Winning and retaining your customers
Objective:
The objective of this lesson is the process of acquiring new customers as it is crucial for any startup to break into the market.
Course Curator: Nirupa Vijaykumar and Ramesh Loganathan
Introduction:
This series offers startups with an overview of what challenges an early-stage startup faces.
Every startup founder knows from the outset that there are going to be obstacles . But sometimes they can still surprise you- whether that’s because you just didn’t anticipate them, you’re unsure of the best way to respond, or you don’t have the resources you need to address them properly.
Here are some of the main issues to watch out for ,so you can plan ahead and know what to do if they crop up.
Lesson 1: Winning your first customer.
Manish from Nano health, discusses his experience about gaining customers from first hand experience. While, the journey of acquiring a customer and retaining them is a challenge on its own, these tips will help you.
Video: Do’s and Don’ts of winning your first customer. ( 0:00 – 8:05)
Video: Strategies to retain your customer base (8:05 – 23:34)
QuickRead: Bullet points on how to get your first customer.
Reading Articles:
Reading: https://blog.salesflare.com/startup-first-100-customers
Reading: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239158
Lesson 2: Winning government as your first client.
Gowtham from Kaiinos deep dives into gaining government contracts and seeing leverage in deals by researching , Building connections (Online and Offline) and building on real time data.
Video: Key points for bagging a government contract. (0:00-9:50)
Video: Understanding timelines for government contracts. (9:50-17:57)
Article from Entrepreneur.com:How to win a government contract.
Reading Articles:
How to Win Government contracts-101
The secret to winning government contracts isn’t what you think.
Lesson 3: Leveraging Data intelligence for Customer Value
Speaker: Siva, Indriyn
Siva from Indriyn discusses how to use datasets that are readily available and create a sustainable dataset which create value in your analytics.He further touches base on how to create value from your target audience.
Video: How to use Data intelligence to create value for your customer. (0:00- 7:40)
Video: How long until your customer starts to see value from your analytics?(7:40-17:56)
Quick Reads:
Analytics Insights: How to leverage customer data insights for your business growth?
Reading Articles:
Big Data deriving business value.
Lesson 4: Tools and Engagement models to retain customers
Speaker:Jeevan,Froogal
Jeevan from Froogal discusses the homework that needs to be done in creating a structure around engagement models and the value of diving deep into customer behaviours.
Video: Templates and Modules for building our customer base (0:00- 11:25)
Video: Best practices to keep the customers happy-Strategy ( 11:25- 22:38)
Quick Reads:
5 techniques every startup can use to retain customers.
Reading Articles:
50 resources on loyalty churn customer retention for startups.
Customer Retention- A Strategic approach to retain existing customers.
Lesson 5: Creating B2B Value to get a major player as first customer
Speaker: Sachin, Agilitix.ai
Sachin from Agilitix discusses connecting to the customer by using the customers data as a foundational piece to gain traction for your product.
Video: Connecting your tech with customer needs. (0:00 – 9:30)
Video: How to attract a major player as your first customer by connecting to them? (9:31 – 21:30)
Quick Reads:
5 tips to build a work class B2B customer service
Reading Articles:
https://www.leadfeeder.com/blog/18-ways-to-generate-more-b2b-sales-leads/
https://neilpatel.com/blog/create-value-in-b2b-markets/
Lesson 6: Winning Customers when navigating the regulatory quagmire:
Speaker: Sandeep, AdOnMo
Sandeep from AdOnMo talks us through his journey about how he started a company in a highly regulated market and managed to get clients through these challenges.
Video: First step towards regulations. (0:00 – 9:28)
Video: A map of steps to deal with government regulations (9:29 – 21:47)
Quick Reads:
Gov Fresh: Regulatory Hacking-How Startups and governments can work together to change the world.
Reading Articles:
Lesson 7: Strategy for engaging customers in times like covid
Speaker: Ashok, GrabOn
Ashok from Grabon discusses how understanding market trends between different countries can help you be prepared for uncertain situations. He further talks about how insights from competitive analysis can help you fine tune your business model.
Video: How to get customers to listen to your product? (0:00 – 8:00)
Video: What ups and downs did businesses go through during lockdown?(8:00 – 19:33)
Quick Reads:
how can leaders engage customers in the covid-19 era
Reading Articles:
https://blog.totango.com/2020/08/engaging-customers-during-covid-19-how-to-cut-through-the-noise-fc/
Lesson 8: Getting Customers excited
Speakers: Santosh & Gopal, Pluspin
Pluspin discusses how interpersonal relationships help businesses earn trust and keep their stakeholders engaged. He further talks about looking at long-term challenges to help in building a better product and relationship with the customer.
Video: How to retain vendors post pivoting? 0:00 – 12:00)
Video: How to constantly keep customers engaged? (12:01 – 30:18)
Quick Reads:
INC.Com How to get a customer excited
Reading Articles:
