com and conduct a search of their database of agencies and firms that can help you.
Sep 5, 2014
Have you tested your product in the 18-30 target market?. Do you have a value proposition to make you stand out in the market place? If you do, then I would go find a key social media influence at your local college and offer 200 free apps in a contest and get the influencer to spread the word. See how that campaign goes first and then develop other campaigns based on the success of this one. In that age group, social media of all types is the way to go.
Sep 5, 2014
Let's stop right there.
18-30. Let's think about this a bit....Imagine someone at 18, imagine that person at 30...are they the same? absolutely not. Are their needs the same? absolutely not. Are their lifestyles the same? nope...an 18 year old entering college most likely still lives with their parents, has a very different spending budget than a 30 year old who is well into their career, making their own income, independent and either launching their own company or thinking about marriage...HUGE differences no? As with that their needs change, goals change...what is the app for? does it align with their lifestyles?
18 year olds rely on social media for word-of-mouth and peer recommendations. 30 year olds rely on their business relationships and close friends to recommend whatever they are buying...is the app helping them make friends? money? connections? streamlines their life?
Think of behavior and lifestyle, that will be your guide to how to get their attention.
Good luck!
Sep 5, 2014
I woul have thought you woul pick a small college division an d try a test market. Student I am sure are always looking for an easy dollar why not offer a beta version for up to 200 students selected based on their interests and whether your app appeals to them. You could offer them incentives to try it such as a voucher. Even at $20 you might be able to get it launched for under 5000
Sep 5, 2014
You get into the walls of the institution via the internet. You need a killer app that offers something that the other billion photo apps do not. Seventy percent of the apps in the app store are Zombies - not enough downloads to rank: http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/10/the-app-store-six-years-later/. With that unique app you reach out to tech and app blogs and offer a guest post or see if they would be interested in reviewing the app. Good Luck
Sep 5, 2014
First, you should actually conduct some research with consumers to obtain their reactions and to ultimately determine the most appropriate target audience. You conduct research with a wide range of ages to obtain their reactions to your product. You would probably want to start with people maybe ages 16 to 35, both women and me. I would not limit this to starting with just college students. you can ask a demographic question at the end of the survey about education--current student, high school, in college now, college degree, graduate degree, high school diploma only. Along with other questions about assessing the product and more demographics or psychographic questions, you will be in a much better position to determine who your primary and secondary target markets will be.
Sep 5, 2014
Start off by asking students to test your new app and include a possible incentive for their feedback and using the app. If it is an awesome app they will start telling everyone.
First impression is the most important thing. It has to be "cool"
Sep 5, 2014
I would be happy to help you prepare a direct marketing campaign targeting college students via postal or email. This would get your collateral directly into their hands. You'd be able to measure results by your responses. Reach out if you are interested!
Sep 5, 2014
All good colleges have student affair office visit the office with complete home work explain them your objective and ask than to arrange short meeting with student if you able to convene them you achieve the goal,second through Google search find the name of student from your target colleges and then contact them step wise
This is a great idea, Modeo Media. The target age group is very media savvy and videos are top of the list. You Tube is a great way of spreading your message.