Marketingtacticsusedbyearlystagestart-ups,ananalysisofthe

Viennesestart-upscene.

BachelorThesisforObtainingtheDegree

InternationalManagement

SubmittedtoMs.LidijaLalicic

CatharinaChalupa

1521011

Vienna,14thJune2018

2

Affidavit

IherebyaffirmthatthisBachelor’sThesisrepresentsmyownwrittenworkandthatI

haveusednosourcesandaidsotherthanthoseindicated.Allpassagesquotedfrom

publicationsorparaphrasedfromthesesourcesareproperlycitedandattributed.

The thesiswasnot submitted in the sameor ina substantially similar version,not

evenpartially,toanotherexaminationboardandwasnotpublishedelsewhere.

Date Signature

3

Abstract

This thesisprovides insights related to the topicofmarketing tacticsusedbyearly

stage start-ups, the Viennese start-up scene is investigated. The study aims to

analyzethedevelopmentofstart-upsintheirearlystagesandhowmarketingtactics

havean influenceon their futuregrowthand success.Overall, thepurposeof this

thesiswas to highlight thesemarketing tactics and give anobjective viewonhow

theyaffecttheperformanceofthestart-up.

Through, both primary and secondary sources, data was collected and evaluated.

Thesecondarydata,whichisthetheoreticalpartofthisresearch,wascollectedfrom

multiple sources, such as articles andbooks and is stated in the literature review.

The primary data was collected by gathering knowledge from interviews, which

providedaqualitativelookintowhatmarketingtacticsareusedinearlystagestart-

ups and how they influence their growth and profit. In the interviews ten

respondentswereasked toelaborateonhowthey formtheir strategies,howthey

dealwithcompetitionandwhattheirfutureobjectivesare.

Based on the findings, the research provides an extensive overview into start-ups

withdifferentareasofexpertiseandshowshowthesetacticsareutilizedsupporting

the theoretical part of the research. The results show that Vienna has become a

start-uphubandhasmanyfeaturesthatareveryattractivetoearlystagestart-ups.

The ten interviews that were conducted have shown a detailed insight into the

importance of marketing in the first few years of a start-up, whether it is to

understand the marketplace, raise awareness, position the product or attract

customersmarketingtacticsthatenhancesalesandgrowthofastart-upareutilized

byeverystart-up.

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TableofContentAbstract.................................................................................................................3

ListofTables..........................................................................................................6

ListofAbbreviations..............................................................................................6

1 Introduction....................................................................................................7

2 LiteratureReview..........................................................................................10

2.1 Marketing.........................................................................................................10

2.1.1 Understandingthemarketplaceandcustomerdemands..........................11

2.1.2 Strategicplanninginmarketing.................................................................13

2.1.3 Settingupamarketingcampaign..............................................................15

2.1.4 The7P´sofmarketing...............................................................................16

2.1.5 KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPI)...............................................................18

2.1.6 CompetitiveMarketingIntelligence...........................................................20

2.1.7 Onlinevs.offlinemarketing.......................................................................22

2.1.8 Marketinginsmallersizedfirms................................................................25

2.2 Start-upsandmarketing...................................................................................27

2.2.1 Thefounder´spersonalattributesandambitiontogrow..........................27

2.2.2 FundingforaStart-up................................................................................28

2.2.3 Start-uplifecycle........................................................................................29

2.2.4 Theimportanceofmarketingintheearlystagesofastart-up.................30

3 Start-upsceneinVienna................................................................................31

4 Methodology.................................................................................................33

4.1 Interviewsasaprimarysourceofdata............................................................33

4.2 Designoftheinterview....................................................................................34

4.3 Sampleofthestart-up......................................................................................35

4.4 SnowballSampling...........................................................................................36

5 Results...........................................................................................................37

5.1 ProfileandStart-upoftheInterviewees..........................................................37

5.2 Findingsformarketinginearlystagestart-ups................................................41

5.2.1 Theroleofmarketingandsalesforearlystagestart-ups.........................41

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5.2.2 Designingthemarketingandsalesstrategy..............................................42

5.2.3 Adaptingmarketingtacticstocustomerdemand.....................................43

5.2.4 Understandingthemarketplacebeforeenteringthemarkettoattractnew

customers...............................................................................................................43

5.2.5 Competitiveenvironmentandmarketingintelligence...............................44

5.2.6 Theamountoftimethatearlystagestart-upsfocusonmarketing..........45

5.2.7 Reachingoutforsupporttoenhancemarketingoutcomes.......................45

5.2.8 Biggestchallengesfacedwhendevelopingamarketingstrategyinthe

earlystagesofastart-up.......................................................................................46

5.3 Futureprognosesformarketinginstart-ups...................................................46

6 Conclusion.....................................................................................................48

6.1 Finalremarks....................................................................................................48

6.2 Limitationsandrecommendationsoftheresearch.........................................49

7 Bibliography..................................................................................................52

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ListofTables

Table1.7P’s(Entrepreneur.com,2004)

ListofAbbreviations

KPI–KeyPerformanceIndicator

CLV–CustomerLifetimeValue

ROI-ReturnofInvestment

Ltd.–LimitedCompany

SWOT–Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,Threats

PESTEL–Political,Economical,Social,Technological,Environmental,Legal

AWS–AustrianWirtschaftsservicesGmbH

B2C–BusinesstoCustomer

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1 Introduction

1.1. Backgroundinformation:start-upsandtheirchallenges

The challengesearly stage start-ups facewhen trying to get their foot in thedoor

shouldnotbeunderestimated.Ofcourse itmattershowconvinceda founderofa

start-upisintheideathatheorshewantstoimplement,butifthemessageisnot

brought across properly, the potential of the business might get lost. Convincing

other people to believe in a business is a hard task and often the quality of a

product/service is not the only important aspect, it also relies on the way the

product/serviceiscommunicatedtoapotentialcustomerandtheimpressionsthat

consumers gets from its promotion. The main aim of every entrepreneur is to

generaterevenueandintroduceanewideatothemarketthatmightcreatewaves,

and inordertodoso isofcritical importancetobuildbrandawareness.Gathering

feedbackabouthowtheproduct/serviceisreceivedbycustomersisamustforany

business.Especially in theirearlystageswherenopriorknowledgeofaproductof

anysortexiststheentrepreneurshouldseekfeedbacktoobtainafeelingofhowthe

introductionof thatproduct/servicewasperceivedby thepublic inorder to know

howtobestposition iton themarketand reach the targetcustomer (Anderson&

Narus,1998).

Gathering information about how the product is perceived and how it could be

improved is crucial. It is essential for the founder of the start-up to consider

customersobjectionsbeforecontinuingnotonlywiththeproductionoftheproduct

buthowbesttoimplementamarketingstrategy.Especiallynowadayswheremarket

demand is very high and competition is strong, having a form of assurance is

beneficial and gives the opportunity of forming a strong marketing campaign or

strategythatgoesintotherightdirectionandtargetstherightpeople.Thisprocess

lays the complete foundationof thebusiness andan aggressive andgoal oriented

marketingapproachcanleadtoaprofitablebusiness(Kittaneh,2014).

Ofcoursechallenges,likeimpressinginvestorsisacrucialpartintheearlystagesas

well since they are the ones that need to be convinced of the product/ service

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before investing the business. Aftermaking sure that there was a strong positive

responseof theproduct/serviceand there isbelieved tobesufficientdemand for,

thefoundershoulddevelopastrategyofhowto implementan idea intoanactual

product/service.Especiallyinearlystagesofabusinessthisstrategyhastobewell

thought-troughtoenhancethechancesofsuccessandkeepthatstart-upontrack

toreachfuturegoals.Arealisticcampaignthatoutlinesallofthesefuturegoalsand

objectiveshastobecreatedaswellsince itstatstheexpectationsforthebusiness

andcanshowwhethertheseweremet.Conductingastrategyandacampaignisan

essentialpartofthestart-upsmarketingsinceitpreventsfailureofabusinessbefore

itevenhadthechancetogrow(Entrepreneur.com,2003).

Marketing, in addition to its role in advertising and sales, is responsible forhowa

companyisperceivedbythepublicandisthereforecriticaltoitsoverallsuccess.It

challenges creativitywhile at the same time requiring theoretical skills for testing

theories. The varied aspects of marketing are crucial to consider in any form of

business.Marketingnotonlyplaysaroleindevelopedcompaniesorareasthatneed

morefocuswithinestablishedfirms,itisalsoimportanttoconsidermarketinginthe

early stages of a start-up. Strategies have to be developed and tested; a proper

marketingplanhastobesetupandtheprocessthatisachievedbymarketinghasto

beevaluatedinordertoknowwhothetargetcustomerisandtoattractnewclients.

Havingagoodproductaloneisnotsufficienttosucceed.Inordertogeneratehype

aroundanewlyintroducedproductthemarketingstrategyhastobeconsistentand

powerfulaswell.

1.2.ResearchObjectives

Thechallengethatthisthesisistacklingishowtocombineearlystagestart-upsand

marketing.Themainobjectiveistoelaborateonadetailedmarketingstrategythat

can provide the best possible outcome for an early stage start-up. It sets up a

businessforfuturegrowthandprofit.Especiallyintheearlystages,inwhichastart-

upshouldmakeanamefor itself,oneofthemost importantfactorsasmentioned

aboveishowpeoplewillperceiveit.Itshouldawakecuriosityandattractpotential

customersbyprovidingsomethingthatthemarketdoesnotoffercombinedwitha

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strong marketing strategy and an objective driven marketing campaign, which

enhancesabusiness’sperformance.

Thedelicatequestionofhowtoembedmarketingintotheproductcallsfortactical

approaches.Thewaystheproductisimplementedintothemarketmattersseverely

since first impressions are crucial for the business. Primarily it is important to

understandthemarketplaceinordertostrategicallyplacetheproduct,avoidthatit

gets lost in themassesandattract the target customer. Knowing thedemand for

theproductisofsignificanceaswell.Creationofdemandleadstosteadyandlong-

terminteresttogenerateprofitoveralongperiodoftime.Thenafittingmarketing

strategycanbeimplementedtoenhanceaproductorservicesreputationandcreate

morebuzz,whichaimstoattractingmorecustomers.

Everybusinessisdisplayedtoalloftheabovelistedaspectsofmarketing,whichare

anessentialpartofthisthesis.Marketing identifies itselfthroughthoroughmarket

andcustomer-orientedthinking.Thus, theobjectiveof thispaper is tosupport the

theoryofmarketingstrategiesbyexaminingconcepts,whichhaveleadtosuccesses

for start-ups in Vienna in their early stages. The paper aim to evaluate themain

difficultiesthatearlystagestart-upsfacewhenconfrontedwithmarketingandhow

best to develop amarketing strategy that enhances success. Hence, the research

questioncentralinthisthesisis:

Howdoearlystagestart-upsbasedinViennadesignmarketingstrategiesandwhich

challengesdotheyface?

Theresearchedcontextwillprovideadetailed insight intohowstart-ups inVienna

where confronted with this issue in their early stages and how they developed a

thorough understanding of the market and how to place their business for a

maximumoutcome.

Thethesis isdividedintotheliteraturesection,wheresecondarydataforthetopic

wascollectedandexplained,thenanoverviewofViennaasadestinationforstart-

ups is listed, what tactics where used to conduct research for this thesis can be

found in themethodology and finally the results of the interviews with start-ups

fromViennaaredescribedandthenconcludedtogiveacloserinsightintothetopic.

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2 LiteratureReview

Threestreamsofliteraturearediscussedinthisreview;i)marketing,ii)start-upsand

marketingandiii)Viennaasastart-upscene.

2.1 Marketing

Marketing is a term that defines itself in so many different directions. It is

understood as a salesman, a TV commercial, pricing of a product but also as the

development of strategies in order to successfully implement, promote and

distribute an idea or a concept. Themost crucial aspect however is probably that

marketing “creates an exchange that satisfies individual and organizational

objectives”(Soloman&Stuart,2003).Asmentionedbeforemarketingevolvesitself

inmanydifferentdirectionsandhasdifferenttargets.Forexample,acostumeristhe

mostimportanttargetsincethisisthepersonthatisbelievedtobethemostlikely

to need and thus also to purchase the product or service. Targeting customer’s

demands different and specific marketing tactics as well since these can be

identified as individual and organizations such as a company, a government and

more.Withthatsaid,marketingprimarilydealswithcustomerstoagreaterextend

than any other business department. The highest priority is to achieve customer

satisfaction and the focus should lie in analyzing the needs of the consumerwho

buystheendproductorservice.However,amarketershouldnotsolelyfocusonthe

customers’ aspects when developing a marketing concept since it is almost as

importanttoacknowledgewhatthesellersneedaswell.Marketingisnotaone-way

street;ratheroneneedstofocusonboththecustomerandfirminordertoachieve

themaximumoutputandthegreatestresults.Overall,thegoalistoincreaseprofit

foranorganizationbyidentifyingthetargetcustomer(Soloman&Stuart,2003).

Valuecreation

In order to build customer relationships from with a business can profit, it is

importanttocreatevalueinmarketing.Variousauthorsstatethatcreatingvalueand

capturingvalueisessentialinthefieldofmarketing(Kotler&Armstorng&Harris&

Piercy, 2013). Butwhy is creating value so important inmarketing? Simply put, if

brands identify themselveswith a set of clear value it is easier to develop awell-

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knownbrandidentity,reachoutthecustomerandconvincetobuytheproductsor

services. Therefore, a clear value can also be seen as a great set of benefits and

helpstodifferentiatetheproductorservicefromothers(Egelhoff,2018).

However,whichbrandvalues to focuson remainsa struggle formanycompanies.

We can see that one of the most prominent issues between customers and

businesses is the lack designing values from the customers’ point of view. This

resultsofteninfeelingsofannoyancefromthecustomersandswitchingbehaviorto

competitors (Roger, 2016). Thus, companies need to understand what the

customerswants,butalsoknowhowtoreachthemandcommunicatewiththem.As

Egelhoff (2018) states, if customers are not given the rightmessage, the business

willnotpull intheprofitsthattheywereexpectedandthus itwilldrive it intothe

ground.Therefore,asolidunderstandingofthemarketplaceandcustomerdemands

isneeded;thenextsectionwillexplainthis.

2.1.1 Understandingthemarketplaceandcustomerdemands

Whencommencingwithamarketingstrategythefirststepshouldbetounderstand

the marketplace. Even the best strategy can fail if the marketplace is not

distinguished.Thus,recognizingthestrengthofthetargetedmarketisimportantnot

only to find the right strategy for positioning a product or service but it is also

essentialtoidentifythetargetcustomerandifthereisaneedforthemarketeditem

inthefirstplace.(Anderson&Narus,1998)

Exchanges and relationships are formed in amarket. Amarket consists of a place

with potential and actual buyers of goods and services, it is a gathering of buyers

andsellers for livestock,provisionsandothercommodities,alsoknownasanarea

wherecommercialdealingsaredone.Whetherintangibleortangible,intheworldof

trade a marketplace allows economic activity. A market has the purpose of

facilitatingtheexchangeofgoodsandservicesandcanbevirtual,overtheInternet

orphysical,wherepeoplecometogetherandtheexchangeisdoneinperson(Muet

al.,Love,2018).

