Crash Davis: Relax, all right? Don’t try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they’re fascist. Throw some ground balls – it’s more democratic.
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: [to himself] What’s this guy know about pitching? If he’s so good how come he’s been in the minors for the last ten years?
I guess this makes me Crash Davis, ten years in the minors, makes me wonder when my Waterworld is coming (so please make sure you take any feedback with the appropriate sense of pending doom).
“Open challenge to local startups to “pitch” for a meeting in a 140 characters or less in the comments (more realistically less than 420 characters – basically 3 tweets).”
In response to my Pitching Fastballs post on StartupNorth (reblogged), Trevor and Karim from Big Time Design have answered my open challenge, along with a bunch of others in the comments. Along with Scott Annan and Tim Harris.
Big Time Radar
big time Radar is: Discreet, targeted messaging; customers ask for it & you deliver via Live Messenger, Twitter, SMS, email & Facebook from one interface.
Big time’s management team consists of three guys from marketing, design and development backgrounds. Radar’s market opportunity is massive for anyone in the marketplace looking to use social media to sell, communicate and connect with their customers. Initially, we plan to focus on four verticals: retail, events, media and real estate. Our pricing model is segmented by number of users and selected features. We are currently in the beta phase (with very positive initial results) and are bootstrapping rather than looking for funding as our overhead cost is negligible.
Commentary/Feedback
This is a great approach to layered information. The piece that is missing for me is the separation between Big Time Design and Big Time Radar. I’m assuming Radar is a product offering of Big Time Design. That coupled with I’m curious at the benefit of the solution, i.e., it sounds like a multi-channel replacement for MailChip or Constant Contact, i.e., email marketing that uses social media for notification beyond just email. A little more clarity about how it fits with respect to these other offerings might be helpful.
Network Hippo
Network Hippo is a smart address book for startups and professionals. It combines and scrubs contact information from dozens of sources, finds more info about them on the web and social networks, plugins into your email, and alerts you when – and who – you should contact. It’s a smarter, personal, social CRM. We’ll replace Highrise completely & Salesforce’s smallest customers.
Commentary/Feedback
I also like the one provided on Network Hippo’s home page , “Network Hippo is a powerful and unique network relationship application that puts your professional network to work. We help professionals and small businesses build their network, identify their most valuable contacts, remind them when somebody needs a call, and track deals for their business.” It’s very clear who the product is for, what the product does, and who are the competitors. I would like a little more detail on the differentiator, i.e., what makes Network Hippo special?
Star Return
Star Return links out door media to rich media content on handheld apps via web services, while providing advertisers with solid analytics to evaluate effectiveness and viral affects of their campaigns.
Commentary/Feedback
I’m still not sure how Star Return links outdoor media to rich media content (I’m assuming that this is online content). I still don’t actually know what Star Return does. Jumping on the Interwebs, I find “We are Star Return. We allow you to download information to your mobile device, related to products, places, people and businesses.” and “Star Return puts a new twist on information access. Users – anytime, anywhere can now access information on restaurants, stores, products, sporting events, concerts, bands, real-estate and much much more.” My guess is that it’s bit.ly for billboards?
Thanks for the feedback David!
We've already begun working on the revised pitch. The differentiation between email marketing and social media marketing is definitely what we need to focus on, as well as the power of segmentation combined with the choice of social media delivery methods.
Oh and big time design and communication inc. is the company and Radar is the product :)
Thanks for the feedback David!
We’ve already begun working on the revised pitch. The differentiation between email marketing and social media marketing is definitely what we need to focus on, as well as the power of segmentation combined with the choice of social media delivery methods.
Oh and big time design and communication inc. is the company and Radar is the product :)
Glad to hear.
Hope the feedback was valuable, albeit short.
Glad to hear.
Hope the feedback was valuable, albeit short.
I never understood what Network Hippo was before this description. I actually think that they should lead off with
“We’ll replace Highrise completely & Salesforce’s smallest customers.”, and then add, “Network Hippo is a smart address book for startups and professionals. It combines and scrubs contact information from dozens of sources, finds more info about them on the web and social networks, plugins into your email, and alerts you when – and who – you should contact. It’s a smarter, personal, social CRM.”.
That description follows the Inverted Pyramid Rule better and tells me immediately why I should learn more. This isn't theoretical for me, by the way, I have been thinking about which CRM to use and this description immediately alerted me that it is one designed for a small business like mine that has the potential to grow into a mid-sized one. Good job Scott!
Ken,
That's a great suggestion. I recommend the “inverted pyramid” for demos, i.e., do the coolest thing first. So me the thing that blows my mind, then get to the blah, blah, blah.
Thanks for the comments David,
Ian Graham of Ottawa's Code Factory recommends the 2 second, 20 second, and 2 minute looks for marketing. Essentially, the marketer gets 2 seconds to grab the reader's attention <we replace Highrise>, 20 seconds to hold their interest <Network Hippo is a smart address book for startups and professionals. It combines and scrubs contact information…>, and 2 minutes to win their desire <all the rest of the value proposition>. Once I applied this to my pitch and marketing I could see a night and day difference.
