Crowdfunding Benefits to Marketing

Think you have a great idea?  Want a free/low cost way to check that out?  Try crowdfunding! Crowdfunding is often thought of as a funding tool (that’s pretty obvious!), but one of its greatest unknown benefits is the marketing that it provides to your  startup.

By putting your new product or service idea out on a crowdfunding site, most people don’t realize that you are putting it in front of your end consumer.  The feedback that provides, for many, is worth more than any funding you might raise.  If you offer the product or service as a reward, the easiest thing that is quickly determined is do people want your product?  If those rewards fly off the shelf, then you know that your product is a success!

Other ways to know how popular your product or service might be is seeing how many shares, likes, circles, etc., you get.  If your Facebook page gets 1,000 new likes in short order, how can that be a bad thing?  If you are lucky enough for your campaign to go viral, it will provide you a completely new vehicle to get your campaign in front of media, bypassing all the traditional marketing tools in your toolbox.  Media, blogs, and the crowdfunding platform itself, will find you and tell the story of your product for you.  They all want to be a part of a wining idea.  They want to get these great new products and services to their audiences, which in turn will bring you even more coverage.

The fact that you are putting your product or service out there before it is released to the general population puts the crowdfunding supporters on the fast track to getting it ahead of others.  This also allows them to be involved in the development of the idea.  This helps create a buzz that your rivals can only wish they had.

Taking a hot, pre-sold item to an angel investor, venture capitalist (VC), or publisher is a surefire way to get you to the top of their lists of what companies to fund or support.  What publisher will look away from a book that has pre-sold thousands of copies?  Think your VC will ignore that you pre-sold thousands of dollars worth of your product?  Think again!

Want to talk more about how to crowdfund your food or drink product or service?  Fundafeast is a niche crowdfunding platform specializing in food + drink products and services.  Give us a call or email us today to set up a complimentary consultation.