I'd do This if we Started Again from Zero
Sep 15, 2023
When we started back in 2018 it was a very slow start - we didn’t just grow month on month right away, it took a lot of time and effort to start building traction. We had to pivot on our initial plans and adapt to what we noticed our audience wanted.
This is a big lesson; make sure you are aware and act on what the market wants.
I’ve outlined a few things I’d do differently if we had to start again:
Better pre-launch
This is something I speak about a lot, and I’ve created a course specifically on this subject in our HFA Growth Hub.
Our pre-launch was ok, but the problem was we did it a little too quickly, didn’t have a fantastic launch offer and didn’t share too much on social media before we launched.
However, the very opposite happened when we launched Craft HQ; where we did over £3k in the first hour of launching.
Or, earlier this year we launched Waxkind which is an environmentally-friendly wax melt brand. We launched on July 1st, but since January we were sharing content on social media and building our email list. We decided to launch a £1 sampler box on 1st July and within 3 hours we had sold out of 500 of these - so 500 customers on our very first day.
I understand that this required upfront investment, but you can see the impact it can have.
That’s now 500 customers, some of which left Google reviews and are now repeat customers.
This meant that Waxkind was born running. These reviews helped us to achieve 14 stockists within the first few weeks of our launch.
So, if I were to start again from scratch I would take my time with the pre-launch and build up a large database of email subscribers. I would then launch with a no-brainer of an offer to get as many customers as I can. I’d recommend taking our course on this subject.
Nurture existing customers
In our early days our main focus was on getting new customers, as opposed to nurturing the ones we already had. Whilst lots of our original customers still remain today, they are much better looked after and appreciated now than they were back in 2018/19.
It can be as simple as writing a handwritten note on orders, sending them a personalised email thanking them, making sure they receive personalised product recommendations or sending them free samples.
You want to build an army of loyal customers who will happily promote you online.
These customers will come back time and time again, and will always buy your newest scents and products.
My lesson here is to go out of your way to make every customer feel happy and welcomed into your company.
These are the 2 things I would focus more on in our early days. This would absolutely mean Cosy would have grown quicker, faster.
Proof is in the pudding as they say. We since launched Craft HQ and Waxkind using the above lessons and they have both hit the ground running.
Chances are you have already launched your business, but this can still be relevant. Why not try this on your upcoming Christmas collection launch? Build hype, collect email addresses and launch with an offer, something like 'free Christmas burner on first 100 orders over £30'. Something like that.
It will work, I promise.
Any questions, as always, please hit reply.
Thanks for reading.
Paul
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