Posted
by Jacob Serebrin
Most of Canada’s fastest growing tech companies have something in common: they’re selling to businesses rather than consumers.
Out of the over 125 software, IT and web-focused firms on Profit
Magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in Canada, released
in early June, only nine are consumer-facing.
Only two of those managed to crack the top 30—Electronic Box, a
Longueuil Que. based Internet service provider, at number 28, and Ashley
Madison, the online dating service for people who are already in
relationships, at number 29.
While the Profit 500 is self-reported, and not comprehensive, the data does line-up with other, similar, reports. And Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50,
an annual list of the 50 fastest-growing tech companies in Canada,
released in November, was made up almost exclusively of companies in a
business-to-business market.
“It’s part of the Canadian landscape,” says John Muffolini,
Technology, Media and Telecommunications industry practice leader for
Deloitte. “We have fewer companies selling directly to consumers.
Part of this, according to Muffolini, is because of the higher cost of marketing in the consumer marketplace.
“When you’re marketing to consumers, you may have the best technology
but it’s hard to remove the Samsungs and the Apples,” he told
Techvibes. “Businesses tend to go for the best technology, the best
value, if there’s a value-ad.”
With less marketing dollars available, Canadian tech companies are
playing to their strengths and going after low-hanging fruit, Muffolini
says. This isn’t a new trend; both Profit and Deloitte’s past surveys
suggest that the business-to-business side has been growing faster for
some time.
“If you look at the past 10 years, there’s only a hand of Canadian
companies that have been big in the consumer market,” says Muffolini.
In fact, on Profit’s 2012 list, no consumer-facing tech companies even made the top 40.
Muffolini says he’s optimistic about the future of customer-facing
tech companies in Canada, and says he sees growing pockets in the app
and gaming sectors. And when it comes to gaming, the lack of fast growth
doesn’t mean it’s not big business.
“There are a lot of large companies with Canadian operations, using
Canadian talent,” says Muffolini. “But they’re not Canadian companies.”
Despite the fact that most of the fast-growing companies in the
Canadian tech industry are in the business-to-business market, they’re
still rather diverse, with companies providing cloud services, network
security, e-commerce platforms, analytics and custom solutions all
posting strong growth.
And it’s not just established firms that are continuing to scale-up,
who are making these lists, “there are quite a few that are emerging
that have ramped-up pretty quickly,” says Muffolini.
Before he started to dole out social media advice for entrepreneurs like you at Inc.'s
recent GrowCo conference in New Orleans, Dave Kerpen, chairman of
Likeable Media and now founder of offshoot Likeable Local, had a few
things he wanted to get out of the way.
First, he said, social media is not free. Second, it won't bring you
immediate results. And, third, it can't make up for a bad product or
service.
If you can cope with all that, you're ready to learn how--and why--Kerpen still recommends you get involved:
1. Listen, Then Talk
A couple of years ago, when Kerpen went to Vegas, the check-in line
at the Aria hotel where he was staying "took forever," he said.
So Kerpen did what he does best--took to Twitter, and quickly posted: Waiting on line for 45 minutes at the Aria. Not worth it. #fail
Did he hear anything from the Aria? No. But he did hear from the Rio,
a hotel down the street. Within two minutes, the Rio Tweeted back to
Kerpen: Sorry you're having a bad experience, Dave. Hope the rest of your time in Vegas goes well.
Kerpen didn't switch hotels on that trip, but where do you think he
stayed the next time he went to Vegas? The Rio. And he "liked" the Rio
on Facebook. And sometime later, a friend going to Vegas saw that Kerpen
had "liked" the Rio, so asked if Kerpen would recommend the hotel. His
response? "I don't think it's the fanciest, but I know that they listen," Kerpen recalls telling that Facebook friend.
Kerpen pointed out that all the Rio did was pay attention to Twitter, and respond with empathy.
Kerpen recommends you do the same thing, regardless of the business
you're in. "If you're an accountant, go to Twitter and search 'need an
accountant'," he said. "Your customers are asking for you."
