According to a Startup Genome Report, a project co-authored by Berkeley & Stanford faculty members with Steve Blank and 10 startup accelerators as contributors: indicate that within 3 years, 92% of startups failed. The report analysed 3,200 high growth web/mobile startups.

Courtesy | Wolf Read

The report further highlights in depth what results to the failures. However, for the purposes of this article, let us ask ourselves what we can do as communication professionals, to salvage the next startup from failing.

As the CEO/Director, how versed are you when it comes to communications? You might argue that during the first stages, communications initiatives are not important. Let us suppose you are mistaken. As events unfold, you realize that what was missing in your survival kit was a communications strategy. What next?

In an effort to save your startup, it is not only wise to have a communications strategy, but implement it as well. Here are some tips you need to know when that time comes; it will surely do so.

Timing

First, it is wrong to roll out all your guns at the beginning. The Genome report attributes 74% of the failures to premature scaling.

Premature scaling means spending money on marketing, hiring etc. either before you find a working business model (you acquire users for less than the revenue they bring) or in general spending too fast while failing to secure further financing. {Sic}

Knowing when to use your communication strategy as well as balancing not to fall in the trap of premature scaling is a landmine. Tread carefully. My advice would be once you are confident with the product and or service, but realize that along the way, something is not clicking and failure is imminent; then roll out the communication strategy.

It should not be too early nor too late.

What are your communications objectives?

In all that we do we would like to make progress. Unless we set some form of measurement mechanism, chances of ever knowing if we are progressing or not are slim. This is true in life and work.

Consequently, defining the communications objective beforehand will keep you focussed as well as indicate whether you are making progress or not. Are you looking to release an annual report to investors to persuade them to open their wallets for your next phase? Alternatively, you might be opening a new branch and you want your customers to know of its location in good time? What is your objective?

Write it down if you must. Memorize it if you must. However, never forget it.

Be real

We live in a world, where we are encouraged to be unreal. In the broader scheme of things it works. In this instance however, shelve that just a bit.

Do not fall victim of wishing once the strategy is implemented you would be called for interviews, and or get the front pages of the business daily. Well, if it happens then what more can you ask for? That team deserves a medal and stocks in the company.

However, you should consider alternative channels for which you can get your message to the clients. Social media is here with us and suffice it to say it is revolutionizing the corporate terrain.

The ultimate goal is to get your story out there and most conveniently to the customers. Your expectations must be realistic knowing that competition never sleeps.

Have room for collaboration

Collaboration is key, particularly in the beginning when you should provide your PR team with as many details as possible. Then, trust them to give you an honest assessment on the best ways to achieve your PR objectives. A press release blast will be appropriate on some occasions, while individual media outreach will make more sense for others. {Sic}

This will likely occur when you have an in-house communications team and went ahead to hire outside professionals. The two teams must be in a position to work together for the benefit of the company.

Collaboration does not touch on the teams alone, but also the media used in pushing the communications objective forward. Working with diversified media outlets can prove rewarding. Local media may be a good place to start as a litmus paper to gauge the perception of the target audience before opting for national exposure.

Evidently, combining both online and social media outlets may yield stronger results than just concentrating on one medium alone.

What is your story?

To quote Seth Godin, “Consumers believe stories. Without this belief there is no marketing.”

Storytelling is the method by which people tell each other who they are, where they come from, what they believe in and how they’re different from one another. A story on the other hand is the medium through which a company expresses it message to the consumers/intended audience.

It begins and end with a story. Fortunately, companies too have them. Bearing in mind that there are millions of journalist out there whose attention is tasked by millions of pitches they get.

It is imperative that your story resonates with the journalist, editors, and the entire media outlet.

Work your angle and make it compelling enough to capture the attention of the ever-busy journalist. Moreover, one last thing, be truthful. Avoid all the hype and lies, they will give you trouble remembering.

Plan ahead

Benjamin Franklin said, ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.’ How right he was. Assuming that you will use the last three weeks to execute the communication campaign and get the results intended is a joke.

Whatever the objective, you need to plan, and consider how and to whom you plan to share your news. Bearing in mind that journalists are overwhelmed with pitches daily, and they are always on a deadline. Give your communications team ample time to work their media contacts, and then give journalists enough time to react.

It is all about the message

Finally, when it comes to the message let it be the intended message. No matter what distractions may come your way, the message you intend to tell, tell it. Be it in social media, broadcast, or any other media outlet tell ‘em. Tell ‘em again. Tell ‘em what you just told ‘em.

A version of this article appeared on Built in Chicago.