Marketing means pushing these markets to achieve the best possible customer

relationshipaswellasthemostprofitable.Inamarketplaceitisnotenoughtooffer

the goods and services, sellers have the responsibility to identify the needs and

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wants of their buyers, have the best possible offers, set the price that not only

attracts the customer but also is profitable for the seller, promotion, storage and

deliveryandifneededsearchwhatthecustomerislookingfor.Alltheabovelisted

factsplayacloserolewithcommunication,distribution,productdevelopmentand

consumerresearchwhichformthecoremarketingactivities(Kotleretal.,2013).

Consumer demands play a very big role in the game of marketing as well. The

primarymarketing rule is tounderstand the conceptof humanneeds.Amarketer

cannotcreatetheneedsofhumans;theyareanormalpartofhumans.Whetheritis

aphysicalneed,suchasfood,safetyorclothing,orasocialneeds,suchasaffection,

acceptanceandbelonging, - amarketerhas to identify theseneedsandprovidea

conceptthatfulfillsthesecustomerdemands(Kotleretal.,2013).

Tomeetthesedemandsanddevelopafittingconcept,researchhastobeconducted

inorder todeterminewhat the consumersneeds are. It is important to recognize

consumer’s wishes before, after and while introducing a good or service into a

marketplace(Kittaneh,2014).

Spotting theseexpectations isnotaneasy tasksinceconsumer’swishescannotbe

generalized.Consumerbehaviorisbasedonalistofrandomelementssuchasagut

feeling,othersonlygoafterfactsandsomeareamixtureofboth.Thebestwaysto

figureoutwhatattractsacustomerandsatisfiestheirneedsistogaininsightfroma

conversation.Touncovermotivationsforbuying,themostimportantstepistolisten

to what the customer is searching for and then asking specific questions. While

askingtherightquestionsitisimportanttounderstandthedifferencebetweenneed

andwant.Somecustomersmayneedanewnotebookandsomemaywantanew

notebook.It is importanttolistencloselytothesedetails inordertocontinuewith

therightmarketingstrategy.Forsellersthedifferencebetweenneedandwantmay

invokeusing adifferent approach to get the customer tobuy their product (Sven,

2016).

Categorizingfeedbackisalsoaverygoodsteptowardcreatingcustomersatisfaction.

It helps to identify patterns and makes assumptions about the likelihood of a

companyandwhetherthecustomerdecidestoapproachthemagainornot.

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Therearedifferentpossibilitiestogatherfeedback:

• Feedbacksurveys

• Conductinginterviews,-whichalsohelpswithcustomercontact

• Commentboxesforfreeandanonymousexpression

• Pollsonsocialmedia

• On-siteactivity

Socialmedia is known to beoneof themost effective channels to gather honest,

quick and real customer insight that helps identify demands. It is easy to share

informationonlinebutalsotorespondsandcommunicate.Thisvirtualrelationship

betweena seller andabuyer is essential to create valueandmeet thewantsand

needs of potential and actual clients. Socialmedia listening, getting personalwith

customers, create advocates and using the right tone when communication with

clientsisfacilitatedthankstosocialmedia.Throughthegreateffectsofsocialmedia

platforms, the relationship between buyers and sellers became a twoway street,

whichletscustomerthinktheyareapartofthecompanybutalsosupporttomeet

the demands and subsequently create value and loyalty (Sukhyani, 2017). These

feedback channels are the fastest way to directly identify potential marketing

problems but also to form, adapt or completely change the way a customer’s

demandismet(Leary,Vann&Mittelstaedt,2016).Thenextsectionwillexplainhow

a firm can strategically plan its marketing and why this can help reach desired

objectives.

2.1.2 Strategicplanninginmarketing

Strategic planning enables to position the product or service in the minds of the

targeted market (Egelhoff, 2018). The importance of creating a market-driven

strategy should have a great emphasis for a marketer. The objectives are to

understandand identifyproblems thatacompanymay face, implementastrategy

thatexceedsthetraditionaltextbookmarketingapproachandforcriticalthinkingin

ordertoapplyknowledgeandcreateawellthoughtthroughbusinessplan(Ioannou,

2010).

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Amarketingstrategyshouldsettheoverallgoalofthemarketingapproach.Itshould

bewellthoughthrough,informedandshouldincludeamission,visionandgoalsof

thecompany. It is anoutline,whichaffects thewayabusinesswilloperate in the

future and decides on the direction it will go. Strategic planning is not done

overnight, itshouldbeconsultedwithcolleaguesandsetthedirectionandaimsof

your marketing perspectives. Strategic planning consists of the following

components:

• Descriptionofthebusinessplan

• Detailedmarketingtactics

• Alistoftargetscustomers

• Setofcompetitorsidentified

• Marketingplan

• Positioningstrategiestoenhanceprofitability

(Adeyoyin,2005)

The above listed components should help a company make the most of their

marketing investmentsand steer them in the rightdirection.Amarketing strategy

shouldnotbeset in stoneas thebusinessmaychangeover timeand thestrategy

shoulddevelopwiththebusinessinordertogetthemostprofitableresults.

Inordertowriteasuccessfulmarketingstrategythefollowingpointshouldbetaken

intoconsideration:

• Identifythebusinessesgoals

• Setthemarketinggoals

• Conductathoroughresearchofthemarket

• Profiletargetcustomers

• Profilemaincompetitors

• Testtheideasbeforeimplementingthem

(Adeyoyin,2005)

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Amarketingstrategyshouldoutlinethemaingameplaninordertoreachthemain

goals of a business andmake themost out of all the efforts that where put into

marketingthebusiness(Duermayer,2017).

Thefollowingsectionwillconsistofadetailedexplanationofamarketingcampaign

andwhysettingupacampaignisimportantforfuturesuccess.

2.1.3 Settingupamarketingcampaign

A marketing campaign consists of marketing activities the clearly outline a

businessesobjectivesthatshouldbemetwithinaspecifictimeframe.Whetherthe

goal is to get new customers, introduce a new product or to increase brand

awareness,professionalmarketersthinkintermsofacampaign.(Entrepreneur.com,

2003). Successfulmarketing campaigns should bewell thought out and take time

andeffortandalotofresearchtoperfectthem.Itisawellthoughtoutanddetailed

screeningofthewholebusinessanddoesnotfocusonjustonesingleobjectivebut

rather on the big picture. However it is important to emphasize that amarketing

campaign should not be set in stone, leaving room for changes as the business

develops is essential as well since the businesses grow and develop over time.

Adaptingovertimeisagoodthingforthemarketingcampaignhoweverhavingthe

groundconceptrightand implementing it likeplanedisofgreat impotenceforthe

futurevisionandgrowth(Entrepreneur.com,2003).

Inordertoachievesteadyresults, it isadvisedtodeveloponemarketingcampaign

forevery singlemarketingactivity. It is themasterplanof theentirebusinessand

should have a start and end date. Before constructing amarketing campaign it is

important to know what the business is going to be about, identify the target

audienceofthebusinessandsetspecificandrealisticgoals(Durepos,2015).

Thefocusofthenextsectionlaysonthe7P´sofmarketingandtheirimpactoneach

business.

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2.1.4 The7P´sofmarketing

In marketing a heavy emphasis is on communicating value. The factors that

influencethisvaluearecalledthemarketingmix.Thecombinationofthetraditional

four P´s, which are product, place, price and promotion continuously evolve and

expand intomore factors that influence the value of a product or even an entire

business.Whilestill remainingvery important,theoriginal fourP´sarenotenough

tosumupthecurrent-daymarketing.ForthisreasonthreemoreP´swhereadded

tothemix,thesearepeople,packagingandpositioning(Kareh,2018).

The reason why these seven factors of the marketing mix are so important is

becausetheyrecognizemarketingtactics,whichareusedincombinationtoimprove

customer satisfaction and reputation of the business. The goal of marketing is

alwaystomeetthecustomer’sneedsandwantsandthroughthetacticsmarketing

mixthiscanbeachievedinthemostpreciseform(Fennell,2004)

After planning the marketing strategy the marketing mix formula should

continuously be evaluated and revaluated. Keeping track of these seven P´s is an

important way of continuously getting themost of the business by achieving the

maximumresultspossibleinthefieldofexpertise(Tracey,2004).

Product

Aproductiswhatthebusinessisselling;includingallthebenefits

ithas tooffersuchas features,advantagesthatmightattracta

customertobuythegoodsandservices.Themostimportantfact

istohighlightallofthebenefitsithastoofferandshowthekey

featuresthatmightdifferentiatethemselvesfromotherproducts

(Išoraitė,2016)

Place

Place involves channels from where the product is sold. The

place where customer and salesperson meet and exchange

goods and services. Deciding on a place should be a very well

thoughtthroughprocess.Achangeinlocationcanaffectsalesin

largeamounts(Tracy,2004).

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Price

Pricesshouldnotbefixes. Ifpossible it is importanttoevaluate

andrevaluatethepricesthebusinesssetssincetheyneedtobe

appropriateforthegoodorservice.Itisimportanttoknowhow

thecompetitionissettingtheirpricesandalwaysaimtokeepthe

competitive advantage, it is important to lower but also

sometimes to increase your prices. This is one of the P´s that

heavily affects if the customermight return to the business or

evenpurchaseinthefirstplace(Kareh,2018).

Promotion

Refers to the activities that should be undertaken in order to

achieve a well-known name for the goods and services. Small

changes make big waves and affect the way customers might

perceive the goods and services offered. Word of mouth,

advertising,press,etc.allinfluencepromotion(Tracy,2004).

People

People are a salesperson, staff or someone that is a

representativeofthecompany.Customerserviceisabigpartof

thisparticularfactor.Thisisoneofthemostimportantaspectof

any business and should be carefully selected. The recruitment

of a professional staff can give a competitive advantage and is

thefaceofanybusiness(Akroush,2011)

Packaging

Thefirstimpressioncounts.Packagingisthefirstimpressionthat

a customer is confrontedwith and thus a very up to date and

importantfactor inthemarketingmix. Itreferstopthewaythe

productappears.Evervisualaspect isapartofpackaging.From

the way a waiting room or an office looks to the design of

brochures,itisallapartofpackaging(Tracy,2004).

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Positioning How to position a business in the minds of the customer is

crucial. The important aspects here are to emphasize the

distinguishedbenefitsthatthecompanyhastooffer.Whatsetsa

business apart from its competition and in what way to the

customers perceive that is the main question of positioning

(Tracy,2004).

Table1.7P’s(Entrepreneur.com,2004).)

2.1.5 KeyPerformanceIndicators(KPI)

A key performance indicator is used tomeasure the effectivity of a company and

howwellitisreachingitskeyobjectives.OftenaKPIisusedatvariousstagesofthe

business inorder to keep trackofhowa company isperformingand if it is at the

predicted levelof successandwhether it is reaching its target in thedesired time.

There are to different forms of KPIs, high-level and low-level. While high-level

focusesontheoverallachievements,low-levelfocusesontheprocesseswhicheach

department is making individually. An example of a low-level KPI would be

measuring the overall process of a marketing department and investigating its

effectiveness over the years (Klipfolio, n.d.). KPIs are quantifiable measures that

showwhetherthestrategicandoperationalgoalsaremet(Investopedia,n.d).

2.1.5.1 KPIsinMarketing

Key performance indicators are an important measure in marketing. Spending

money for amarketing campaignwhich isnot generatingprofit is anabsolute red

flagandthustrackingKPIsareagoodtechniquetoseewherethebusinessisstrong

andwhichstrategymightneedmorefocusinordertoobtainthemaximumoutcome

(Edgecomb,2017).

Manymarketers tend to focus on themost commonly used KPIs, which are sales

revenueandcostperlead.

Firstly,measuringsalesrevenueisimmenselyimportanttounderstandwhetherthe

inbound marketing tactics of a company are effective. The question here is how

much revenue the inbound marketing produced for the company, which can be

calculatedbysubtractingthetotalsalesfortheyearfromthetotalrevenuethatwas

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generated through customers who came from inbound marketing (Edgecomb,

2017).

Secondly,measuringtheKPIsforcostperlead isaverypopularmeasureofalotof

marketersaswell.Anaveragecostperleadisthetotalamountofmoneythatwas

spent on a marketing campaign divided by the total leads that were acquired

(Klipfolio,n.d.).

The aim is to measure how cost-effective a campaign is when generating leads.

Generating a lead means winning the interest of an individual. The main aim of

conductingKPIsforcostperleadistoprovidethemarketingteamwithanumerical

figure tohelpestimatehowmuchmoney shouldbe spentonacquiringnew leads

(Klipfolio,n.d.).

ThefinalobjectiveofmeasuringtheKPIsofcostperleadisofcoursetominimizethe

costsperleadsincealowcostperleadisanindicatorthatcampaignisachievingthe

hopedobjectives(Klipfolio,n.d.).

Thirdly,anotherimportantKPIiscustomerlifetimevalue(CLV),whichmeasureshow

muchthecustomerisgoingtospendonthebusinessduringhisorherrelationship

with it. It is away of overseeingweather the strategies of binding a customer or

investingisdifferentacquisitionchannelsispayingoffandisresultinginaprofitable

long-termcustomerrelationship(Elkind,n.d.).

Evermarketerhasthecrucial taskofprovidingROI(returnof investment).ROI isa

KPI that is often used to determine the profitability of a certain spending and is

usefultomeasurethesuccessduringagreaterperiodoftime(Hawkins,2016).

Ifmoneyisspentforgeneratingrevenuethenitisimportanttofindouthowmuch

of it is exactly generating business. ROI is an important measure in a lot of

departments inabusinessbut formarketers it is essential. Thereare twoprimary

metricsthatareusedwhencalculatingtheROI.Firstly,thecosttodosomethingand

secondlytheoutcomethatisgeneratedasaresult(Leone,2018).

Afterall,beingawareofhowmuchmoneyflowsinandoutiscrucialknowledgeto

understand,strengthenandgrowanybusiness(Hawkins,2016).

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2.1.6 CompetitiveMarketingIntelligence

Inmarketing it is important to focus on the benefits that a product has since this

mightattractacustomer.Everymarketershouldfocusonthedifferentaspectsthat

a product/service has to offer in order to increase the attractiveness for the

merchandise or service. Generally speaking, marketers are responsible for

implementing,promotinganddistributingagoodsandservices.Inordertodothisit

is essential to understand the competition and what a potential customer gets

offeredelsewhereandhowthispowertochoosefromanalternativecompanymay

influencefutureprofit(Kotler&Armstorng&Harris&Piercy,2013).Beingawareof

themarketing strategies of others and how they are implementing and attracting

theircustomersiscrucialtoknow.Thus,understandingwhatcompetitorsaredoing

is fundamental for the strategy that a marketer has to take. For example, a

marketer always needs to be aware of the competitions prices,whether they are

introducinganewproduct, if theyare targetingnewcustomersand throughwhat

kind of distribution channels they are expanding or whether they have a strong

presence in socialmediawith a lot of followers, awebsite that stands out or the

advantageofastrongbrandname.Alltheseissuesarekeytobeawareofwhoyou

aredealingwithandtodifferentiateyourselfinordertogetaheadofthem(DeMers,

2016).

However,notonlyknowingwhatthecompetitionisuptoisanimportantfactor in

marketing,thinkinglikethecustomer,gatheringinformationandcustomerinsightto

implement a successful marketing strategy. This is needed to create a good

relationship with potential clients and it creates value and customer satisfaction.