2. Respond (to Everyone!)
Kerpen said 60 percent of brands--mostly big ones--currently do not
answer customers or prospects on Twitter, Facebook, or other social
media. As a result "you have a huge competitive advantage if you respond
to your customers--and theirs," he said. (Case in point: the Rio hotel in Vegas.)
If a customer complains, don't delete. Instead, you have an
opportunity to respond publicly that you're working to solve the
problem, and will send a private message to the individual so it can be
fixed.
"We all know that companies are going to make mistakes," said Kerpen.
"The problem isn't when companies make mistakes, it's when companies
don't say, 'I'm sorry.'"
Instead, if you delete a complaint, you're sending a message that the
person who wrote it doesn't matter, and you're, in essence, "inviting
him to go tell someone else, to start a petition," warned Kerpen.
The only types of posts you should consider deleting? Those that are obscene, or bigoted.
When you respond, do it in your brand voice, whatever that is:
serious, funny, full of puns, scientific, whatever. As long as it's true
to the brand.
3. Tell, Don't Sell
Social media is most powerful when you use it to tell personal stories, not to sell your products, Kerpen said.
Kerpen likes to tell the story
of how, when he and his then fiancé couldn't afford a lavish wedding,
they raised $100,000 from sponsors and got married at Brooklyn Cyclones
park. That personal story, he says, helped propel Likeable into a $7
million business.
Didn't get married at Shea? Consider your humble beginnings, your
personal leadership characteristics, customers who have overcome
obstacles, employee challenges, community or charity partnerships. Look
at your employees, products, or customers, and identify a story people
will want to talk about, and disseminate it across social media.
If yours is a business-to-business company, tell a story on social media using webinars, e-books, and white papers.
"The only thing better than telling your story on social media is to inspire your customers to tell your story," said Kerpen.
4. Just Be You
On this, Kerpen quoted Oprah Winfrey, who said: "I had no idea that
being your authentic self could make me as rich as I've become. If I had
I'd have done it a lot earlier."
As Kerpen puts it: "When I am authentic, when I am vulnerable, when I am me, customers want to do business with me."
Who does a lot of this on Twitter, according to Kerpen? Foursquare
founder Dennis Crowley, who has even posted about where he lives.
5. Advertise (Better)
Social media is not just touchy-feely, said Kerpen. It can drive leads, and sales.
On Facebook, rather than just get your ad in front of huge a swath of people, you can target the right
people--based on job title, interest, age, location. "Every single
piece of data that Facebook's got on people you can target based on
that," Kerpen said. "What's cooler than reaching a billion people on
Facebook? Reaching the right 1,000, the right 100, the right 10, or the
right one."
Another perk of advertising on Facebook? Word-of-mouth endorsements.
You can target ads against just the friends of people who have "liked"
your brand on Facebook, and when those people see your ad, they will see
listed the names of their friends who like your brand, too.
6. Give Stuff Away
If you take 10 percent off, you're marketing, 50 percent off, you're
giving away value, 100 percent off, you have loyal customers for life,
Kerpen quipped.
Give away good content, webinars, articles, and white papers. "I've
had two people come up to me and say, 'Thank you for all that valuable
information you gave away, I'm starting my own social media agency,' but
I also got dozens and dozens of inbound leads because of all the value
we put out there," said Kerpen.
Recently, a new client told Kerpen she had $250,000 to spend on
social media marketing she'd move to Likeable because of all the free,
yet useful information the company has made available.
7. Be Grateful
In your social media posts, regularly thank your customers, and partners.
According to the non-profit organization DonorsChoose.org, Kerpen
said, of those people who received a thank you note, 38 percent were
more likely to donate again.
He writes three thank you notes every day.
"It puts me in a great mood every single time," he said.
Allison Fass is deputy editor of Inc.com. A longtime business journalist at Forbes and The New York Times,
Fass has also held roles in venture capital and innovation at Hearst
Interactive Media and digital strategy at a start-up consultancy. @alliefass
