Crowdfunding Expert Kendall Almerico, the CEO of ClickStartMe.com, recently discussed five ways businesses can use crowdfunding to attract new customers and increase sales. Almerico explains that there is a huge misconception that crowdfunding is only for the artsy people who want to make a movie or record their next album.
?Misinformation has scared business owners away from crowdfunding as a means to expand their business,? Almerico says. ?Crowdfunding is a great way for a business to raise money and grow your customer base at the same time.?
Not only is crowdfunding for businesses legal, according to Almerico, but it is also an extremely effective way to create online marketing buzz about a business at the same time.? Business crowdfunding involves giving away ?rewards? in exchange for donations from supporters.? Rewards can be anything from a simple ?thank you? on a company website or Facebook page to more elaborate experiences that personally involve the supporter in the business. By far, the most common rewards are those that involve the exchange of businesses products or services in return for the donation.
Almerico gives these five examples of crowdfunding rewards that businesses can use to help grow or expand their business:
1.???????? Pre-sell a new product or service.? ?Before launching a new product or service, offer it through a crowdfunding portal like ClickStartMe.com,? Almerico says. ?You can often get a premium over what you will later charge so that people can say they were the first to try the product or service.?
2.???????? Offer recognition or a ?credit.?? Many crowdfunding projects will list the donors on a website, thank them on their Facebook page, or give other recognition. ?People love to see their name, and will pay for the right to do so,? Almerico says.? ?Why do you think charities publish those long lists of donors???
3.???????? Offer a ?naming? right.? If you can name a product of service after a donor, you not only have a customer for life, but also a walking billboard for your business.? ?If a restaurant names a sandwich after someone, that guy is coming back time and again,? Almerico says. ?It costs you nothing, and that proud person is going to tell everybody he knows about it, and bring them into the restaurant to show off.?
4.???????? Offer a discount.? People will pay for a discount, a coupon or a price break in advance.? ?If your business has a 50% profit margin, consider selling a 25% off discount card for $100 that is good for a year,? Almerico says. ?While it cuts your profits for that one person, you get money up front, more customers coming in with the donor later at full price, and the money you make through donors who do not remember to use the discount later.?
5.???????? Offer an experience.? Crowdfunding rewards such as a night on the town, a trip to an interesting location or even a day working at your business are not only interesting, but they actually work. Crowdfunding ?experience? rewards sell, and people routinely pay hundreds, and sometimes, thousands of dollars for them. ?You would be shocked at what people will pay to shadow the CEO for a day,? Almerico says. ?And, you would be even more surprised what people will pay to go surfing or skydiving with you.?
Crowdfunding expert Kendall Almerico is the CEO of ClickStartMe.com, the upstart crowdfunding site that ?puts the fun in crowdfunding? and is a JOBS Act expert.? For more information or to schedule an interview with Kendall Almerico, e-mail media@clickstartme.com or call 813.410.4658.
MEDIA CONTACT
Tess Hottenroth
media@ClickStartMe.com???????????????????????????
(813) 410-4658
SOURCE:??ClickStartMe.com
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