Gatheringinformationaboutcustomersisimportantbutcanbechallenging.Itdoes

generateacompetitiveadvantagebutobtaining thecorrect informationabout the

wantsandneedsofacustomercanbechallengingattimes,sincetheydonotalways

know themselves want it is they are looking for. In todays industry a number of

informationcanbeobtainedthroughtechnologywheregreatamountsofinsightsto

people can be gathered. This can lead to an overwhelming amount of data that

needstobeprocessedandsortedoutbeforemakinganexecutivedecisionhowthe

targetcustomerisandwhathisorherneedsandwantsare(Kotler&Armstorng&

Harris&Piercy,2013).

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Competitivemarketing intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing data,

whichispubliclyavailableofcompetitorsorcustomersandthusbeingabletomake

an educated decision to achieve the target audiences. Through competitive

intelligenceit ispossibletoexpandtheknowledgethatthecompanyhasandthink

moreoutsideoftheboxandthusstayingaheadofcompetition(Kotler&Armstorng

&Harris&Piercy,2013).

Intelligence seekers have the ability to go through thousands of databases that

provideinformationonline,someevenfreeofcharge.Anexampleofthiswouldbe

theEuropeanPatentOfficesactivities,which involveprovidingpatent information,

even examining and evaluating patent applications. Over 70 million patent

documentsarefreetoaccess.Inexchangeforafee,companieshavetheabilityto

subscribe to more than 3,000 online databases and search engines. Kompass,

Hoover´s and LexisNexis would be an example of databases that provides useful

information (Kotler & Armstorng & Harris & Piercy, 2013). Nowadays, marketers

havetheabilitytogathertheinformation,whichisrelevantforthemtodecideona

marketingstrategythatachievescompetitiveadvantageinmasses.Duetothis,the

continuous investment in technology that provides this advantage angle, which

improvesorganizationsefficiencyismadeoftenbymarketingmanagers(McGonagle

&Vella,2002).Marketingmanagerswhoobtain this insighthave thepossibility to

make fact- based decisions which make sense based on the marketing data and

transform these into a tactical strategy to improve competitiveness (Heinrichs &

Lims,2005).

However, organizations, which are in competition, have the same access to this

intelligence,whichgivesnooneacompetitiveadvantage.Ifanorganizationdecides

onproceedingwiththeinvestmenttogainamoredetailedinsightintothepotential

benefitsthatmightoccurthroughthisinformation,theintelligencetheyacquiremay

bethesameastheirdirectcompetition.Therealcompetitiveadvantageisobtained

when using this information the right way. Solely obtaining the access to this

intelligence is not difficult. The real difficulty is how theyuse it andwhat theydo

withthisintelligence(Maltz&Kohli,1996).

Marketingresearchand, thus,competitivemarketing intelligence is thefoundation

ofanymarketingstrategyandofanybusinessplan.Withtheinsightthatiscollected

22

and analyzed organizations can not only adopt their existing marketing plan,

implementanewplanfornewproductsoracquireinsightonhowthecompetitionis

doingbutalsohave tostayup todatewith theeverevolving technologychanges.

Adaptingtothenewdigitalresourcesthatchangeanddevelopsoquicklyovertime

isessentialforanyorganizationssinceitgoeshandinhandwithconsumerdemand.

(Park,2017).

Eventhoughthetacticofcollectingvaluabledatafromcompetitorsorcustomersisa

helpfulstrategy,alotofcompaniesnowadaystakestepstoprotecttheinformation

thatispublicandcouldpotentiallybeobtainedfromthecompetition,Althoughitis

legaltocollectintelligencethequestionofethicsarises(Kotler&Armstorng&Harris

& Piercy, 2013). The question about how this data can be obtained without

disrespecting a customer’s privacy is also a very big issue in the marketing area.

Finding the balance in protecting privacy but also retracting public information is

crucialinthefieldofmarketing(Heinrichs&Lim,2005).

Thenextchapterwillfocusonanin-depthlookintothedifferencesbetweenonline

and offline marketing and explain which marketing tactic is useful for a specific

business.

2.1.7 Onlinevs.offlinemarketing

Thedemandforonlinemarketinghassignificantly increaseda lotyearbyyearand

continues to grow rapidly. Even though this rapid growthwasbooming in the last

coupleofyearanddrewalotofattention,agreatdealofbusinessownersstillthink

that online marketing exists of commercial sites displaying banner ads and

customersgetoverwhelmedwithemailspamcampaigns.Inrealityhowever,thereis

a lot more to it. Internet marketing is a very broad area which can reach from

creatingawebsiteuntiltheplacementofGoogleadsandanalytics(Raude,2017).

Thedifferentformsofcreatinganonlineidentity,whichthecompanyisknownfor,

areveryextensive.Searchengineoptimization isawayofrankingawebsiteinthe

unpaid“organic”searchofcustomers.Havingahigherrankinginthesearchengines

canleadtoabettervisibilityofthewebsiteandtherefore isagoodtoolforonline

marketing.(Walker, 2010). All the significant search engines like Google, Bing or

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Yahooentailprimarysearchoutcomes,whicharebasedonwhattheprevioussearch

of the user consisted of and is consideredmost relevant for the operator (Search

EngineLand,n.d).

Email Marketing is considered as one of the most common ways of online

marketing. It is under the top tools that are seen asmost effective for increasing

sales. It isaneffectivewayof targeting theemail subscribersandbinding themto

thecompanyalittlemorebygivingthemthefeelingofbeingmorespecialthanjust

regular customers. It is personalized; offers special deals or insider tips that non-

emailsubscriberswouldnotgetaccessto(Walker,2010).

Blogging,amarketingtacticthatisuprisingandboomingbecauseofitssimpleway

of putting a business more into the spotlight by a third party. Not only online

visibilityisincreasedbutalsothecompany’sproductorserviceispushedthroughso

many different social media channels and reaches customers who would have

otherwise not been reached that it is a very popular form of online marketing

nowadays(Wainwrite,2017).

Network marketing focuses on building relationships with potential customer

targets. It isbasically takingastep furtherandaimingtoconnectabusinessanda

customer(Walker,2010).Asocialnetworkingsiteisaplatform,whichenablesusers

tointeractwithotherusersthroughapublicprofile.Itcreatesaconnectionthrough

shared interests and is an ongoing circle of connecting people. It is not to be

confusedwithasocialmediasiteeventhoughtheyshareafewsimilarities.Asocial

networkingsitehasapublicofsemi-publicprofileandestablishedconnectionswhile

socialmediacanadditionallysharealotofdifferentcontent(Techopedia,n.d).

Therearealotofbenefitsthatcanbeaccomplishedwhenusingonlinemarketing.It

isacost-efficientmethodofpromotionwithcheaperadvertisingmethodsthatcan

contactcustomersfasterandmoreeffectively.Trackingresultsisalsoahugebenefit

whenitcomestoonlinemarketingbecauseitgivesthebusinessafeelingofhowthe

productorservice isdoingandhavehonestdirectresponsesfirsthand. It isalsoa

form of global marketing that reaches areas and people that with traditional

24

methodswouldnever havebeen reachedand thushas abroader reach to senda

messageandevoketheinterestofnewpotentialcustomers(Blunt,n.d).

Relyingsolelyononlinemarketingtacticsmightbethewrongapproachaswell(Red

Evolution ltd., 2015).Offlinemarketing tools target the customer using traditional

media,which a lot of people feelmore comfortablewith. There is a broad choice

whendecidingonaofflinemarketingtacticwhichdependsonwhichcustomerthe

company wants to target and how the message should be brought across.

Awareness for a product demands a different approach than the aim to bring in

direct sales. Awareness of a product or service can be generated through PR,

advertising,televisionortheradioorbyanannouncementinthepress.Offlinesales

aremostly generated throughmailing, print campaigns, announcementsof special

offers,flyers,telemarketingorthroughwordofmouthmarketing(RedEvolutionltd.,

2015).

Tosumitup,bothonlineaswellasofflinemarketingtacticshavetheirbenefitsand

drawbacks.Of course it alwaysdependson the customerand thebusiness to find

thebestfitinordertogeneratethemostprofit(RedEvolutionLtd.,2015).

Afterthecloser lookintoonlineandofflinemarketingtacticsthenextsectionaims

toshowhowsocialmediamarketing influencesabusinessandhowmarketinghas

grownbecauseofit.

2.1.7.1 Socialmediamarketing

Socialmediamarketingisacommonlyusedmarketingtacticusedinthe21stcentury

ofconductingday-to-daybusiness.Understandingtheroleofsocialmediaiscrucial

formarketersandmanagers.Itsroleistoincreasebrandawareness,driveupsales,

improve the image of a brand, facilitating information flow, reducing costs for

marketingandchangethewaycustomersandbusinesses interactwitheachother.

It´s benefits spreadoutwidely since it also gives business the chanceof following

andmonitoringconversationsand impressionsthatcustomerssay first-handabout

their product or service and then react in a thought through way and gives the

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chance to change their strategy based on the immediate feedback thatwas given

(Reto,Rauschnabel&Hinsch,2017).

Socialmediadraws inalmosteverybusinessnowadays.Havinga somewhatactive

presenceonsocialmediaisverycriticaltostayingaheadofcompetition.Buildingup

realrelationshipscanalsooccurthroughsocialmediasinceit isthefastest,easiest

andnowadaysmostpopularwaytoconnectpeople.Itgivescustomersthefeelingof

belongingandhavingasayinthecompanywitchmightnotonlyincreasesalesbut

alsobuildsupcustomerloyalty.MarketingonFacebookorTwittermightcomeinas

a huge benefit for a business since the posts their might not be seen as direct

adverting from a company but way more a source of information without being

directlypressured(DeMers,2014).

Thefollowingchapterdescribesthe importanceofmarketing insmallersizedfirms

and how the approaches to a successful marketing tactic have to differentiate

themselvesfromtheapproachofamarketingtacticinawell-establishedfirm.

2.1.8 Marketinginsmallersizedfirms

Theincreasingsignificantofmarketingoverthepastyearsisanimportantaspectof

afirm’sgrowthandperformance.Marketing,inadditiontoitsroleinadvertisingand

sales, isresponsibleforhowacompany isperceivedbythepublicand istherefore

criticaltoitsoverallsuccess.(Morgan&Feng&Whitler,2018)

Thevariedaspectsofmarketingarecrucial toconsider inany formofbusiness. In

smaller scale industriesmarketing is of great importance for generating revenues

andisessentialfortheproductproductionandpromotion.

Findingtherightmarketingstrategyforlargerorganizationsandmicroenterprisesis

difficult toobtain sincewell established firms relyon their reputation, theirbrand

identityandmostlyonanexternalprofessionalmarketingagencywhileforsmaller

scaledenterprisesitiscrucialtohaveawellthoughtthroughmarketingstrategynot

only promote themselves but also to differentiate themselves from larger scale

organizationsandcreatetheirownidentity.(Sadiqua,2017)

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Inorderforsmallersizedbusinessestosurvive,it isessentialtoincludeagoodbut

alsofittingmarketingstrategyintothefirm’sconcept.Thetheoryofmarketingand

thewayit istaughtdoesnotfitforeverybusinessandiftheaimistogetthebest

possible result out of the business, and individual strategy has to be applied and

alwaysadaptedasthefirmentersdifferentstages(Carson,1985).

Creating an identity is important.What does the company stand for, what is the

target customer and what should the general thinking of the company be? Then

going a little more in depth is important. What results are expected from the

marketing strategy that was applied for the company? Do they meet the firm’s

expectations or even exceed them? And what content of the firm should be

marketed,wherearethestrengththatwillattractthecustomerandthusshouldbe

pushed into the spotlight andwhere areweaknesses that shouldbedownplayed?

(Sester,2018).Alloftheabovelistedquestionsshouldbetakenintoaccountbefore

creating a marketing plan. Especially for smaller businesses that often feel the

pressuredbywell-established firms, it is important tokeepasking thosequestions

and adapting their marketing plan in their different life stages. As Sester (2018)

states, the competition never sleeps and thus it is crucial to always stay aheadof

timeinordertoattractthetargetedclientele.

Lookingatwhatthecompetitionisdoingcanbeusefulifthebusinessesaresimilar.

Whatworks for themandmost importantlywhat isnotworking for them.Finding

thatgapandthencreatinganownstrategy,whichgoesintotherightdirectionbut

stilldifferentiated itself fromthecompetition iswortha lot (DeSilva,2018).Thus,

learningfromthecompetitionbutthendiggingalittledeepertoimproveastrategy

canaid instandingout(DeSilva,2018).Whenaimingtostandout,especiallyfora

smallersizedcompany,buildingastrongonlinepresenceitcrucial.Especiallyinthe

earlystagesofthebusinessitiskeytostandoutonsocialmediaorwithawebsite

because that is what attracts the most clientele. Customers nowadays are

overwhelmedwithoffersandthusaresearchingforsomethingthatstandsoutand

isdifferenttotherest.Thegoal istomakeyourcustomershavethat“wow”effect

(DeSilva,2018).

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2.2 Start-upsandmarketing

Startingnewventuresnowadays isconsideredaseconomicgrowthandformsnew

andinnovativehorizonsforregionsandnations.Notonlydoesthecreationofnew

jobsplayabigrolebecauseofstart-ups,italsoallowscompetitiontobechallenged

bycreatingnewideas,visionsandsettingafasterpace(Baraldietal.&Havenvid&

Linné&Öberg,2018).

Thefollowingsectionswillgoalittlemoreintodetailaboutinfluencesthatastart-up

facessuchashowafounder´spersonalattributedhelpastart-upgrow,howfunding

isgenerated,astart-upstheoreticallifecycleandfinallywhatrolemarketingplaysin

astart-upinitsearlystages.

2.2.1 Thefounder´spersonalattributesandambitiontogrow

When someone decides on commencing a start-up, there is a high likelihood of

personal interest that influences the decision to dive into a new field. The high

personalinterestandcommitmentofafounderisakeyfactorwhencomparingthe

newventuretoanalreadyestablishedbusinessanditsmanager.Thishasaveryhigh

importance because the effort put into a newly founded business stands in

combinationwithitsgrowthandperformance.Thedrivethatanentrepreneurmight

havehasagreateffectonthebusinessesfuturesuccess,whichiswhythefounder’s

personalityplaysakeyroleinthestart-upfield(Barringer&Jones,2004).

The growth rate of a start-up also depends on the founder’s ambition to grow as

wellastheenvironment,whichtheyfindthemselves in is importantforsuccess. In

2011, a studywas conductedwhere a closer lookwas taken at growing and non-

growingstart-ups investigatingthereasonsbehind itmoredetailed.Thestudywas

conducted by Hansen and Hamilton, andmeasured an owner’s ambition to grow

whentakingacloserlookattheirpersonalinvestmentintothestar-upaswellasthe

time and effort they put into their work drive. Flexibility, optimism, strategic

planningskillsallwhereimportantfactorstakenintocloseconsideration.Thestudy

showed that growing firms had different attributed than non-growing firms. They

tended to be more flexible, innovative and personally invested with a drive of

ambition that also led them into the international playing field (Blackburn,Hart&

Wainwright,2013).

