This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
Are you a tech startup? Don't fail at its distribution
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
Every business requires a strong distribution network to reach its customers. Since the advancement in technology has taken place, the way companies market themselves has completely changed. With the increased attention on digital marketing channels, the start-ups are struggling to channelize their time and resources in building up a strong distribution network for their products.
Considering the technology start-ups, online market channels are highly effective but offline channels are even more impactful. Most of the tech- start-ups experience setbacks even before coming into market. These setbacks are mainly the consequences of a weak strategy they opt for their product distribution. However, once a technology start-up is ready to commercialize and enter the market, it must determine how the product will reach to its target customers keeping in mind the reliable delivery, efficiency and time effectiveness.
Even before a product hits the market, it becomes highly essential for a start-up to research and secure its distribution channel. The decision to reach the right channel and distribution partner always creates a dramatic impact on the sales funnel of any technology start-up. Undoubtedly, the product with a better distribution channel always wins over a superior product with poor distribution network.
Whether it is the strategy for social media channels or distribution network, it is more of a hit, trial and rectifying the errors method to meet the right standards of the product marketing. Finding the best method out of several trials and working on rectifying the errors can be very frustrating for the early stage technology start-ups. However, this delay results in the increased chances of failure for the product.
The other threat to the survival of technology products comes when start-ups focus more on distribution than to create the demand of that product. Customers are the big investors of your products and it is mandatory to create a high demand to keep the cash flow healthy.
In addition, to come up with an extremely competitive product in the market, start-ups often spend most of their time in its creation. However, a direct distribution strategy must be considered as an important part of the creation of the product. Simply, if a company is designing something new but is lacking in finding an effective way to sell it might result in a big time failure.
The chances of failure increases when a technology start-up put their 100% efforts in developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and worry about its distribution channel and costs later. Instead, following a strategy that focuses on spending a considerable amount of resources and time on the MVP’s development and distribution.
Following such strategies can result in a significant decrease in the chances of product failure. For any technology start-up, more than any technology know- how, right positioning, distribution and marketing are required to pull off a startup successfully.
Mr. Vikram Kumar, Founder , Letstrack