advice on starting new website with huge potential

[mcgilla]

hi there

i am seeking advice on the best way to go about launching a new website with national and international potential. I am currently in discussions with developers about developing the website was wondering if anyone had any experiences that they could pass on any advice they have learned. I will be seeking porfessional help along the way but i belive nothing beats an entrepreneurs experience going through the development and launch process. I will need to raise funds for the venture but will need the web design/development and business plan to be water tight before that.

any help/advice would be greatly appriciated and feel free to get intouch.

 

[DazRave]

I think, apart from rattling all the obvious (i hope) options like social media, SEO, PPC etc.. we'd need to know a little more to drum up ideas about best ways to launch.

Regardless of it being a website, fundamental marketing principles still apply.

Who is your target audience? etc.

 

[Nexolutions]

Agreed, more needs to be known to throw some ideas to you.

The developers your working with for example, what cms are they using as it may have already have some features included to get you started.

 

[businessfunding]

hi there

i am seeking advice on the best way to go about launching a new website with national and international potential.

Save the international potential and identify key target markets to get rolling.

 

[mcgilla]

cheers all

it would be a mass market website, essentially the closest thing i can compare it to is a very loose variation on a groupon type website but not group buying. The market would be from 18 to 55 year olds male and female. The developers love the idea and are very excited about the project (as you would assume), i have all the drive and passion in the world but no business experience so i appologise for all the questions

Has anyone had any experience launching a website or raising capital?

 

[DazRave]

I'm a web consultant by trade so i can at least have a go at answering the first question about launching the site...

The web developers you have hired should be the ones with experience launching websites, and if it is a type of groupon styled site, I assume it will only work with a large group of visitors? so it's important to hit the ground running, so to speak.

If that's the case I would heavily invest in SEO and PPC, it's the fastest way to get site hits but doesn't always convert to sales.

Without knowing more about the format of this website and how it actually works, it's hard to suggest offline marketing ideas to help with launch.

 

[mcgilla]

cheers for that, i thought SEO and PPC were good ways of increasing brand awarness, is social log ons and retargeting as effective?

 

[Laura Chattington]

To be honest the more reality you have up front the better and the more reality you can retain throughout business (rather than purely optimism although required too) is good...

That said... what your technical teams says about your project doesn't matter in fact they are the last people you should be listening to about your business venture... they supply your website and that stops there. of course they would recommend PPC and SEO because they are techies

As someone who started out as a techy (I have a degree specialising in software engineering who turned to the business and marketing side of business I say this with experience.

What is most important for you is to find out what your market wants and what you can sell them, how much they will pay for it and where they are... that is what to focus on... and should be based around a marketing and business strategy....

You technical team can then deliver whatever you need to support this.
Get some people you trust who have done what you are doing and make sure you listen to what they say to keep your reality in check and have fun!!

Laura


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[Claire Dymond]

I would strongly suggest that as you are inexperienced that you start a bit smaller to gain the experience.

I launched a new website 3 years ago but did a survey first to indicate that there may a be a market for my idea, there was and start up costs were only about £3000, although small it has grown and continues to do so and is long term sustainable and not a flash in the pan.

I won't say exactly what it is but it is a similar model to a site selling DVDs of old train films brought back to life.

I do wish you luck and would advise that you don't spend too much money without testing your idea.

 

[fisicx]

Don't launch with a bang. Do it very slowly and carefully to test the waters and find out which bits work and which bits don't.

The developers are probably very excited because they can see a cash cow. What you don't know yet is if this will actually work. So allow a decent budget for some market reaserch before any development work begins.

Once everything is up and running and you have tested it to death, you will need to do some marketing. Not market the site, that's poinless. It's the value of your service to the punter that you need to sell.

Look at the marketing budgets on your competitiors and that's the sort of money you will need. And looking at published figures it's going to be millions if you want a share of the market.

 

[cucumber]

You never make the right thing straight away. All good design comes about by iteration. Whether you view your first attempt as a prototype or not doesn't make any difference to whether it is a prototype or not. It is. Given the fact that it's a prototype, the right kind of money should be spent on it. The whole point of a prototype is to learn and then modify it, and learn and modify it again, etc. So 10% of your total budget is probably too much on your first prototype. Most people spend 100% -- people who don't realise their first effort is a prototype whether they like it or not. Then they learn they've made, in its present form, based on current assumptions, something that people don't want. They've spent all their money on their first prototype. Anything learnt can't be acted on because that's it. They're already reached the end of the project because they spent everything.

Realise your first effort is a prototype and act accordingly; spend a small percentage of your total budget. You can make a website, a testable presentable to users, learnable from one, out of paper for a cost of about £1 and a whole lot of your time. Have you done that yet? You don't need web developers for this. Your web developers aren't going to go to this extent to make sure what you're building is what people want and the best fundamental function design. And even if they say they are, it needs to be done by the founder of the idea. They're the ones who need to do the learning because they're the ones who make the decisions.