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Long-termsuccesscannotbeexplainedthroughluck, itreflectsthehartwork, long

hours and dedication that is put into a company. There are several traits which

entrepreneurs of successful start-ups share (Kittaneh, 2015). Firstly, these are

passion, which is important since the sole thought of making money will not

accomplishanything,often it ispassionforacompany, if someone likeswhatthey

aredoingeverydayand theyareburning tomakenewconnectionsandgrowwith

time that successfully build up a reputation. Secondly, calculations are a crucial

factorofbeingprofitable.Planningandestimatingwhatmayworkforthecompany

is just as important as being motivated and passionate. Reaching the companies

goalscanonlybemetwhencalculatingwhat ispossibleandalwayshavingagood

overviewofwhatisgoingon.Thirdly,education.Iftheownerofabusinessthinkshe

or she has all the answers, problemswill occur. Continuously educating oneself is

thekeytosuccess.Theeconomyneverstandsstill,technologyneverstandsstill,and

adapting to changes is one of the most important attributes when wishing for

permanentsuccess(Kittaneh,2015).

2.2.2 FundingforaStart-up

Convertinganideaintoathrivingbusinessitnotaneasytask.Producingcapitalwith

thisideacanbeevenharderbutthegoalofeverynewventureistohavearevenue-

drivingbusiness.Thechallengeoffindingfundingforastartupisaverybigissuefor

a lotofnewbusinesses. It iscontinuouslygettinghardertofindfundingforastart

up since competition is getting more and more intense. Investors have a higher

expectation since they want to invest and park their money securely with the

promiseofrevenueinthefuture(Newlands,2017).

An angle investorwhowants to invest personal funds and expect a percentage in

returnorpartoftheownershipisalsoapopularpossibilitywhenlookingforfunding.

Banksalsotendtofundinnewideas, lendingmoneytoupcomingstart-ups.When

considering a loan from a bank, it is important to have a good business plan and

present awell thought out strategy.Whereaswith personal investorswho canbe

family or friends, trust plays a bigger role. Trust in the business and the ability to

turn an idea into a start-up. It is still advised however to professionally set up a

contractanddefinetermsandconditionsclearly(Ahmed,2017).

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2.2.3 Start-uplifecycle

From the moment an idea is developed into a business, the businesses lifecycle

commences.Asthebusinessgrowsanddevelops,itisimportanttobeawardinwhat

stage it currently is in order tomeet objectives, set priorities and form strategies

(Petch,2016).The7stagesofabusinesslifecycleare(Shah,2016):

a) Idea: The initial stage is coming up with an idea or even just a

thought.

b) Start-up:Inthisstagetheideaistunedintoalegallyexistingstart-up

withgoodsorservicesinproduction.

c) Growth:Thebusinessdeveloped itself throughtheearlyyearand is

starting to generate revenueswith increasing opportunities coming

itsway.

d) Established:Start-upisnowathrivingcompanywithasecureplacein

themarket and customer satisfaction.Operations turnmore into a

routine.

e) Expansion:Increasinggrowthdeterminesthelifecycle.Newmarkets

and a broader target of customer categorized this stage. Larger

distributionchannelsandrevenuearestreamingin.

f) Mature:Stableprofitandsalesovertheyearsbutstatingchallenges

withthethreatoffallingsales.Thedecisionofexitorexpansionhas

tobemade.

g) Exit:Cashoutthestart-uporshuttingdownthestart-up

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2.2.4 Theimportanceofmarketingintheearlystagesofastart-up

Havingasolidmarketingstrategyfortheearlystagesofastart-upbusinessiscrucial.

Early-stagestart-upsshouldhaveaverypreciseandwell thoughtoutstrategythat

goesmoreindepthandwakesuptheinterestofpotentialcustomers.Itisnecessary

to put a start-up on the right path and to keep it there as well, there is nothing

worsethanwhenabusinessstartsoutstrongandwakesalotofinterestbutthenin

theendeffect cannotdeliver itspromises.This iswhya strongmarketing strategy

needs to be implemented, where the message of the start-up is highlighted.

Especiallyintheearlystages,themarketingstrategyshouldbestrongandevolveas

necessary(Duris,2011).

Market researchshouldbeconducted inorder tomakesurethat there isa lack in

themarketandtosecurethatthetargetedmarketisready.Amarketingplanshould

also be implemented that incorporated several marketing tactics that help reach

businessgoals,suchasaSWOT(strengths,weaknesses,opportunityandthreats)or

PESTEL(political,economic,social,technological,environmentalandlegal)analysis,

analyzingthecompetitionandbudget(Duris,2018).

Whiledevelopingandtestingthemarketinggoalsthatareset, themost important

factoristoexaminetowhatthetargetaudiencerespondstothemost.Onlineorin-

person surveys, reviews and other questionnaires help determine where the

strength of the start-up lies and where the focus should be. Making the product

standout to attract interest is key for the early stages. Theproductmustmake a

wave and impress people, becauseword ofmouth and creating hype around the

productmakesorbreaksfuturestart-ups(Manning,2017).

Thus,havingastrongsocialmediapresenceandanoutstandingwebsitealsohelps

with the way the start-up is perceived. It should be clearly structured and not

overwhelmthecustomerwith information,butgiving themenough tomake them

curiousandsatisfied(Duris,2011).

Another important activity is to develop a retention strategy to bind customers.

Thus, developed high levels of customer satisfactions to turn into loyal customers

are crucial. Therefore, giving them the service that they expect is very important,

31

because it is easy for them togo to the competitionandnot return (Duris, 2011),

alsoitischeapertokeepexistingcustomersandattainnewones.

Thenext section focuseson the start-upscene inViennaandhowthecity itself is

perceivedasanupcominghubwith its featuresshapinghow it isviewed forstart-

ups.

3 Start-upsceneinVienna

Forafounderofastart-up,findingtherightlocationisofcriticalimportance.Before

evencommencingthejourneyofdevelopingabusinessthefirstmainquestionthat

needstobeaskediswheretostartthebusiness.

Whensomeonehasthatlightningideaorthesolutiontoaproblemthatcouldtarget

anicheinthemarket,thedecisionofwheretoputdownroots isnotaneasyone.

Therearemanyfactorsthatinfluenceabigsteplikethis,forexample:whetherthe

righttargetcustomerlivesthere,iftherearenetworkingpossibilities,whetherthere

issupportfromthegovernment,officecosts,accesstofundingorstaffingneeds.All

these factorsneed tobeclarifiedbeforedecidingona location (Edgecomb,2017).

The objective of this thesis is to examine the Viennese start-up scene and what

marketingtacticswouldbebeneficialforearlystagesstart-ups.

Vienna, a city that characterizes itselfwith culture and traditionmight not be the

first city that comes tomindwhen thinking about an innovative, driven and ever-

changing start-up center. However, in 2015 there were approximately 190.000

students inViennawith a lot of nationalities that forma big pool of potential co-

founders (Bursuk&Wallner, 2017). A high purchasing power in the population of

Vienna also increases its attractiveness as well as the entry to the DACH market

(Germany,AustriaandSwitzerland),which is the largest single languagemarket in

Europe(Bursuk&Wallner,2017).

Viennahas thehugeadvantageof location. The city is situated ideally sincemany

EuropeancitiesandcapitalscaneasilybereachedfromVienna.Lessthantwo-hour

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flightsandshortdrives toother thrivingcitiesmakeViennaan idealconnection to

otherEuropeancountries.ThegeographicallocationisabigpartwhytheViennese

start-upsceneisincreasinglygrowing(VenionaireCapital,2015).

Eventhoughsomeofthebigstart-upcapitalslikeLondon,ChicagoorBerlindohave

a lot of features that attract start-ups, Vienna can keep up and prove itself with

Europe´s biggest start-up and innovation hub (Edgecomb, 2017). The 900 square

meterhubdefinesitselfwithauniqueandthrivingecosystemandeachyearishome

to100ofthemostthrivingstart-upsinvariousfields.Inencouragesstart-upstojoin

because of its unique offer of mentoring, networking, workshops, and individual

coachingaswellasoffersfreeworkingspace.ThismakesViennaarisingdestination

forstart-upsandshowsalotofexistingandgrowingpotential.

It also characterizes itself with a strong start-up ecosystem, which provides easy

access to knowledgeand financial support forevery stageof thebusiness.Austria

holds a lot of conferences and lecture that provide the possibility of further

education and to gain the know-how of starting a business. In term of financial

support,Austriaoffersacomprehensivesystemofpublicfundingthat isgenerated

through taxes and supportsmeasures of start-up and innovation projects. Two of

the biggest funding sources of Austria are the Austria Wirtschaftsservices GmbH

(aws)andtheAustrianResearchPromotionAgency(FFG),whichofferloansornon-

repayablegrants(Reiter-Braunwieser,n.d).

Every fifth founder with a potential start-up idea launches his or her business

abroad.AsurveywasconductedbytheEuropeanStart-upInitiative(ESI)–Start-up

HeatmapEurope2016,700founderswhereaskedabouttheirpastexperienceinthe

start-upsector.Eachofthemgotuptofivevotesfroma listofthirtycities forthe

questionofwhere theywould launch their start-upnow if theyhad thechance to

startallover.Outof2,393 total votes forestablishes foundersViennawas ranked

10th. They were also asked to rank Vienna out of five starts in terms of different

featureswherebyecosystemgot3.8 stars, talent3.2 stars,burn rate3.2 starsand

capital2.9startsoutoffive.Whenaskedhowmanypercentoffounderswouldstart

33

over in Vienna if they had the chance, 19% ofWestern Europe founders said yes

(Kavan,2017).

Thus,itcanbestatedthatoverthelast25yearsViennahasdevelopeditselfasacity

of enterprises attracting investors and founders by offering structure, financial

supportandthedrivetoactivelyworkwithnewbusinessesthatstriveforinnovation

(Preveden,n.d).Viennaisnotacitythatiseasilyoverlookedandisformingtobea

veryattractivedestinationtodevelopandlaunchanewbusinessideabecauseofits

high quality of life, abundance of talented labor and high-level research (Kavan,

2017).

4 Methodology

Generally researchers either chose toutilizeprimaryor secondary sourcesor they

even use both. Primary data is collected for a specific project or thesis,where no

other literature in this context exists. This data can be collected via interviews,

surveys, questionnaires or case studieswhen the results and findings are primary

data that caneither support the literature revieworprove itwrong.On theother

hand secondary data is collected from already existing researches, which can be

found in journals, books, reports or official statistics and should also support the

resultsofthefindings.Thisthesismakesuseofprimaryaswellassecondarysupport

the reasons of conducting this research and thereforemakes themethodology of

particularinterest.

4.1 Interviewsasaprimarysourceofdata

Oneofthemostflexibleandcommonlyusedmethodsofcollectingqualitativedata

is through interviews.An interviewbasically is a guided conversationbetween the

researcherandanexpert(Malhotra,2006).

This paper used interviews as a source for primary data and the purpose is to

investigate howmarketing tactics can be applied to support early stage start-ups

narrowed down to the location of Vienna. The decision to use interviews as a

primary source of data was made to intensely investigate a more qualitative

approach. The fundamental elements of qualitative research approaches give a

34

closerinsighttothequestion“why”.Understandingtheresearchproblemisatypical

characteristicofqualitativeresearch.Theaimistogoalittlemorein-depththrough

obtainingemotions,opinions,behaviors,etc.

Thereareanumberofreasonswhyobtainingprimarydatathrough interviews isa

beneficialapproach.Firstofall,itallowsflexibilitytoadaptthequestionsandleaves

room to support the argument with logical thinking which allows different

perceptions thatmight influenceeach individualstart-upandavoidgeneralizingall

marketing approaches. Second, a more in-depth explanation of each individuals´

perception can be examined through interviews and it also has the advantage to

understandunexpectedresults(Malhotra,2006).

Thenextsectionwillexplainthedesignoftheinterviews.

4.2 Designoftheinterview

Sincetheresearchofthisthesisisbasedoninterviewswithfoundersandexpertsin

thestart-upsector,theresultswillbecollectedonadocumentandanalyzedinthe

later following results chapter. For themostaccurate results,all individualexperts

areasked toanswerhonestlyand indetail toobtain resultsaspreciseaspossible.

Since interviews are not advised for gaining a large number of information ten

expertsofthestart-upfieldwillbeaskedtoanswerthequestionstothebestoftheir

abilities.

The Interview consists of fifteen questions that allow a detailed insight into

marketing inearly stagestart-ups.All interviewquestionsplus theanswerscanbe

foundwrittenoutintheappendixA.

Firstofall theexpertsareaskedto list theirnameandquicklyexplaintheirprofile

before going a littlemore into detail about their start-up and the role they have,

howmanyemployeesareworking inthestart-up,thereasonswhy itwasfounded

andwhatattractedthemtothestart-upscene.Thentheywillbeaskedtoelaborate

onthegrowthoftheirstart-upandhowfastithasdevelopedsincedayoneinterms

ofprofitandcustomernumbers.Afterthisisclarified,thelastquestionforthestart-

upitselfisabouttheircompetitiveenvironmentandhowcompetitioneitherinspires

35

orinfluencesthemontheirdailyactivities.Afterthesefivequestionsthefocuswill

turntomarketing.

Thequestionsinregardtomarketingaskthemtoelaboratewhatmarketingmeans

to them, how they developed theirmarketing strategy in theearly stages of their

start-up and how marketing tactics are adapted to customer demand or

competition.

Then marketing intelligence is questioned and if they made use of marketing

intelligenceapproachesandhowtheseinfluencetheirmarketingstrategy.Thenext

questionishowbigofarolethemarketplaceplaysbeforegoingintoamarketand

howthemarketplace isevaluatedbeforeattractingcustomers.Thentimewillplay

animportantfactorandtheyareaskedwhethertheyadapttheirstrategyovertime

andhowmucheffortgoesintoanearlystagestart-up.Thentheintervieweeswere

askedwhethertheyreachoutforanysupporttoenhancetheirmarketingstrategy

and to list the biggest challenges that evolved while developing their marketing

strategiesintheearlystagesoftheirstart-up.Thelastquestionrelatedtothefuture

ofmarketingandsales,whattheythinkitwillconsistofandwhatitwillbring.Also,

intervieweesweregiventheopportunitytomakeanyotherpoints,whichtheythink

arerelevanttoaddforthisresearch.

4.3 Sampleofthestart-up

Inordertoobtainsufficientpracticalinformationthatsupportsthetheoreticalpart

ofthethesisteninterviewswereconductedwithstart-upsbasedinVienna.Outof

these ten interviewees, two were experts in the field; established investors on

different start-ups and start-up owners themselves and eight were founders of

differentstart-upsormarketingmanagersinthestart-up.Manyofthestart-upsare

already up and running so in the interview the participantswere asked to reflect

backontheearlystagesoftheirstart-upinordertocollectcorrectdata.Havingthe

mixoftwoexpertsandeightworkingintenselyinthestart-upfieldprovidesacloser

lookintodifferentperspectives.Havingparticipantsfromdifferentpositionsanswer

thequestionsensuresaccuracy,validityandreliabilityofthefindings.Asummaryof

each interview, which was conducted personally or over the telephone, can be

foundattachedinAppendixA.

36

4.4 SnowballSampling

Interviews are very time consuming and therefore the experts were selected

carefullyinordertoobtainthemostsuitableoutcomeforthisresearchtopic.Inthe

start-up sceneof Vienna, a lot of deals run overwordofmouth and connections.

