4 Megatrends in Present-Day Startup Marketing
The year 2016 is triggering movement in the market. Many users are managing their businesses as well as their private lives remotely via smartphone. Startup marketing also has to align itself to this trend. Below are the most important marketing trends from a start-up standpoint.
The mobile wallet is becoming increasingly popular for Startup Marketing
A start-up company with direct customer contact and even more direct payment options are nowadays virtually inconceivable without the use of mobile payments. The process is quite simple: In this way, it’s easy for registered app users can pay for goods or renew and top up their subscriptions with their smartphones. In many places abroad it is already commonplace to pay pizza couriers or hairdressers electronically.
Although giants such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet want to take over the Swiss market in the medium term (and will do too), Swiss providers such as the app TWINT from Postfinance don’t have bad chances because they offer low transaction fees starting at ten centimes. But «Paymit» from ZBK and UBS also have good chances of establishing themselves in the market. Particularly advantageous from a start-up standpoint is the fact that the fees are considerably lower when compared to credit and debit cards. This makes the mobile wallet very attractive not only for the user, but also for the provider.
Whether for the sale of goods, professional services or catering, mobile payments are gaining importance. By the end of 2016, it will be clear which providers will establish themselves in the world of mobile payments. This is a one-off chance for start-up companies to work together with a provider and bring out the benefits of mobile payment in terms of startup marketing.
(Source: Postfinance)
“Power Users” & Co.
Mobile chat applications such as Snapchat or WhatsApp are becoming more popular every day. And for an ever-growing range of topics there are closed Facebook groups, in which so-called “power users” provide a close-knit circle of like-minded people with additional information, which public networks don’t offer.
For start-up SMEs there are simple ways to freshen up their customer service in no time at all. If you offer customers Whatsapp as a means of contact, many satisfied customers would certainly be very happy to be a “power user” and recommend your company to their acquaintances.
Pictures say more than words
Written texts in the internet are all well and good. But visual communication is becoming more and more important. In accordance with the motto “a picture is worth a thousand words”, mobile apps are the perfect means of distributing photos and videos in a matter of seconds for free.
For example, the photo-sharing app Instagram is installed on one out of every ten smartphones in Switzerland. In other words: half a million “instagramers” regularly share photos of things which are important to them, such as #chocolate, #babybump and #swatch (source: NZZ am Sonntag).
As of this moment, Instagram offers companies the chance to specifically target their advertising. The under 19 year olds and the over 34 year olds are having a great time on this as of yet unspoiled playground. The rate of success also seems to be higher when compared to other marketing channels. So why not create a company profile for your start-up in 2016 and get your piece of the Instagram cake.
(Sources: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, thomashutter.com)
Live video clips are in fashion
Live videos are constantly gaining in popularity and becoming cheaper. Last year denoted the arrival of virtual reality on smartphones. Thanks to mobile apps such as Periscope, the “live” function of Facebook and the cheap Google Cardboard glasses, the world has become much smaller, at least for technology enthusiasts. Live concerts and seminars as well as famous sights such as the Taj Mahal or the Gornergrat can now be virtually experienced.
Nowadays all it takes is a smartphone with a camera and a stable internet connection to be able to make and distribute live videos. If you look at it that way, virtual reality will definitely find its way to the average Swiss man and woman before the end of the year. Big companies will host events for the specific purpose of live broadcasting. Others will invite fans behind the scenes to score popularity points.
Start-up companies can also benefit from this trend. A bicycle mechanic, for example, could offer a tour through his workshop. A wedding photographer could shoot a short video on site. The long and the short of it: show the real you, because the more spontaneous and off the cuff your clip appears, the better.
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