How Startup 2 Standup used SoPro campaigns to drive sales without building out internal business development teams
Website
https://startup2standup.com/Company profile
Location:
London
Product/Service:
Professional training and coaching
Deal cycle:
3 months*
Target profile
Location:
UK
Company size:
1-10, 11-50
Role/Function:
Owners, Founders, CEOs, Directors, Co-founders, Co-owners
How StartUp 2 StandUp used Sopro to move beyond word of mouth to get a reliable flow of leads
StartUp 2 StandUp needed to build out their marketing function to increase growth. They were impressed by the results of the prospecting campaign and the ongoing improvement driven by their Sopro team.
Headline results
The company
Startup 2 Standup helps entrepreneurs and business owners to improve and to grow their businesses with peer-to-peer member groups offering support, advice and networking.
“We know that eight out of every ten new start-ups fail in the first five years, which is a dreadful statistic. So our mission is to help our members become more resilient and greater chances of success. If you become a member, it’s an investment in you and an investment in your business.”
Ollie Austen, Director and Co-founder, Startup 2 Standup
Startup 2 Standup’s members are a diverse group. There are founders with a wide range of backgrounds and experience. While some members are just starting out on their funding journey, others have had four or five successful exits, and are now embarking on a new startup journey.
This diversity gets to the heart of the Startup 2 Standup offering. Groups of founders – around 12 to 15 in number, headed by an experienced chairman – meet once a week. It’s a place they can get support and help each other with ideas and solutions, communicate, network, and collaborate.
The challenge
Originally, Startup 2 Standup relied on word of mouth to grow their business. With a membership of founders who are always networking, recommendations and glowing testimonials saw the business grow steadily and reach critical mass.
And while the membership continues to grow in this way, they decided additional marketing was needed to complement the referrals and accelerate growth.
Our solution
“Look, I think the software’s brilliant. But what really stands out are the campaign team. Simon and his team are seriously good in terms of giving advice and being proactive. They are always looking to improve the performance of the campaign.”
Ollie Austen, Director and Co-founder, Startup 2 Standup
The onboarding meeting defined the ideal target audience, deep dived into the Startup 2 Standup service, and discussed the messaging that attracts that audience to their service.
But when the suggested email content was sent over for approval, the co-founders were initially surprised at the format. They worked with the team and tested different content. In the end, Sopro’s suggested content – developed from years of prospecting experience – won out.
“So we reverted back to Sopro’s original recommended content and that’s when the campaign started working for us.”
Ollie Austen, Director and Co-founder, Startup 2 Standup
Sopro originally designed a prospecting campaign based around Startup 2 Standup’s existing membership. But once the campaign kicked off and the team at Sopro continued analysing the data, they suggested a change to the targeting. It saw the results improve even further:
“We’ve tightened it up a little bit, based on their recommendations. We were looking for early-stage startup founders who would benefit from joining a peer-to-peer entrepreneurial group. But we revised the campaign and went to companies a little further along their journey, with some funding already in place. That was done on the team’s recommendation, and since that happened, the campaign’s gone from strength to strength.”
Ollie Austen, Director and Co-founder, Startup 2 Standup
The results
Of course, the main campaign objective is to engage founders and business owners to drive member signups. But the campaign had an interesting secondary benefit – market research. Startup 2 Standup leveraged feedback from those conversations to modify their business model – further driving the success of the business.
“The team works really well, and the results speak for themselves. So we refer lots of our members to Sopro… What’s a better endorsement of the service than that?”
Ollie Austen, Director and Co-founder, Startup 2 Standup
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