This can also be said for the research of this thesis. Interviewees recruited other

participants to take part of the study and through communication more willing

foundersofstart-upswerefoundthatparticipated.Forthisthesissnowballsampling

(also called non-probability or non-random sampling) was the right method since

participants that came over personal recommendation were willing to provide a

closer insightandelaborateontheiranswers inmoredetail.Themethodprovided

moreadvantagesforthisthesisthansimplerandomsamplingsinceitovercamelack

ofparticipation,detectedstart-upsthatwouldhavebeenoverlookedandwasatime

efficientwayofconductingtheinterviews.

37

5 Results

5.1 ProfileandStart-upoftheInterviewees

Thissectionwillconsistofadetailedlookintoeachstart-upthatwasinvestigatedin

ordertoprovidebetterinsighthowmarketingtacticswherebestappliedandwhere

theyhavebeenprovenmosteffectiveintheearlystagesofastart-upslifecycle.

The ten start-ups that were interviewed give different perspectives and a closer

insightwhichmarketingtactichavebeenprovenmosteffectivetothemandwhich

decisionshaveincreasedthegrowthoftheirstart-up.

Thefollowingsectionwillstateabriefoverviewofeachstart-upincludingwhothe

interviewee is and what role he or she plays in the start-up, as well as a quick

summeryofwhatthepurposeofthestart-upiswillbeprovided.

Name:DavidMirzaei

Position:MarketingManageratByrd

Start-up:ByrdwasfoundedinJuly2016inViennaandprovidesasolutionfor

onlineshops,facilitatingoutsourcingthroughtheuseofaweb-application.The

ultimate goal is to turn shipping into a stress-free experience. The growthof

this start-up was tremendously increasing since the start, now in 2018 an

expansion to Germany has been made and approximately 1000 registered

customerswithabout100 shipping regularlyhavebeen countedas clientsof

thestart-up.EspeciallytheGermanmarketshowshighinterestforthestart-up

anddemandinveryhigh.

38

Name:ChristopfHinterplattner

Position:CEOandCo-founderofBikemap

Start-up:Bikemap is a fast growing community for sports enthusiasts,with a

focusoncyclistsaroundtheworldsince2015.Mr.Hinterplattnerhadastart-up

career from the beginning on. First heworked in different kinds of start-ups

beforedevelopinghisownservice.Bikemapcantrackandsharemorethan3.5

millioncycleroutsandhasthebigadvantageofafullofflinefunctionaswell.

With13employeesthe1styearwasusedtobuildthebrandandtheproduct.In

the years after the product had a steady increase in the market and was

runningonitsown.

Name:JakobHofer

Position:ChiefMarketingOfficerandCo-founderofAnyline

Start-up: Anyline was founded in 2014 and Mr. Hofer is the CMO with 29

employeescurrentlyworkingforthestart-up.TheAnylineteamhasworkedon

itspatentedopticalcharacterrecognitiontechnologyandhasalreadyattracted

well-knowncustomers. It takesawaythepainofmanually typing indetailsof

your passport, license plat, ID, drivers license, etc. With the Anyline SDK,

smartphone cameras can processwritten characters in real time, evenwhen

offline.

Name:SabineRückeshäuser

Position:SeniorDigitalMarketingManageratJobRocker

Start-up:JobRockerisadigitalheadhuntingstart-upinViennawhere60people

arecurrentlyemployed,since2016.Ithadatremendousgrowthfromthestart

39

and customer numbers as well as profit is steadily increasing monthly. The

objective is to find themost suitable fit for a company and connect the two

partiesthroughanexternalplatform.

Name:Mag.(FH)PaulBlaguss

Position: CEO and Managing Director of Blaguss Travel GmbH. Founder and

CEOoftheViennaPass.

Start-up:TheViennaPassisacardthatopensallthedoorsforsightseeingand

givestheopportunitytodiscoverVienna,since2015.Withthefreeguidebook

attached customers not only get the ultimate experience of Vienna but they

alsocanenjoyastress-freetimetoenjoythecity.Itincludesfreeentryinover

60ofVienna’smustseesightsandmuseumsandalsogivestheopportunityto

getafeelingofthecitythroughuseoftheHopOnHopOffsightseeingtours.In

addition to that a fast track entry is also guaranteed, so customers have the

advantageofavoidinglongqueuing.

Name:ExpertX

Position:Co-founderofJourni

Start-up: Journi is amobile Travel book. It is an App constructed to capture

personal adventures and automatically put them in a timeline to avoid

forgettinganything.Pictures,videosandevennotescanallbekeptonJourni.

Launched in 2014 Journi has a strong demand. In 2017 Journi had about

500.000users.

40

Name:KlaudiaBachinger

Position:FounderandCEOofWisR

Start-up:WisRisarecruitingplatformforyoungretireeswiththeobjectiveto

connectcooperation’sandcompanieswiththesilverexperts,since2017.The

advantages of this platform are to bring different perspectives together and

helpingsilveragersbringtheirtalentsandexpertisebackintothelabormarket.

Thegoal istoshowthatcross-generationalteamscanprovide innovationand

widenthehorizonofeveryparty.

Name:ManuelZwittag

Position:CEOandCo-founderofrublysGmbH

Start-up:RublysGmbHwasfoundedin2013inViennaandhasthepurposeof

simplifying engagement between millennials and brand through a gamified

mobilemarketingchannel.Thegreatestadvantagesofthisprocessarethatthe

customer target,whicharemillennialswant tocommunicatewith thebrands

orthecompany.Itisanadvancedmarketingsolutionwithaperformancerate

up to 26 times better than a regularmobile app. The start-up has up to 50

employees.

Name:DICamillaSievers

Position:CEOandCo-founderoftreats.Contemporarysnacks.

Start-up:Treatsoffers100%healthysnacks. ItsearcheswithinEuropeforthe

healthiest snacks and drinks and delivers them straight home to their

customers.Thestart-upwasfounded in2015andenableseasyandeffortless

ways of delivering the in-between snack that cannot be found in the

41

supermarkets. Itsgoal istoattractcustomersbypromisingahealthy lifestyle,

boosting their energy and at the same time tasting delicious. Its target

customersare individualsaswellascompanies. It start-upconsistsofaround

10employees.

Name:KatharinaKlausberger

Position:CEOandCo-FounderofShpockApp

Start-up:LaunchedinSeptember2012Shpockisanappthatenablesusersto

buy, sell of even give items away for free.Millions of private clients try to

distributetheirgoodsonthisplatform.Itbringscustomerandsellertogether

andsimplifiestheprocessofinteraction.Itsattractivenessdefinesitselfbynot

charging a fee of customers when a successful purchase or sell has been

made.Thefleamarketappattractsupto10millionusersearnedthe“Android

App Excellence” award in 2018. With about 120 employees Shpock is

continuouslyrisingandincreasingingrowth.

5.2 Findingsformarketinginearlystagestart-ups

5.2.1 Theroleofmarketingandsalesforearlystagestart-ups

Thefirstquestionthatwasaskedinthemarketingpartoftheinterviewwas:“What

does marketing and sales mean to you and your start-up? What is/was your

marketing strategy in the early stages of your start-up?” The purpose of this

questionwastoopenuptheheavyfocusofmarketingthatthisthesisistacklingand

to obtain a general feeling how the participants stand towardsmarketing in early

42

stages of their start-ups. Out of ten interviewees, eight responses contained the

importance of customer approach. Building trust and raising awareness in the

targetedmarketisoneofthemainchallengesthatstart-upsfacerightatthestartof

their launch.Creatingnoise intheB2Csectorandgraspingtheattentionandmost

important the interest of customers is what marketing is all in the early stages.

Marketingplaysakeyrolewhentryingtoattractcustomerssince in thebeginning

phaseofanybusinessthatcanbeoneofthemostchallengingparts.Thefollowing

quote demonstrates the importance of marketing for the Co-founder of treats:

“Marketingopensupthemarketplaceandraisesawarenessoftheproduct.”

5.2.2 Designingthemarketingandsalesstrategy

Whenthequestion“Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?”was

asked, opinions started to go in different directions, which is logical since the

investigatedstart-upsoperateindifferentfieldsandtargetdifferentgroups.

Twoofthestart-upsthatwerequestionedgaveaprettysimilarresponse.Theyboth

statedthatdesigningamarketingstrategywasputoffinthebeginningbecausefirst

ofallitwasimportanttobuildupthestart-upinterimandthenpresentingittothe

targeted customers. The Quote by the Senior Digital Marketing Director of

JobRocker: “In the early stage of JobRocker, the main focus was to hire the first

employeesandbuildtheoverallprocessofhowweoperate.Marketingjustbecame

importantalittlelateron.”

TheChiefMarketingOfficerandCo-founderofAnylinestated:“Itwasimportantfor

us to understand,whoweneed to convince. Target the right developers, the right

project managers and the right audience and then we designed the marketing

strategybasedontheoutcomeswehad.”

In the literature review, KPIs were looked at more detailed and how these are

importantmeasuresinmarketingtoseehowabusinessisperformingandwherethe

strengthsandweaknesseslie.TheresultsshowthatKPIsareanimportantfactorto

considerwhendesigningamarketingandsalesstrategy.TheCEOandCo-founderof

rublys GmbH stated that making a detailed outline, setting up goals and KPI is

essentialtoobservehowthestart-upisdevelopingandifthegrowthisasexpected

orifthestrategyshouldbechanged.

43

ForthefounderandmanagingdirectoroftheViennaPassdescribedthegrowthof

the start-up andhow it exceededall expectations. In the fist year theywanted to

make25.000passes,inthesecondyear50.000passesandinthethirdyear100.000

passes.

Theyendedupmaking42.000 inthefirstyear, inthesecond89.000passesand in

thethird135.000.Thegrowthexceededeveryexpectationandisincreasinglyrising.

Thegrowthofthisstart-upcouldbeexplainedbythedesignoftheirmarketingand

sales strategy. The following quote briefly explains their approach for designing

strategies:

“Wehavequiteafewmarketingstrategies,buttheoneproventobeveryeffective

has been the distribution of third parties. Here a third party helps distribute the

ViennaPassandwillgetaprovision for selling it.This ishowwe rapidlyexpanded

the growth of our product and got the word out. 80% of the Vienna Passes gets

purchasedonlinehoweverandthusourpresence inverystrongonallofouronline

platforms.”

5.2.3 Adaptingmarketingtacticstocustomerdemand

Adaptingmarketingtactics is importantforstart-upsaswell.Especially intheearly

stageswherethemarketisnew,start-upsneedtotakeacloselookwhatworksand

what could be improved. Responding to customer demand fluctuations and

gathering feedback is one of the most mentioned actions the interviewees

highlighted.Responding tocustomerneedsstrengthens thestart-upandgathering

firsthandinputiscrucialforfuturegrowthsinceitisawayofbindingthecustomer

andbuildingupastablerelationshipandloyalty.TheCEOandCo-founderofShpock

said:“Byanalysingtheirdemandswetrytofulfiltheirwishesasbestwecan.”

5.2.4 Understanding the marketplace before entering the market to

attractnewcustomers

Inthetheoreticalpartofthethesis,understandingthemarketplaceisdescribedasa

key factor for future success. Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of the

market,which is entered important for positioning a product or service andhelps

identify the targeted customer. The importanceof understanding themarketplace

44

canalsobeprovenbytheanswerstheparticipantsgave.TheCEOandCo-founderof

Bikemap agreed by stating: “It is important to launch a test product before

implementing the original.We conducted a lot of surveys and gathered feedback,

then we adapted to this feedback. We actively communicated with users and

answeredconcernsandquestions.”

The senior digitalmarketingmanager at JobRocker stated that understanding the

marketplacebeforehandisinevitable.Itshouldbethefirststepeverystart-uptakes;

if this is not done correctly it is hard to generate demand and hype around a

product.

5.2.5 Competitiveenvironmentandmarketingintelligence

Intheliteratureofthisthesistheimportanceofbeingawareofthecompetitionwas

highlighted.Itwasstatedthatbeingawareofthemarketingstrategiesofothersand

knowing how they attract and their customers is a key factor to investigatewhen

developinganownstrategy.

Themajority of the respondents say that they implement their own strategy and

that although they know what their competition is up to is important, they still

believe in doing their own thing and providing a unique angle that will attract

customers.

Two of the interviewees stated that they do have competition but no direct

competition,soitwouldbehardforthemtodesignastrategybasedonanalready

well-establishedcompanyiftheydonothavethesameuniqueangleasthem.

TheChiefMarketingOfficeandCo-founderofAnylineworksoncloseproximitywith

his competition because he said that for his start-up they share leads and

partnership which helps develop and create a market. This is called healthy

competitionwherebothpartiesbenefitfromeachother.

For a start-up like Bikemap,which had a later entry into themarket, competition

was high since their main competitor was Runtastic, an already well established

start-upinthesamefieldasBikemap.TheCEOandCo-founderofBikemaphowever

statedthatlearningfromtheircompetitionwasessentialfortheminthebeginning.

45

“Inthedailymarketingstrategywehavetobeverysharpinfocusandpositionitnot

asageneral sportsad. It is important to stay in the fieldofbiking (themarket for

that is big enough). Since there is a lot of competitionwe knew that therewas a

place for Bikemap in the market and we learned a lot through failures of our

competitors. “For thisparticular start-up, thecompetitionhelped themto improve

andgrow.

5.2.6 Theamountoftimethatearlystagestart-upsfocusonmarketing

Timeisofgreatimportance,especiallyintheearlystagesofabusiness.Accordingto

theintervieweestherealwaysseemstobetoolittleanditischallengingtoworkon

everydetail of the start-upat the same time. Theanswers spreadout indifferent

directionsforthisquestionaswell.Somesaidthatmarketingtookupaquarterofall

theeffortsandsomesaidattheverybeginningmarketingwasnottheirmainfocus

so it took up little to no time. “I think in the early stages itwould be a very little

amount since the resources in an early-stage start-up are very limited. The focus

wouldratherbeongettingtoknowthemarketandstartingwithsalesanddoPR.I

think it would be around 20-30%.” Demonstrated by the senior digital marketing

managerofJobRocker.

TheCo-founderoftreatsevenwentasfarassayingthatmarketingandsalesefforts

sumup to¾of the time invested in thestart-up. “Theearly stagesdemanded the

mosttimeandeffortofourmarketingandsalesstrategies.Iwouldevensay¾ofthe

timewasinvestedintheseareas.“

5.2.7 Reachingoutforsupporttoenhancemarketingoutcomes

The majority of CEO and Co-founders of start-ups that were asked to provide

insights,reachedoutforsupporttoenhanceandimplementtheirmarketingtactics.

Whether it was through workshops or through in-house marketing departments.

Externalexperiencedprofessionalshavethejobofknowingwhatexactlyisgoingon

in themarketandhave the rightknow-howto investigatewhatstrategywouldbe

thebestfirfortheproductorservice.BoththeViennaPassandJobRockerbelievein

Googleadwordsandreachedoutforprofessionalhelpinthisdepartmentbecause

46

theysaypositioningtheproductrightisakeyfactorforsuccess.EventheCEOand

Co-founder of Bikemap said:” I am not the biggest fan of paid channels but the

qualityoftheproductmightgetlostifwedon’tuseit,soyeswedidreachout.”

