What classical marketing can potentially offer to blockchain market

In this article, we will analyze how to solve the problems described in the previous article of this series. It would be effortless and a bit unfair to outline terrible mistakes and conceal the ways of avoiding them. So, take your pens and notes, we are about to face the secrets of successful startups!

Tactical approach instead of simple solutions

The first problem we discussed earlier describes a young market that is inclined to simple and quick solutions. Though in the long run, they often critically damage a project.

The key solution to protect ourselves and gain real actual results instead of an artificial one is not to decline classical marketing channels and the stage of analysis, but to adapt them for the flexibility of the startup market, as well as try and reduce the terms of realization dividing it into several iterations.

The startup cannot allow itself to dedicate several months to analysis. The task of every startuper is to parallel analytical and practical stages where it’s possible.

Another important solution every startup aiming to succeed should make is to give up the channels that bring fast results but are connected with “gray” or “black” mechanisms of promotion, e.g., spam, cheating, mass mailing, or cheap traffic purchase.

At work, it makes sense to choose classic and tested marketing tools instead of looking for simple solutions. Such solutions can not only fail to bring results, but also have a negative effect on a project (e.g., pessimize in search results).

Embed chaos in management system

The second problem we mentioned is chaotic actions. If we do not get rid of the analytical stage, but instead interleave it with active actions, we thus partially solve this problem by adding a moment of reflection before committing an action.

Nevertheless, we should not neglect management, a transparent reporting system, and processes systematization. Instead of making spontaneous, quick, and reckless decisions, it makes sense to estimate the volume of current tasks, their priorities, and clearly understand the risks.

When you take fast decisions, you must understand the sacrifice you make. It will help to reduce the number of chaotic actions and decisions since you stopped and analyzed before implementing and doing.

Also, we’d better discuss the reporting issue in this context. Naturally, a startup cannot always allow itself to make reports on every action since some of them are inevitably chaotic, while chatting, in haste.

However, the reports must be an obligatory part of any workflow. I would recommend a fractional approach in order to cope with them better: let it be a short daily report, and then a weekly one on its basis, and based on them, monthly ones.

You can thus collect specific data, conduct analytical work, and monitor the metrics of your startup in real life. It is essential to avoid realizing that you’ve chosen a false way the moment you reached the wrong endpoint (failed, lost financing, etc).

If you regularly monitor reports and conduct follow-up calls where you analyze these reports and make conclusions — it will inevitably lead to evident positive dynamics. Such calls should not take a long time: daily — 15–40 min, weekly — 40–60 min, monthly — up to 3 hours. Small steps lead to big results!

Adapt instead of copy!

Mechanic copying of other market players’ actions is the part to be fully abandoned. Naturally, competitors may have more effective actions that are wise to be adapted to your product.

However, before doing so, you must analyze the difference between market conditions, products, TA, and outlets. The analysis is ab obligatory step before implementing any competitors’ solution, therefore, instead of copying, you require the formation of a personal strategy that is based on your product, positioning, TA.

Meanwhile, when choosing the channels, you are free to use the competitors’ solutions only if they are relevant. Do not adopt a mechanical approach by fully copying your competitors.

Be individual, and then people will look up to you!

Blockchain is only another niche

It’s important to remember that marketing foundations are absolutely similar regardless of a project, service, or market. There exist general fundamental principles you cannot escape from. And the blockchain market is only another niche that can have its own additional tools, mechanisms of interaction, etc., though the foundation is the same as for any other business field.

While selecting a correct marketing strategy, you should rely on the channels of communication used by your audience instead of your ideas of the market and its specification. And your audience, like any other, has its lifestyle, prefers different platforms to consume content, scrolls social network feed, walks with the dog and reads books, and is interested in art or investment market… Do not be mistaken that interaction with a product or mechanism of its recognition must differ.

A wise approach is needed here.

Crypto startup and management

Startups often do not have the possibility to hire a big team, and people combine the responsibilities of several people. Yes, this pain exists. But to lessen it, all these duties must be described in great detail. You must have a clear understanding of who and what should do in order to avoid duplicating and blocking roles.

A team must act as a single system. Yeah, it will probably be a system performing at the edge of its capacities, but the one with clearly described roles, tasks, and people responsible.

Do not neglect business processes. You should have clear stages of recurrent tasks realization. These stages must be outlined, announced, and approved.

You must fix tasks in one form or another. A choice of task managers is incredibly diverse — select the most convenient option that corresponds to your product and workflow. And remember that uniform rules must be applied to every member of a team!

Do implement regular communication. You must have scheduled calls with strict regulations on the questions you discuss and their order, as well as time.

Make a follow-up after each call and outline everything discussed in order to have all tasks, priorities, and spontaneous actions fixed.

If the task is not fixed — it does not exist. It sounds formal, but only this way does it become possible to monitor the stages, burdens, and dynamics of startup development. Otherwise, it is simply ineffective.

Conclusion

An early-stage startup is not a corporation, it sounds absurd. But, to some extent, he must endlessly seek this level of organization. Your target is an order, systematization, functional, and working structure.

And if this desire is absent, all processes will be chaotic, and sooner or later the product will fall apart.

It’s essential to remember that the startup market is a young market. And when a market is “green”, it always contains lots of problems and blind spots. And entrepreneurs in this field do not always know what to do and how.

We should rely on previous experience in order to have foundations and guidelines [even if you leave them or decide to replace them in the process].

When leading a startup, you should try adopting the experience of other niches, your predecessors, and those who are beyond these young directions.

If you know the rules, you can adapt or change them. However, if you’re unaware of them, you will have only chaos.

One of the key problems of any startup, besides financing at early stages, is their sparkling and death. They have a short lifecycle because these structures fall apart due to ineffective management, lack of promotion strategy, and consistency. We cannot make it happen!

What do you think of these solutions? Are there any that you’ve been successfully using for a while? Have you discovered those you cannot accept?