By the way, love the Bull Durham comparison. Here's to hitting your 247th and breaking the all-time minor league home run record.
I never understood what Network Hippo was before this description. I actually think that they should lead off with
“We’ll replace Highrise completely & Salesforce’s smallest customers.”, and then add, “Network Hippo is a smart address book for startups and professionals. It combines and scrubs contact information from dozens of sources, finds more info about them on the web and social networks, plugins into your email, and alerts you when – and who – you should contact. It’s a smarter, personal, social CRM.”.
That description follows the Inverted Pyramid Rule better and tells me immediately why I should learn more. This isn’t theoretical for me, by the way, I have been thinking about which CRM to use and this description immediately alerted me that it is one designed for a small business like mine that has the potential to grow into a mid-sized one. Good job Scott!
Larry: Who's this? Who are you?
Crash Davis: I’m the player to be named later.
I'm the player to be named later.
Ken,
That’s a great suggestion. I recommend the “inverted pyramid” for demos, i.e., do the coolest thing first. So me the thing that blows my mind, then get to the blah, blah, blah.
Thanks for the comments David,
Ian Graham of Ottawa’s Code Factory recommends the 2 second, 20 second, and 2 minute looks for marketing. Essentially, the marketer gets 2 seconds to grab the reader’s attention , 20 seconds to hold their interest , and 2 minutes to win their desire . Once I applied this to my pitch and marketing I could see a night and day difference.
By the way, love the Bull Durham comparison. Here’s to hitting your 247th and breaking the all-time minor league home run record.
Larry: Who’s this? Who are you?
Crash Davis: I’m the player to be named later.
I’m the player to be named later.
Hi David,
Thanks for the feedback. We're trying on a few different “pitches” and product messaging these days and gauging reactions to them. Our website is in the midst of getting an overhaul, complete with a flash animation of “a day in the life of” using our product. We're pretty excited about being more clairvoyant in our messaging, which I have to admit is lacking at the moment.
Try the following revision for our service description.
We allow you to download information to your mobile device, related to products, places, people and businesses. Once you have downloaded – you have access to location details, contact options, coupons and social network links for this brand. Share it with friends, get discounts at your favourite stores and interact with what matters most to you. Look for the Star Return logo on signs, products and places you see every day and simply take a picture with our app.
Additionally you can exchange your profile and contact details with people you meet without having to use a business card.
Our idea was born out of the simple problem with out-of-home media today. I was finding I would be inspired by a billboard, retail sign, however by the time I got home I completely forgot about it or had forgotten the URL for the product/brand. I then surveyed over 3400 people in North America and found this is a common problem. With over 84% of people saying the sometimes to frequently forgot URL or brands by the time they were home. This adds to the old saying that a person has to be exposed 7-9 times to something before they remember it. So, why not have them connect to it immediately and receive additional information about what inspires them and hopefully make a more meaningful connection? This is really what we're all about. By providing the information to furthur the inspiration and then enticing to connect – we will strengthen relationships between customers and brands.
I've got a great guy on staff now that is working on our marketing and messaging – who we're excited about being able to communicate and connect with our users more effectively. I'd be happy to discuss further with you anytime – blast me an email with your number to connect.
Tim Harris
Founder – Star Return.
Hi David,
Thanks for the feedback. We’re trying on a few different “pitches” and product messaging these days and gauging reactions to them. Our website is in the midst of getting an overhaul, complete with a flash animation of “a day in the life of” using our product. We’re pretty excited about being more clairvoyant in our messaging, which I have to admit is lacking at the moment.
Try the following revision for our service description.
We allow you to download information to your mobile device, related to products, places, people and businesses. Once you have downloaded – you have access to location details, contact options, coupons and social network links for this brand. Share it with friends, get discounts at your favourite stores and interact with what matters most to you. Look for the Star Return logo on signs, products and places you see every day and simply take a picture with our app.
Additionally you can exchange your profile and contact details with people you meet without having to use a business card.
Our idea was born out of the simple problem with out-of-home media today. I was finding I would be inspired by a billboard, retail sign, however by the time I got home I completely forgot about it or had forgotten the URL for the product/brand. I then surveyed over 3400 people in North America and found this is a common problem. With over 84% of people saying the sometimes to frequently forgot URL or brands by the time they were home. This adds to the old saying that a person has to be exposed 7-9 times to something before they remember it. So, why not have them connect to it immediately and receive additional information about what inspires them and hopefully make a more meaningful connection? This is really what we’re all about. By providing the information to furthur the inspiration and then enticing to connect – we will strengthen relationships between customers and brands.
I’ve got a great guy on staff now that is working on our marketing and messaging – who we’re excited about being able to communicate and connect with our users more effectively. I’d be happy to discuss further with you anytime – blast me an email with your number to connect.
Tim Harris
Founder – Star Return.