5.2.8 Biggest challenges faced when developing a marketing strategy in

theearlystagesofastart-up

Itisdifficulttogeneralizethebiggestchallengesthatstart-upfaceintheearlystages

sinceevery start-uphas their individualangle.The theory in the literature suggest

thatstrategicallyplanningwhereabusinessplan,detailedmarketingtacticsalistof

customers and so on, is themost challenging part for successfulmarketing in the

earlystages.Someoftherespondentsgaveexactlythatanswerandelaboratedhow

difficult itwastosetupastrategysincetheindustrymightpivot,somesaidthat it

was learning from their mistakes as well as learning from the mistakes of their

competitionandsomesaiditwasgatheringtheresourcesneededtobecreativeand

comeupwithideashowtogeneratemoneyandresources.

Howeversomestart-upsgaveresponsesthattheliteraturedidnotseeasoneofthe

biggest challenges that start-ups might be confronted with. For Vienna Pass the

biggestchallengewasputtingupacontractwiththesightofViennaandnegotiate

about the provision and forWisR, the biggest challengewas how to use the right

wording forseniors, thewrongwordingmighthavehadanegativeeffectonthem

andthiswouldhavehurtthecustomerrelationshipandsales.

Thisshinesaclearlightonthefactthateverystart-upworksintheirownwaysand

hastheirownstrengthsandweaknessesthattheyneedtofocuson.

5.3 Futureprognosesformarketinginstart-ups

In the last questionof the interview, respondentswere asked to give their option

aboutwhatthefutureofmarketinginearlystagestart-upswillbringandwhatthey

thinkwillbeasuccessfulapproachwhenusingmarketingtacticsinearlystagestart-

ups.Theopinionspartedalittleonthisspecifictopic.BoththeMarketingManager

atByrd,theCEOofWisRandtheSeniorDigitalMarketingManageratJobRockerare

convinced that growth hacking will influence early stage start-ups in the field of

marketing a lot. They believe that the mix of marketing, analyzing data and the

47

overviewofhowthestart-up isdeveloping isanessentialpart forupcomingstart-

ups.Thegoalofgrowthhackingistoachievegrowthintheearlystagesofthestart-

up in order to awaken awareness. The senior digital marketing manager at

JobRocker stated: “Growth is extremely important in the first years so finding

creativewaystogainsustainablegrowthwillalwaysbethechallenge.Founderswho

are looking for marketing talents should definitely look out for analytical and

creativethinkerstotacklethischallenge.”

Growthhackingisknowntobetheoptimalcombinationofproduct,userexperience

and marketing and takes these three factors as main influencers of a start-ups

growth.

ThefollowingquotestheChiefMarketingOfficerandCo-FounderofAnyline:“Ithink

foreverystart-upinthefutureitisimportanttofirstlyknowwhothecustomerwould

beandof there isaplace in themarket for thisproduct. Listen toyourcustomer.”

Understandingthedemandoftheproductfirst,beforeimplementingaproductwas

alsoacommonopinion.Quitea fewrespondentswereconvincedthat researching

themarketplacebeforehandandtestaprototypeisasimportantnowasitwillbein

thefuture.

FortheCEOandCo-founderofShpockandtheCEOandCo-FounderofBikemapthe

futureofmarketinginearlystagestart-upswasquitehardtopredictsincetheyare

oftheopinionthateverystart-upshouldfocusontheirmainstrengths,whichmost

of the time cannot be generalized. The following quote demonstratedby theCEO

andCo-founderofBikemap:“Nevergeneralizemarketing in start-ups.Whatworks

forAmightnotworkforB.”

TheCEOandCo-Founderat rublysGmbHcriticizes that commonlyusedmarketing

tactics where the personal touch to the customer can easily get lost will have a

negativeeffectandraisequestionsofethics insocialmedia.Hestatedthatpeople

will bemore hesitant to provide their personal details and thatwill take a toll on

marketingoffirms.

48

6 Conclusion

6.1 Finalremarks

Theresearchquestionof this thesis is“Marketingtacticsusedbyearlystagestart-

ups, an analysis of the Viennese start-up scene” and this question opened up a

detailed research into the start-up scene inViennaandhowstart-ups in thatarea

implemented and usedmarketing tactics to enhance their chance of success. The

researchconductedshowsthatthestart-upsceneinViennaisbooming(Venionaire

Capital,2015).AlthoughViennamightnotbethefirstcitythatcomestomindwhen

thinking about start-ups, it has a lot of advantages for start-ups to form their

headquartersinthecity.Fromlocationuntilnetworkingopportunities,Viennaisan

up-and-comingstart-uphubthatshouldnotbeunderestimated(Edgecomb,2017).

Thisthesiswasabletoprovideinsideintohowtenstart-upsmanagedmarketingin

the early stages andwhat tactics benefited themmost.Overall, the feedbackwas

very positive for marketing. Not one interviewee said that it works without any

marketing tactics, but of course the amount of marketing the start-ups use if

differentfrombusinesstobusiness.Afact,theyallagreedonwastheimportanceof

understandingthemarketplacebeforeentering.Eachstart-upspentintensetimeon

elaborating the market and conducting detailed research on how to position a

product.Sinceamarketconsistsofaplacewheregoodsandservicesareexchanged

and potential customers are found it is crucial to understand amarket nomatter

whethertangibleorintangiblegoodsareexchanged(Muetal.,2018).

Marketing research is considered tobe a very important feature that needs tobe

evaluatedbeforedevelopingastrategy.Theliteraturesuggeststhatmarketresearch

isoneof the foundingstones that influenceanykindofbusiness,especially in the

early stages (Anderson&Narus,1998).Theparticipantsagreewith the theoretical

approach that obtaining insight into a market and conducting detailed market

researchisofcriticalimportancewhendesigningamarketingandsalesstrategy.

Developing a marketing strategy, and even calling in external help for the

developmentisalsoacrucialpartofthisthesis.Theliteraturereview,aswellasthe

practicalpartofthisresearch,suggeststhatformingawellthought-troughstrategy

49

isthefoundationofanysuccessfulstart-upthatwantstogrow(Egelhoff,2018).The

importanceof settingupamarketing strategy shouldbeaware toeverymarketer

andalotoftimeshouldbespentontryingtoreachtheobjectivesthatacompany

setsitselfintheirearlystages(Ioannou,2010).

Oneof themain findings from the interviews is howdeepmarketing affects early

stage start-ups. It is important to raise awareness, position the product, attract

customers, bind those customers and keep sales up. A detailed strategy that

containsabusinessplanandamarketingcampaignholdingallthefutureobjectives

structures the start-up. Setting up KPIs is essential to monitor the business and

analyzeifallgoalsaremetasplanned.Marketingspreadsitselfintothebonesofa

start-upandisessentialforsuccess.

6.2 Limitationsandrecommendationsoftheresearch

Even though the researchwas conductedwith interviews,which gave insight into

opinionsandfactsaboutmarketingintheearlystagesofastart-upinVienna,there

arelimitationstothisresearch.

For the practical part of this thesis, a qualitative researchmethodwas conducted

through ten interviews.Thismethod isbeneficial togain in-depthknowledge into

theinvestigatedareabutalsocomeswithlimitations.Asaqualitativemethodoften

providesopen-endedresultsbecausealotofpersonalexperienceandperceptionis

collected, it gives the participantsmore control over the end results andover the

datathatiscollected.Thismeansitishardtoprovetheresultsinadifferentsetting

andresultsarenotseenobjectively.

When conducting interviews, fewer participants are asked to provide their input,

which means that generalizing the findings is difficult due to the fact that fewer

peoplewerestudies.Thisthesisprovidesresultsfortenaskedfoundersofastart-up

andthusisonlyconductedamongstasmallsample.Thereforeitcanbestatedthatit

is limited to explaining something rather than having the possibility of making a

decision. It is a less structured research method, which collects information to

explain peoples reasoning and motivation. Selecting participants who are able to

50

supportandrepresenttheresearchedtopiccorrectlyisnotaneasytask.Interviews

mayhaveabiasedeffectduetothemoodoftheparticipantortheinteractionwith

theinterviewer.

Quantitativemethods use numerical analysis to generalize opinions andbehaviors

andthusprovideadeeperinsightintoresultsgeneratedfromalargesamplingpool.

A quantitative approach is also less time consuming than a qualitative one and

thereforegivestheopportunityofreachingawiderrangeofparticipants.

Theaimandobjectivesofthisthesisarestatedquitebroad.Animprovementwould

betospecifytheresearchquestionmoreinordertoobtainmorepreciseandexact

resultsandtoincreasetheleveloffocusofthestudy.

Another limitation that may have occurred when conducting this thesis might be

thatitislimitedtothecityofVienna.Thestart-upfieldiswidelypopularallaround

theworldandapproachesmightbedifferentfromlocationtolocation.Eventhough

atheoreticalplanforconductingamarketingstrategyisexplainedverydetailedina

lotofbooks,howthetheorycanplayout inthepracticemightbedifferentdueto

culturaldifferences,preferencesandopportunitiesthatthesurroundingareahasto

offer.

For this research topic face-to-facedatawas collectedandhasbeenproven tobe

extremely importan (Malhotra,2016)tsincea lotof therespondentsgavedetailed

insightandelaboratedontheirreasonsoftheiranswer.Althoughaccuratescreening

andcapturingtheemotionsandbehaviorsofrespondentsinanimportantaspectof

thisforofdatacollection,therearequiteafewdownsidestothistacticaswell.For

example, limited sample size and the attitude of participants’ counts a lot. The

interviews conducted always took up to 30 minutes and because of this a lot of

potentialstart-upsthatwerecontacteddeclinedtoanswerthequestions,sincethey

didnotfindthetime.Abiggersamplesizewouldneedmoretimetofind,however

mighthavebeenanadvantage for the research inorder toprovidemore in-depth

results and it would be easier to generalize the results and give an objective

statementofthefindings.

A recommendation to this problem, suggested by one of the start-up founders

wouldbe toconduct theresearch in formofasurveysince this is timesavingand

51

thustheremightbethepossibilitythatmorestart-upswouldbeinterestedtotake

fiveminutesandanswerthequestions.Asurveyhastheadvantagethatitiseasyto

developusingspecificsoftwarethatsummarizesalloftheresultsatonceandstating

aclearoutcome.Thiscaneasilybedoneonlineandcouldattractmoreresponses.

The downside of this would be the fact that respondents could not elaborate on

theiranswers.Itwouldsimplybeanalternativewayofgathermoreinputthanwith

data-collection.

Alsosincemarketingisawidelyspreadoutfield,anotherrecommendationwouldbe

tofocusononespecificmarketingtacticinsteadofdivingintothebroadtopicofit.

For example, focusing just on the competitive environment and how marketing

tacticsareusedtoobtainacompetitiveadvantagemightmeofadvantagewiththe

samplesizethatwasresearched.

Marketingtacticsusedbyearlystagestart-upswascarriedoutinthestudybutalot

of start-upswere alreadywell establishes and thuswere asked to reflect back on

theirearlystages.Anotheradvantagefortheresearchwouldhavebeenifallofthe

start-upswereestablishedwithinthelasttwoyearsandthismighthaveaeffecton

the results aswell since experience is different andmarketing tactics changeover

theyears.

52

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AppendixA

Interview1washeldonthe8thofMaiat09.30withDavidMirzaeitheMarketing

ManageratByrd.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).DavidMirzaei. IamMarketingManageratByrdandcurrently finishingmyMasterDegreeinMarketing.

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?We provide a complete fulfillment solution for online shops, based on aweb-application that makes outsourcing incredibly easy and turns thepainfulprocessofshippingintoahassle-freeexperience.

o Canyouelaborateinthereasonswhyyoufoundedthisstart-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscence?Ididn’tfounditmyself.ButAlex,ourCEO,hewasalreadyenrolledinaspecializationduringhisbachelordegree,calledentrepreneurship&innovationwhichreflectshisentrepreneurialspirit.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customer numbers, profit) What are your prognoses for the future?byrd was founded in July 2016 in Vienna and since then it has alreadyexpanded to Germany. We have approx. 1000 registered customers ofwhich100areshippingonaregularbasis.Especially, inGermanyweseealot of demand and potential for future development as e-commerce isbooming.

o Howisthecompetitiveenvironment?Howmuchdoesthisinfluenceyourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?ThereisalotofcompetitionoutthereandthisisthereasonwhywetrytopointoutourUSPtopotentialcustomers.However,wefocusmoreonourcompanyandtheservicewedelivertoourcustomers.

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3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Atthebeginning,itwasespeciallyimportantapproachcustomersinthecontextofdirectmeetingsinordertobuildtrustandconvincecustomers.PRisveryhelpfulwithregardtobrandawareness.OurTVpresenceinastartupshowwasincrediblybeneficialinordertoberegardedasatrustworthycompany,whichhadapositiveimpactonsalesactivities.Duetolimitedbudgetformarketingwearefocusingononlinemarketingwiththeaimofmaximizingconversions.

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?InmeetingswithinterdisciplinaryteamsfromSales&marketingonabi-monthlybasis.

o Howdoyouadaptforexampleyourmarketingtacticstoyourcustomerdemandandcompetitors?Wetrytorespondtocustomerdemandfluctuationswithrespectivemarketing&salescampaigns.

o Canyouexplaintomehowimportantitisforyou(yourstart-up)tounderstandthemarketplacebeforegoingtomarket?Aswellasbeforeattractingnewcustomers?Theknowledgeofcustomerneedsiscrucial,inordertobuildrequiredinternalprocesseswhichhelpstofulfillthoseneedsaccordingly.SatisfythecustomersandpromoteWOM!

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yes, a startupevolvesover timeand this requires changes. Inour specificcase,wechangedourcustomersegment,whichrequiredareorientation.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescompared to the total activities of your start-up, what would that be?

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Themajorityofthetaskswererelatedtodailybusiness,developinginternalprocessesetc.attheverybeginning,whileoutboundsalesweredonebyarather small sales-team andmarketing as well. As the allocation of workvariesovertime,itisratherdifficulttogiveanestimation.

o Didyoureachoutforsupporttoenhanceyourmarketingstrategies?Whyandinwhichway?Workshopsofinvestor-ecosystems.

o Whatwerethebiggestchallengeswhiledevelopingyourmarketing

strategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Itisimpossibletoplanaheadbecausethebusinessmightpivot.

o Lastly, what do you think the future will be for marketing and start-ups?

Growth-hacking.

Interview 2 was held on the 22nd of Mai at 8.00 o´clock with Christopf

HinterplattnertheCEOandCo-FounderofBikemap.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).Christof Hinterplattner, CEO & Co-founder of Bikemap. I had a classicalstart-upcareerandactivelyalwayshadjobsinthestart-upscenetogatherexperiencebeforestartingmyownstart-up.

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Bikemap is a fast growing active sports-community of cyclists around theworld,whichcantrackandsharemorethan3.5Mcycleroutes.Fullofflinefunctionsaswellasoutstandingsolutionsofnavigations inmorethan100countries.13peopleworkatBikemap.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?I have always been attracted to the start-up scene and worked as aconsultant and communication departments before taking the step iffoundingastart-up.

