A breakfast seminar hosted by NTV provided spin out companies with a framework for them to give clarity and value to their communications. Hosted by BakerBaird Communications, who have delivered national, regional and international campaigns, these are the key points spin-outs must put at the heart of their messages.
You’ve got a great idea you believe in. There could be some fascinating technology underneath it. You’re convinced it’s got great market potential, may be even a real sense of social purpose. Investors have bought into it on that basis.
But what’s your story in one sentence?
By providing X (product or service) for Y (client) we help create Z (solution/value).
That’s it. Investors buy professionalism. This is about telling your story professionally.
Why do we do it like that? How do we get there?
People stories – people buy people. They want to know who you are, what you are – your back-story. YOU are the most important component in investability because you’re making it happen.
So where have you come from, what have you achieved, what is it you know about this field, what fires you up about this opportunity, how has that passion manifested itself – what have you done, said, published, developed? Who supports you, works with you, invests in you?
The opportunity – what problem does this solve, what pain does it remove, where does it add value, how does your solution work, what differentiates it from others, how does it integrate with clients, how is it measured? While clients do want to know about your technology, that’s not what they’re buying – they’re buying what it does for them, so the value has to be front and centre.
The route to market – how are you going to get there? What’s the process to proof of concept, what support have you got to get there, have you or your team done it before, what’s the timeline, is it consistent with market dynamics? What industry standards do you conform to? If you’re backed by an investor that has its own track record and process then you need to make that visible because it adds assurance and credibility.
The outcome – This tracks back to the opportunity but it is the point at which your product or service becomes commercial reality that has to serve its purpose for clients and provide a viable payback for your business and its investors.
Credibility is again important because your story is more compelling if it’s told by people who’ve been there before. But this stage of the journey is about visible products and services, clients reaping rewards and investors looking forwards to a return. It’s celebrating business wins, building client relationships, planning for the future.
Your story clearly doesn’t end there. But those are the core components. This may be about your tech, but mostly it’s about the benefit your tech brings.
How professional communications is is executed and how this is measured for return on investment is for another blog. In the meantime ensure you can articulate the following and everything can drop into place from there
“By providing X (product or service) for Y (client) we help create Z (solution/value)”.
Please feel free to get in touch with BakerBaird via Stuart Baird 07799 678009 ([email protected]) or Richard Baker 07812 413850 ([email protected])
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