 

[AlexandraS]

Narrow your market - it's unrealistic to say you've got a product which men and women want across "all" age groups.

You say your product is kind of like Groupon? Look at your business model very carefully - groupon (and its imitators) have lost massive amounts of money and financial & accounting "trickery" hasn't been able to keep the wolves from the door!

 

[mcgilla]

thanks all again for your help

i have conducted local market research and aim to launch the website locally once its complete and modify it if needed from there, i think hearing what you have all said is that i may try do some national market research and make sure the feedback is consistent with the local research. I cant give to much away about the idea but it empowers customers and the feedback from people has been great and from businesses has been to as it will help them out. Its isnt a groupon style website its just the closest think i can very loosly compare it to with my focus on services businesses provide e.g MOT's gym memberships, personal training, beauty salons ect. It has came about from the fact most businesses dont work to full capacity and groupon isnt the answer form an ever increasing amount of businesses.
groupon is o.k for some businesses but not for most, it is good for customers though. I want my website to be beneficial to both in a more equal mannor

Again i apologize for being so vague. In terms of the market i cant understand why i would need to narrow the market as its anyone who wants/needs a service that a business provides can use.

 

[Psl]

Taken that you have stated you will need to raise funds for this venture I would presume that you have;

A, Undertaken market research and identified your market potential/penetration?
B. Calculated started costs/ongoing going costs both fixed and variable, including cost of sales?
C. Got three separate quotes for your website, and any other major purchase required to start the business?
D. Got in place legal binding contracts for the design,build and ongoing support of the website?
E. A business plan?

A couple of years ago I looked at starting a business that would trade online. The website was a slight variation on a proven and existing system that was already working online.But my website needed slight changes on an existing and proven method. All my website required was to replace still images with video.

I had already got 90% of the business plan completed, market research, figures etc and all that was needed was the quotes for the front end of the website itself. Little did I know how much time I would waste just trying to get a quote for the front end of the website!

The backend video streaming part was sorted in one meeting with a major company, draft contracts, milestones and timelines for development etc.The front end of the website proved to be a complete nightmare to get sorted. I won't go into it but the developers I spoke to drove me mad with their ideas, proposed changes etc.

Whilst the website is an integral part of your business, make sure you don't spend too much time discussing it at this stage. The basic financials are the most important in the early stages, because if you don't get the funds, you won't start your business.

You have already had some great advice about the website but at what stage are you at with raising the funds needed?

 

[mcgilla]

thanks psl

i am now going to do more thorough market research of other parts of the u.k to make sure its consistent with the regional market research i have already done. The business plan has been difficult as its a totally new concept and hard not to use guess work so i have used revenue projections based on per tiny % of local population and then 0.001% of national population using the website once in a year with a small average price and the numbers do add up.

Its hard as the potential size of the business is huge and i just want to do everything correctly to give it the best chance of succeeding i do think i might end up needing a mentor, someone with experience to help.

I just need final prices for the web development and maintenance costs, prices for the online advertising of the website and also offline advertising.

I am from Newcastle and will look to raise the money to start the business regionaly and then slowly expand but from what i have read and people i have spoken to its normally the investors who dictate the rate of growth after their investment.

 

[ethical PR]

Just to add, it's not just prices for online and offline advertising that you will need, but as part of your business plan, you will need a marketing strategy that helps you identify

• how you differeniate your offer
• your target audience - age, demographic profile, communications channels, lifestyle habits
• your marketing objectives
• what are the best communciations tactics to use to engage your target audience
• what budget you will need to implement your marketing activity
• how you will measure the impact/results of your marketing activity.

This will be key to the success of any business concept you want to deliver.

 

[Psl]

thanks psl

i am now going to do more thorough market research of other parts of the u.k to make sure its consistent with the regional market research i have already done. The business plan has been difficult as its a totally new concept and hard not to use guess work so i have used revenue projections based on per tiny % of local population and then 0.001% of national population using the website once in a year with a small average price and the numbers do add up.

Its hard as the potential size of the business is huge and i just want to do everything correctly to give it the best chance of succeeding i do think i might end up needing a mentor, someone with experience to help.

I just need final prices for the web development and maintenance costs, prices for the online advertising of the website and also offline advertising.

I am from Newcastle and will look to raise the money to start the business regionaly and then slowly expand but from what i have read and people i have spoken to its normally the investors who dictate the rate of growth after their investment.

It sounds like you are on the right track to getting your business plan in place.

One thing you might ask anyone that is quoting on developing your website is, would they be prepared to provide their services on a sweat equity basis?

And don't forget that you may well qualify for investment under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme. If you haven't got an accountant then I suggest you speak to one about engaging their services. But if you are going to attract inward investment then choose a large firm of accountants over a local one. The reason is that invariably the large firms will have more potential investors on their books as clients than the smaller firms.