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o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?In the 1st yearwe build the product,whichwas not really year for activegrowth.Thentookastepbackforplanningandimprovementsandthentheproductwasrunningonitsown.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?The start-up did have a later entry into themarket and one of themaincompetitorsthatwasalreadywellestablishedwasruntastic.Uptonowstillalotofcompetition.In the daily marketing strategy we have to be very sharp in focus andposition itnotasageneralsportsad. It is importanttostay inthefieldofbiking(themarketforthatisbigenough)Since there is a lot of competition we knew that there was a place forBikemap in the market and we learned a lot through failures of ourcompetitors.

3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-upo Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/was

yourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Marketingforus isatooltogenerateattraction intheB2Csector.Wearehighly engaged in marketing and especially in the early stages it wasimportant forus tohavea strong strategy thatdifferentiatedus from thecompetition.

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Identifyexistingandpotentialcustomersneedsandconductthenecessarymarket research. Highlight strengths and create enough noise that thetargetaudienceknowsaboutyourproduct.

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Feedback loops, for example Facebook and actively participating indiscussionboardstoobtainknowledgeaboutallthepossibilities.

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yesitwaseasyforussincetherewasalreadyquitealotofcompetition.Welookedatcompetitionandimprovedourproduct.

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o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?It is important to launch a test product before implementing the original.Weconducteda lotof surveysandgathers feedback, thenweadapted tothis feedback. We actively communicated with users and answeredconcernsandquestions.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yesbecausetherecanbenoonesinglesolutioninanexperimentalfield.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?First 2 years we introduced the product into the market organically andafter those 2 years we started adding tracking tools and synchronized itwiththerightmarketingtactics!thegrowthwasfasterthatway.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?I am not the biggest fan of paid channels but the quality of the productmightgetlostifwedon’tuseit,soyeswedidreachout.

o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Itwasamixtureoflearningfromfailureandlearningfromcompetition.Itishardtoadaptastrategyifyoualreadyhaveyourmindsetuptosomething.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Nevergeneralizemarketing in start-ups.Whatworks forAmightnotwork

forB

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Interview3washeldonthe22ndofMaiat9.30o´clockwithJakobHofertheChief

MarketingOfficerandCo-FounderofAnyline.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).JakobHofer,ChiefMarketingOfficerandCo.FounderatAnyline.Iworkedinanadvertisementagencyuntil 2012before I got into the fieldof Start-upswithAnylinein2014.

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Founded the start-up in2014and IamtheCMO. Wehad twoandahalfinvestment rounds. 29 people areworking in the start-up.With Anyline Ibuild up everything from job organization, hiring people, projectmanagementandmarketing.TheAnylineteamhasworkedonitspatentedopticalcharacterrecognitiontechnologyandhasalreadyattractedwell-knowncustomers. Ittakesawaythe pain of manually typing in details of your passport, license plat, ID,driverslicense,etc.WiththeAnylineSDK,smartphonecamerascanprocesswrittencharactersinrealtime,evenwhenoffline.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Itstartedwiththeagencywherewehadtoworkcloselywiththecustomersandthecustomersmadethedecisions,which Ididnot likeso IdecidedtostartmyownproductandgetinchargeofhowandwhereIpromoteit.Outofthisproductthestart-upestablished.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?We never had the typical growth of a start-up we had a lot of contacts,whichhelpedusgrow.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Wedon’thavemanydirectcompetitors.WedohaveoneinCroatiabutwedon’thavegeneralcompetitorsinVienna.In our case competitors help develop themarket sowe are very friendlywithourcompetitionandweshare leads,weevenhavepartnershipswith

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some. Competition is not something we are afraid of. There arecompetitors,butwedon’treallyworkagainstthem,weworkwiththem.

3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Westartedinawaythatwefirstdevelopedtheproductandthoughtsellingitwouldbeeasy.Turnedout itwasn’tthateasyandwehadtodefineourproductmorepreciselyandcommunicatewhatweareactuallysellingandwhat theprice for that is.Marketing started tobe important foruswheninvestorrelationscommenced,inordertobetterpresentwhatourstart-upis all about and getting their interest, then we focused more on HR andother departments withmarketing. Ourmarketing strategy suffered a bitbecause we always wanted to grow as fast as possible and didn’t thinkaboutthefuturealotwestayedmoreinthegrowthphasethatwewerein.This was a big mistake and we changed it in 2016 and executed a newmarketingstrategyin2017.

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Itwasimportantforustounderstand,whoweneedtoconvince.Targettheright developers, the right project managers and the right audience andthenwedesignedthemarketingstrategybasedontheoutcomeswehad.

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?

Weadapteverythingtoourcustomersbecausetheneedsofthecustomersarethemost importantthingforus.Wetrytotakeall their feedback intoconsiderationandworkoutnewtactics.

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?

Sinceweworkquiteclosewithourcompetitionwealways lookedatwhatworks for themandhowwe could improveourproductbasedonwhat itworksforthem.Wedidformastrategybasedonourcompetitionandtooka closer look intowhat they are doing andwhichmarkets they own.Wealways lookedat their behaviour and thought if something thatworks forthemmightinfluenceourstrategy.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?

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Extremelyimportant.Wealwaystookacloserlookatthedifferentkindsofindustries because the government industry works different than thehospitality industry and forus it is very important tounderstandhow thedifferentindustriesworkandhowdowetackleourtargetcustomersthereand what the differences are there. Si I would say knowing the marketbeforegoingahundred%inisveryimportant.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Wedoadapteveryweek.Withthefine-tuning,tryoutnewthingsandseewhat might work and how we could execute a strategy based on newfindings.Inmyopinionmarketingisabouttryingoutalotofstuff.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?Formarketingin2016wespentaquarteroftheeffortintoourstart-up.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?

Wehaveamarketingdepartmentwith aheadofmarketing.WealsohadexternalslikeaPRagency.When we changed our marketing strategy in 2016 we hired an externalexperiencedprofessionalheadofsalesforacoupleofmonths,whohadthejobofsettingupthestart-upinanewwayanddefineusinamoredetailedway.

o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Understandwhatthemarketwasandfindthetargetcustomersand listentotheirwantsandneeds.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?What works for us is to really understand the customer first and get toknow how they think about our product. I think for every start-up in thefuture it is important to firstly knowwho the customer would be and ofthereisaplaceinthemarketforthisproduct.Listentoyourcustomer!!!

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Interview 4 was held on the 3rd of Mai at 14.00 o´clock with Sabrina

Rückeshäuser,theSeniorDigitalMarketingManageratJobRocker.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).Sabrina Rückeshäuser, Digital Marketing ManagerBachelorofArts inMediaandCommunicationStudiesat theUniversityofVienna

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Senior Digital Marketing Manager at JobRocker International GmbH.JobRocker is a digital headhunting start-up from Vienna and we arecurrentlyabout60people.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Ipersonallyhaven’tfoundedJobRockerbutIamdefinitelyattractedtothestart-up scene.Themost interestingand fascinating things formeare thecultureandthefastpaceofstart-ups.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?SinceJobRockerstarted,ithasgrowntremendously.Ourcustomernumbersandprofitisgrowingmonthly

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?The competitive environment is definitely strong in the field of HR.Everyoneistryingtohirethebesttalentrightnowsoit’sacrowdedmarketwith a lotofheadhunters, software companies and ...We constantly lookoutforourcompetitorsanddocompetitoranalysis.

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3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?JobRockeroperatesonatwo-sidedmarketplace.Ontheonehandwehavetoacquirenewcandidates/jobseekersforourplatformjobrocker.com.Andontheotherhand,wehavetosellourservicetocompanies.Salesisaveryessential anchor for JobRocker. Without Sales, we wouldn’t be able toacquirenewpositionsandthereforemakeanyrevenue.SoSales ismostlyimportantontheB2Bside.On the candidate side,Marketing is themain driver. In the early stage ofJobRocker, the main focus was to hire the first employees and build theoverallprocessofhowweoperate.Marketingjustbecameimportantalittlelater on. In the early stages PR and networking and spreading the wordaboutourproductwasthemainfocus.

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?WesetourselvesgoalsandKPI’sfortheupcomingyearandbreakitdowntomonths and based on those we build the strategy and a roadmap foreachteamindividually.

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?We do a lot of user testing to see how job seekers use our platform.Furthermore Sales and Marketing department work closely together soMarketingcangetinputfromtheSalesteamonwhatthecustomersneed.Furthermorewehaveaweeklyproductmeetingwherewediscusshowtodevelopandpromoteourproductfurther.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?

Understanding the marketplace and the customers is inevitable. It is thefirststepwhenbuildingaproduct.WhenyoustepintotheHRmarket,youhave to know thepain andproblemsof peoplewhodoHR in companies.Youhavetounderstandhowyoucanhelptheminotherwaysnooneelseonthemarketcan.Ifyouknowthoseproblemsyoucanbuildyourproductandyourmarketingstrategy.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?

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Not adapting a strategy is nearly impossible, at least in a start-up. Likementionedbefore,thepaceisveryfastandeverydayisdifferentthantheotherandhasotherchallengestotackle.Ifyouplantodoa3-monthonlinebannercampaigntogeneratenewleadsandnoticeafter4weeksthatyouare not generating any leads, youhave to change the strategy and spendthe money on different channels or find out how you can generate thatnumberofleads.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?I think in the early stages it would be a very little amount since theresourcesinanearly-stagestart-upareverylimited.ThefocuswouldratherbeongettingtoknowthemarketandstartingwithsalesanddoPR.Ithinkitwouldbearound20-30%.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?We reachedout to anexternal growthhackingagency to supportuswithGoogle adwords.We also had someexternal advisors that gave us somecounselalong

o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Thebiggestchallengesaretheresources.LikeImentioned,asanearlystart-up,mostofthetimesyoudon`thavethefinancialandpersonnelresources.That’swhyyouhavetobecreativeandthinkofwaysthatdon’tcostalotofmoneyandusemethodslikegrowthhacking.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Marketing in start-ups will shift even more into the direction of growthhacking and analytics. Marketers have to know the numbers of themarketing funnel from acquisition to revenue. Resources are limited andexperts who can think outside the classic marketing-box are needed.Growthisextremelyimportantinthefirstyearssofindingcreativewaystogain sustainable growth will always be the challenge. Founders who arelooking formarketing talents should definitely look out for analytical andcreativethinkerstotacklethischallenge.

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Interview 5 was held in the 10th of Mai at 15.30 o ´clock with Maunel

ZwittagwhowastheCEOandCo-FounderatrublysGmbH.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).ManuelZwittag–IamtheCEOandCo-founderofrublysGmbH.

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Rublys GmbH was founded in 2013 in Vienna and has the purpose ofsimplifyingengagementbetweenmillennialsandbrandthroughagamifiedmobilemarketingchannel.Thegreatestadvantagesofthisprocessarethatthe customer target,whicharemillennialswant to communicatewith thebrands or the company. It is an advanced marketing solution with aperformancerateupto26timesbetterthanaregularmobileapp.Thestart-uphasupto50employees.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Ithoughtthatmarketingchannelsshouldbemorecreativeandaddictivetocustomersandfoundthisgapinthemarket.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?Foundedin2013ourstart-uphashadanincreaseindemandovertheyears.The first yearwas to develop the strategies and the product and find outwhothetargetcustomer is.Wehadamarketingpush in the fistcoupleofmonthsin2014.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Weconsidercompetitionhealthyandasighthatthereisactuallyaplaceinthemarket forour idea. The fist yearswithinAustria competitionwasnotthatstrong,butitdevelopedovertimeandthestrategycaughtonandwasimplementedbyothers.

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3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Everyoneshouldtakemarketingandsalesseriously. It formsanddevelopstheentirestart-up.Inourfirstcoupleofmonthswefocusedondevelopingmultichannelstrategies,whichhasadeepfocusonmarketing,sales,targetcustomersanddistribution.Thiswasaveryimportanttimeforusbecauseitbuildsupthebusinessandputitupforfuturesuccess.

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Wemadeadetailedoutlineofalltheexternalfactorssurroundingourstart-upandsetupgoals,whichwewanttoachieve inthefuturebysettingupKPIsandmeasuringtheoverallsuccessthatwehaveachieveduntilacertainpoint.

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Acustomersdemandisthemostimportantfactorinourstart-up.Ifwedonotadapttotheirwishesthenwewouldnothaveaproduct.Thethingwedidwastogatheralotoffeedbackanddoalotoftestruns.

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yesbutwedidnotlieaheavyfocusonthatintheearlystages.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?Of immense importance. It is important toknowwhat thegeneration thatweweretargetingwantssincetheyaredrawntocompletelyothersfeaturesthan other generations. Identifying their preferences was of utmostimportanceforourstart-up-

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yes because especially with our target customer there are always newtrendstocomeoutandifyoudonotadapt,youdrawn.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?

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Intheearlystagesthemostweightwasonmarketing.Itwasthemosteffortweput into the start-upbecausewedidn’thavea routineyet.Everythingwasnew,everythinghadtoberesearch,sotheconcentrationofallofthismarketresearchwasalotofwork.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Notinthebeginningbutovertimewerealisedthatwehadtoifwewantedtoexpendandgrow.

o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Drawingattentiontoourproductandconvincingourtargetcustomerofouridea.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Ithinktheethicsofsocialmediawillbeputmoreintothespotlightandthatwill have a big effect on a lot of businesses. Scepticism of customers isdangerous in this area so I think in future newways ofmarketingwill bedominant.

Interview 6 was held on the 25th of Mai at 16.30 o´clock with Klaudia

BachingertheCEOofWisR.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).

KlaudiaBachinger,CEOofWisR.

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Wearearecruitingplatformforretiredpeoplewhostillwanttowork.Itisanonlinemarketplacewhereretiredpeoplecanfindajobandatthesametimeaservicewherecompaniescanfindexperiencedbutretiredpersonnel.Thestart-upconsistsof8employeeswith3co-foundersandwe launchedthecompanyinDecember2017.

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o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhat

attractsyoutothestart-upscene?I was a documentary filmmaker and I knew that the society has a hugeproblemwith theagingpopulationwhostillwant to findworkhowever. Ialsoknowfrommanysources,evenmyownfamilybackgroundthatpeopleoftengetdepressed that theycannot finda jobanymorebut stillwant towork,sowecameupwithasolutionforthat.Itisahugeburdenofsocietywhenpeoplefeeluselessanddepressedandlackofappreciation,sowearetryingtofillthegapandcreatesomethingwithimpact.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?Ihavebeenworkingontheideaforaround2yearsnow.Ittookmealmosta year to find the right co-founder, which was probably the biggestchallenge. Then I started testing whether there was interest from bothsides. (From an organization and a retired potential customer). Thendevelopingofthefirstprototypestartedandwehavearound350retireesinthe last month, without any marketing tactics. And for testing thecompanies demand we had customer’s development interviews withinterviewguidelineswitharound50corporatesand5companiestofindoutwhat there pinpoints were and what they would be expecting. And nowthatwehave thebudgetwecangoanddogrowthhackingand seewhatprofilescomefromwhichmarketingtechnique.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?General HR solutions are obviously a competition for us but they are amarket that is focusingon isvery targetorientedand isasmallerniche inthemarket. InAustriathereisnodirectcompetitioninourfield,sinceit ismostly offline or through organizations. There is one platform in Canada,which is very similar and has been very successful over the past year inCanada.ButthereisnoonlinesolutioninEurope.

