iNeoMarketing
What is the greatest challenge in business you have had to overcome?
No secret here: it’s capitalization. Without working capital, we would not be able to hire the staff needed to fully develop the product. And once developed, cost of goods sold decreases dramatically as the solution is delivered as an online service (and self-service at that). So, it became a matter of hiring an outside developer out of pocket (scraping dollars from here and there), convincing a few customers to try it (at excellent pricing), and securing their testimonials. With that, a market study was conducted to show there was a widespread need for this solution, and this study, testimonials, and product demos were wrapped into a business plan that was presented to the investor community.
Is there a secret or strategy you are exercising or have put in place that you believe clearly differentiates it from the competition that you would be willing to share?
SaaS is the foundation for the means to successfully market to the marketer—give the marketer freedom from the IT Department. SaaS is not a new concept (e.g., Google is a SaaS solution, and so is salesforce.com). And it is not a solution in and of itself; rather, it is a means by which a solution is delivered. In the case of the marketer, it is a means to free oneself from the IT priority list. So the secret sauce: make it easy, make it simple, and give them freedom to operate without constraints. Sounds pretty appealing, doesn’t it? Yet this notion is applicable to many, many other potential solutions out there.
In your eyes, what is the key to your success?
Without a doubt, the key has been (and will continue to be) deep empathy with the problems faced by the chosen market. As a marketer, I have walked in their shoes, have experienced these issues, and know which would’ve made me happy as a customer. Taking this vision and validating it with other marketers was the absolute key to success.
Any words of advice to our readers regarding their entrepreneurial spirit in light of unstable economic times?
Budgets and spending may be decreasing, but few have stopped spending altogether, so if there is a business proposition out there that says, “This can be done more effectively for less money,” and/or “This can generate more revenue from the same spending,” then it is an economic argument that would make it irresponsible for the potential buyer to say “no.” But the key is to demonstrate the efficacy, through testimonials, case studies, references, and business models. Make it compelling for the buyer to consider as a replacement for what currently exists in their budget.
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