 

[mcgilla]

thanks for that, the marketing strategy will be done by professionals i intrested in what they will do and for how much. i will try and get incontact with an accountant asap

 

[farnhamit]

The best way to launch is get a HUGE fan base before main launch, Possibly run a pre launch period, And then you can work with cheap methods of marketing and see what works for you,

We are quite experienced with online marketing and targeted marketing, Please feel free to contact me for more information.

 

[ethical PR]

thanks for that, the marketing strategy will be done by professionals i intrested in what they will do and for how much. i will try and get incontact with an accountant asap

If you want external help - put together a brief for marketing agencies/freelances who understand your target audience/the business you will be developing.

The brief needs to outline an overview of your business proposition, key competitors, what you want to achieve, milestones and indicative budget for implementation.

You can then ask for proposals and budgets to research and develop the strategy.

Developing a strategy will depend how indepth you want it to be and what areas you want to cover - you will get something outline for hundreds - more usual for something into the thousands for something more comprehensive.

If you want to do some of the outline thinking yourself try Marketing Donut.

 

[Vectis]

thanks psl

i am now going to do more thorough market research of other parts of the u.k to make sure its consistent with the regional market research i have already done. The business plan has been difficult as its a totally new concept and hard not to use guess work so i have used revenue projections based on per tiny % of local population and then 0.001% of national population using the website once in a year with a small average price and the numbers do add up.

Its hard as the potential size of the business is huge and i just want to do everything correctly to give it the best chance of succeeding i do think i might end up needing a mentor, someone with experience to help.

I just need final prices for the web development and maintenance costs, prices for the online advertising of the website and also offline advertising.

I am from Newcastle and will look to raise the money to start the business regionaly and then slowly expand but from what i have read and people i have spoken to its normally the investors who dictate the rate of growth after their investment.

Just a quick point.......you say you're basing this on 0.001% of national population using the website once in a year? From your earlier post you said it's aimed at something like 18 - 55 year olds? So, your basing projections on 0.001% of about 49,000,000 adults using the website once a year. According to my calculations that makes 490 customers a year (about 1.3 every day). I guess it depends on how much they are spending, or maybe my calculations are up the spout, but that doesn't sound an awful lot of customers and hardly 'mass market'.

But maybe I missed something?

 

[mcgilla]

the 2011 census uk population is 63,181,775 and 0.001% of that is 63181 buy my calculation multiplying the population by 0.001

 

[ethical PR]

The best way to launch is get a HUGE fan base before main launch, Possibly run a pre launch period, And then you can work with cheap methods of marketing and see what works for you,

We are quite experienced with online marketing and targeted marketing, Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Quite possibly one of the worst pieces of marketing advice I've seen on here recently.

 

[ethical PR]

the 2011 census uk population is 63,181,775 and 0.001% of that is 63181 buy my calculation multiplying the population by 0.001

....." it's aimed at something like 18 - 55 year olds"


McGilla - I think it's important to understand you can't just base your calculations on a percentage of the total population....You need to break this down and understand within the population who exactly is likely to use your services/buy your products...

What social groups do they belong to? Do they work? If so what sort of work do they do? What newspapers/magazines do they read? How do they engage with social media? What sort of lifestyle habits do they have?

You may find for example, that only 3 million of the 63 million fit your profile - what sort of marketing activities can you afford to do to reach your target audience? What if you can only afford to reach 5% of your target audience...what would that do to your estimates?

 

[drdes]

Mcgilla you are confusing percentages with decimal points - but not big deal because either way you are guessing for now.

From what I have read so far, let me give you my two cents worth:

- get the website built as cheaply as possible. Read the Lean Startup by Eric Reis - fantastic book for someone in your situation (even in the context of you getting a 3rd party to build it).

- no offense to farnhamit but thats pretty useless advice. Its like me saying the best way to have a successful business is to make sure it makes millions of pounds in profits.
. You do NOT need to employ any marketing professionals at this stage. Dont believe any hype about branding etc.. if your website is anything like Groupon then you should focus on adwords to drive traffic and maybe some more local offline marketing You dont need to pay a consultant for that at least initially.

What you have to remember is that when you are starting up everyone you meet will tell you that their specialism is what you need. An SEO guy will tell you thats the secret, a direct mail guy will tell you that that is the best way etc..

Let me tell you what your biggest challenge is likely to be from making the business a success (assuming you get it of the ground). It looks like you have got a two sided business model - how are you going to ensure that your customers (who use the hairdresser for example) grow at the same rate as the haridressers - if they dont grow together then you have busted model. And this is a key challenge which you need to focus on figuring out how to do at an acceptable cost.

 

[Leather Briefcase Company]

As you're still at the research stage I'll recommend this book.
"How to get to the Top of Google" - I didn't write it!!
£10 gets you absolutely top advice in straightforward language.