3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Marketing for seniors is pretty challenging. The fine line betweenmakingthem feel old and not accepted and highlighting their potential is verychallengingaswell.Marketinginthisareaisalittledifficult.Ourstrategyisgoingintoplatformsthatareveryyoungorthatseenyoung,likeFacebook,Google,Pinterest.

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o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?

Wehaveaheavyemphasisoncontentmarketing.Wealsodocooperation’sandaffiliatemarketing(sincea lotofthemhavethe same target group). PR for raising awareness, event marketing andofflinemarketingaretoolsweuseoftheretirees.Forthecompany’sside,onlinemarketingisourwaytogo

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Bytalkingtopeople.That is themost importantpart; it isalsoourwaytogatherqualitative feedback.AndthenofcoursealsothroughperformancemarketingandtrytotrackandanalyseourKPIsandbasedontheresultsweadapt.

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?

Since we have a nichemarket we can cooperate with others in the areasuchaskarriere.atorLinkedInandthiswouldbemorecomplementarythancompetitive.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?Itisveryimportanttounderstandthemarketplaceinordertounderstandifthereisevendemandfortheproductorservice.Asstatedearlierwetestedand gathered a lot of feedback from both sides and tested our service inordertobesureifwehavearealisticchanceinthisarea.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?It is very important because there is somany offers out there and if youdon’tpullwiththemasses,youhaveabiggerriskofsinking.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?Nowthatwestartedthegrowthhackingprocessalotmoreeffortwillflowintoourmarketingandstrategieswillbedevelopedandtested.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?

Mostofitwedevelopedourselvesbutnowwiththegrowthhackingwewillgethelpfromthejointventuregrowthbase.

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o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Probablythewordingfortheseniors,westillhavenogoodwordexceptforsilveragers.It isnotidealtousedwordslikeseniors,50+orretirees,sincethat does not give them a positive feeling. Getting rid of the bias thateveryone has in their heads when they think of elderly people is verydifficult.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?I think that performancemarketing and growth hacking will definitely bethebiggestadvantagethatstart-upswithhaveagainstcooperate.Itisveryeffectiveandhasahugeadvantagecomparedtobigmarketingagencies.

Interview 7was held on the 28th ofMai at 16.00 o´clockwithMag. (FH)

PaulBlagusstheFounderandManagingDirectorofViennaPass.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).PaulBlaguss.IamtheCEOandManagingdirectorofBlagussTravelGmbH.InadditiontothatIamthefounderoftheViennaPass.

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Vienna Pass can be ordered to facilitate the planning process of travel inVienna. It offers a free guidebook and provides the possibility to exploreViennafromallthesightsuntilpublictransportationwithouthavingtopayagainafterpurchasingtheViennaPass.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Ihavealwaysbeenstronginthetourismsector,Ifoundanopportunityanddecidedtoactonit.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?In the fist yearwewanted tomake25.000passes, in the secondyearwewanted to make 50.000 passes and in the third year we wants to make100.000passes.

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Weendedupmaking42.000 inthefirstyear, inthesecond89.000passesand in the third we produced 135.000 passes. The growth exceeded ourexpectationsandisincreasinglyrising.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Therearequiteafewrisingupnow.Thesehoweverdonothaveaverybigshareofthemarket.ForexampletheViennaCard,whichisnotanall-inclusiveproductthough.

3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Marketinginthetourismsectorisoneofthemostimportantfactorsofhowto get the product distributed. It is important to have a strong presencewhengoingintothemarket.

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Wehavequitea fewmarketing strategies,but theoneproven tobeveryeffectivehasbeenthedistributionofthirdparties.HereathirdpartyhelpsdistributetheViennaPassandwillgetaprovisionforsellingit.Thisishowwerapidlyexpandedthegrowthofourproductandgotthewordout.80% of the Vienna Passes gets purchased online however and thus ourpresenceinverystrongonallofouronlineplatforms.

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Weevaluated themarket and identifiedwherewehad a strongpresenceanda lotof salesand therewego inmore indepthwithmoremarketingtacticsandmoremoney.Wetrytodefine,asbestpossiblewerewehavealotofpotentialcustomers

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yeswelookatourcompletionindifferentcountriesbutintheendwepullthroughourownstrategy.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?

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It is important to understand the marketplace because people fromdifferent countries purchase the Vienna Pass on different platforms.GoogleworkedwellforusuntilnowbutweneedtomonitorhowFacebookisdeveloping.For Russian customers for example Google is not working at all. So as aresultitiscrucialtoidentifythemarketplaceandwhatworksbestforthem.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?

YesIdobutwehaveaverystableconceptwerecustomers’keepflowingin,sowestayedtruetoourconceptuntilnow.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?

A lot of time and money flows into our marketing strategies. With thedistributionofathirdpartywehaveabout20%ofprovisionaswellaswiththe online platforms. If it is positioned right however, these expenses formarketingresultinapositiveoutcome.Quitealotbutitworks.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Yes we reach out to online marketing agencies that know where to usewhich platform and can identify how to position the product best fordifferentcountries.

o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Thecontractwiththesightwasthemostchallengingtonegotiate.

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Interview8washeldonthe17tzhofMaywithexpertXtheCo-founderof

Journi.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?The idea is to create photo books. We want to make this as easy assnappingapicturetomakememoriesunforgettable.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?Sincepeopleare looking to facilitateeverythingwe though itwouldcatchonfast.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?At firstpeople thought itwouldbevery complicated that’swhy itdidnottakeoffrightawaybutwithtimetheeasyfeatureswererecognizedanditstartedtoexpand.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Everybusiness faces competition,which I think ishealthybecause it givesyou the drive but we found a gap in the market and had no directcompetition.AtleastnotonebasedinAustria.

3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Thebetterthemarketingthehigherthesales!

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?Firstwetapedinthemarketwithaprototypeandevaluatedtheresponseandthenwebuildupamarketingstrategywithanexternalteam.

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o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Wehavetheexternalteamforthatwhichknowshowtoplaceourstart-upandwhokeepsaneyeonthecorrelationbetweenmarketingandsales.Theyhavetopresenttouseverymonth.

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Yesitisimportanttomakeuseofcompetitiveintelligence.Itisalwaysgoodtoseewherethecompetitionwasstrongandwheretheywereweak.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?It is the most important thing. Without knowing if your product has achanceornotitwouldbeawasteofmoneyandtimetolaunchanything.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?Yesveryimportant.Wedonotwantourcustomerstoseethesamestrategyallthetime.Itisgoodforraisingawarenesstomixitupfromtimetotimedependingonsalesandcustomersatisfaction.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?Atfirstitwasmoreimportanttobuildtheprototype,implementitandgetalotofmarket researchbefore launchingmarketing ideas.Ourearly stagesconsistedofdevelopingourstart-up.Whenwefoundourcustomerweputalotofeffortintomarketing.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Yeswehaveexternalsupportfrommarketingprofessionals.

o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Findingtherightpeoplethatwouldsupportthestart-up.Atfirstweneededcheaplabourandthatishardtocomeby.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?

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WehavedonealotofgoodexperienceswithgrowthhackingandIbelievethatwilldominateinfutureaswell.

Interview 9was held on the 8th of June at 15.00 o´clockwith DI Camilla

SieverswithCo-founderoftreats.Contemporarysnacking.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).DI Camilla Sievers and I was the CEO and Co-founder of treats.Contemporatysnacks.

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Treats is a start-up founded in 2015 and the goal is to provideour targetcustomer with healthy snacks and drinks that are not only a biologicalproductbutalsosatisfyeachcustomersindividualtaste.WearelookingforthesnacksthecustomerwantsthroughoutEuropeandthensenditdirectlytothecustomer’shome.Easyandeffortless.Thetreatsidentifythemselvesthroughtheirhealthy,practicalandenergyboostingattributesandofferamodernwaysofgettingtothesnacksanddrinksyouwant,whichmightnorevenbeofferedinthesupermarket.Treatsalsooffershealthyalternativestobusinessbyofferingtodeliversnacksanddrinks.Thestart-uphasaround10employees.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?I have always been highly fond of the start-up scene and I dedicatedmyentire carrier to it. I CEO andCo-founder of treats and until today I lovewhat I am doing. I have also challengedmyself and now play a role in IPAustriaGmbH,whereIsupportstart-upswiththatlightningideaandtrytogive young start-ups the chance to use TV as one of their marketingchannels.Thisprocessiscalled“Media4RevenueShare”.The start-up scene gives me drive and inspiration and I hope I have thechanceofcontinuinginthisfieldforalongtimesinceIthinkyoucanneverbetooinnovative.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?Sincewe startedwith thebig boomof thewish for a healthy lifestylewehadaverystrongdemandatfirst.Weoftenhadmonthswhereweneeded

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to step back and define our product better but mainly we had a steadyincreaseinsales.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?Competitiveenvironmentisprettyhighfortisarea.Wetrytodifferentiateourselvesfromthecompetitionbyofferingsomethingexclusivebut inthisfieldcompetitionwillalwayshaveabigimpactonourstart-up.

3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?Itisimportantthatmarketingandsalesrunhandinhand.Marketingopensup the marketplace and raises awareness of the product while sales itimportant topgenerateprofit.Twohavethesetwoaspectof thebusinessupandrunningisofgreatimportance,tosaytheleast.

o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?

With detailed information and investigation about our customers and ourproduct. We have an own market research expert on board who knowshow,whereandwhattoposition.Withthiswesetourfutureobjectivesandworkhardtowardsachievingthem.

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?

Wecollecta lotof feedback fromourcustomersand try to figureoutournextstepsorwhatwecouldimprovebasedontheiropinion.Thisishowweadaptourmarketingtacticsaswell.Wegiveourcustomersthefeelingliketheyarepartofthestart-upandhavesomethingtosay.

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?

Beingawareofour surroundingshasalwaysbeenvery important forus. Imyopinionanideaonlyformsthroughinfluencesofmanyotherideas.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?

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Inmy opinion any formof success is not possible to obtain if there is noknowledge about the marketplace beforehand. Researching if there isdemandfortheproductandwhetherfuturegrowthispossibleisthemostimportanttraitwhencommencingwithastart-up.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?

Definitely. Withoutrespondingtocustomersreactionsandopinionstherewouldbenofuturesuccess,

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?

Theearlystagesdemandedthemosttimeandeffortofourmarketingandsalesstrategies.Iwouldevensay¾ofthetimewasinvestedintheseareas.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?

Yes, we reached out for help and hired marketing experts that couldprovideuswithaninsightintothemarketandhelpedusidentifywheretoplaceourproductandhowtoadvertiseitforthehighestpossibleoutcome.

o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?

Theofferofprovidinghealthy snacks in the last coupleof yearshasbeenone of the biggest trends. Since their in a high demand for a healthylifestyle,ithasbeenchallengingtostandout.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?

IreallybelieveinwhatIamdoingfor“Media4revenue”rightnow.Ithinkfor young start-ups who have an idea that catches on a TV marketingchannelwouldenhancetheirperformanceandgetthemtothenext level.Eventhough it isa riskand isconnectedwithcosts, I think in thestart-upscene you have to listen to your gut and taking risks is an unavoidablefeaturewhenbringinganideatolife.

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Interview 10was held on the 8th of Junewith Katharina Klausberger the

CEOandCo-founderofShpock.

1. Profileo Pleasebrieflywriteyournameandyourprofile (education, jobexperience

etc).Katharina Klausberger. Board member, CEO and Co-founder of Shpock. IstudiedatWirtschaftsuniversitätinViennaandfinishedmydegreein2010-

2. Yourstart-upo Please explain briefly your start-up and your role, how many people are

workingatyourstart-up?Shpock is a platform that allows people to buy and sell their goods easyonline. It is also known as a flea market online. We have a bout 120employeesandarecurrentlyalsolookingtoexpand.

o Canyouelaborate in the reasonswhyyou founded this start-upandwhatattractsyoutothestart-upscene?I saw howpeople view fleamarkets and saw how theywere dying downand people looked for alternatives so I though why not digitalise it likeeverything else nowadays and find a solution that might awaken theinterestofalotofpeople.

o Howwouldyoudescribethegrowthofyourstart-upsinceyoustarted?(i.e.,customernumbers,profit)Whatisyourprognosisforthefuture?The ideaboomed immediately,wehavegrown120%overthe last2yearsandmyprognosiswouldhavetobethat itwillkeeponsteadily increasingwithtime.

o How is the competitive environment? Howmuch does this influence yourstart-up,yourdailyactivitiesandmarketingstrategies?SinceweofferacheapersolutionthanourcompetitorssuchasAmazonorEbaywehaveneverhadthedirectinfluenceofthesebigcompetitors.

3. Marketingandsalesintheearlystagesofyourstart-up

o Whatdoesmarketingandsalesmeantoyouandyourstart-up?Whatis/wasyourmarketingstrategyintheearlystagesofyourstart-up?

Wehaveauniqueanglethatweneededtobringacross,somarketingwasvery important for us. Finding the right angle to position our product andraiseawarenessforitwasnotaneasythingtodo.

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o Howdoyoudesignyourmarketingandsalesstrategies?

Alotofmarketresearch,whichallowsinsightintothemarket.Listeningtoour customers and approaching they’re needs and by offering a uniquesolutiontotheirpainsandneeds.

o How do you adapt for example your marketing tactics to your customerdemandandcompetitors?Byanalysingtheirdemandswetrytofulfiltheirwishesasbestwecan.

o Doyoumakeuseofmarketingintelligenceapproaches?Of coursewe take a detailed look how our competition is doing, but ourmainfocusliesonbringingouruniquenessacross.

o Can you explain to me how important it is for you (your start-up) tounderstand the marketplace before going to market? As well as beforeattractingnewcustomers?It is the most important aspect of any start-up. If you don’t know themarketyouarteentering,youwillfail.Researchingiftheideahaspotentialtogrowisthemostimportantaspectofanystart-up.

o Do you think it is important to adapt amarketing strategy over time andwhy?I think it is important to change over time and not stay still throughoutyearsbutsofarourconcepthasworkedverywellandwehavenothadanyseverechanges.Wetrytochangeitupwithourmarketingtacticsandthelayoutofourappbutwenotwithchangesinconcept.

o Ifyouweretoprovidemewithanestimateonhowmucheffort (timeandmoney) goes into your start-up in the early stages formarketing an salescomparedtothetotalactivitiesofyourstart-up,whatwouldthatbe?A lot of effort goes into this areas.Withoutmarketing theproductwouldnot reachour targetcustomerandwouldnotbebroughtacrosscorrectly.We spend a lot of time andmoney in these departments since there areresponsibleforourgrowthsofar.

o Didyou reachout for support toenhanceyourmarketing strategies?Whyandinwhichway?Yeswehaveaprofessional teamofexperts thatadviseuson futurestepsandpotentialstrategies.

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o What were the biggest challenges while developing your marketingstrategiesintheearlystagesandwhy?Attractingcustomersandgettingthewordoutintheopen.Wehadtomakealotofnoisetoawakethecuriosityofourcustomers.

o Lastly,whatdoyouthinkthefuturewillbeformarketingandstart-ups?Ithinkitishardtosaysinceweliveinfastchangingtimesandeverystart-upneedstofindtheiruniqueangletopromotetheiridea.