'The Escalator Pitch'
Veteran entreplreneurs and financiers have long understood
the need for succinct pitches.
Enter the Twitpitch. It's not what you think.
I. Have you heard Escalator Pitch?
Professor Lee once mentioned about 'elevator pitch' in class. I don't exactly remember whether it was in Marketing class or Business strategy class, but for me it was quite impressive. Escalator pitch is like elevator pitch, something you can say in 10 seconds while he's going up the escalator and you're going down the escalaror. Then what makes a good escalator pitch? Principal of FutureWorks PR says "brevity and relevance." It's about focus and precision, and it needs to be aligned and presented in a way that reflects who you write to and why it's beneficial to your readers. Sergey Brin and Larry page, two top Google guys, were good at this, explaining their business as 'access to the world's information in one click', which made investors understand Google's vision right away and willing to hear some more about it. With only 8 words!
Professor Lee once mentioned about 'elevator pitch' in class. I don't exactly remember whether it was in Marketing class or Business strategy class, but for me it was quite impressive. Escalator pitch is like elevator pitch, something you can say in 10 seconds while he's going up the escalator and you're going down the escalaror. Then what makes a good escalator pitch? Principal of FutureWorks PR says "brevity and relevance." It's about focus and precision, and it needs to be aligned and presented in a way that reflects who you write to and why it's beneficial to your readers. Sergey Brin and Larry page, two top Google guys, were good at this, explaining their business as 'access to the world's information in one click', which made investors understand Google's vision right away and willing to hear some more about it. With only 8 words!II. Products? IDEA!
Svetlana Gladkova, co-founder of Boyd, says that when you are actually talking about your product, it's your IDEA. "You will find the words, and if you can't, it may be a sign that your product is not distinct from compeititors." (quoted) Small, and unknown startups need to think of escalator pitches as their foundations for their brands. Introducing your business in a very short, but strong sentence is the key of attracting investors and customers interest. The real value is not how many sentences you say, but it's rather about how effective, how strong, and how impressive you are and what you say. III. Personal Opinions
Business Strategy class was such a challenge for me. There were too many concepts to know, and this business world is more complicated than I expected. However, one thing I completely figured out is that how you approach to your customers is significant. As this article says, effective expression of your business or product like either elevator pitch or escalator pitch changes a foundation of your brand. You should have a short, strong, effective, precise, impressive, and powerful message to deliver your vision, mission, and commitment to your investors and customers. We have a tendency to neglect small things, but sometimes people are touched by a very little thing, like a note saying 'cheer up' or even just saying 'hi' with a big smile on your face. It can change your image and also the image of your company. Among lots of elements that you need to consider as you start your business, specific expression strategy that is able to convey what you really want to say should not be excepted.
Both in Marketing class and Business Strategy class, professor Lee emphasized "differentiation" and "innovation". Being distinct from other competitiors, being more speicific from other competitors, and being more special and innovative than other competitors will make you succeed in any business. :)
Annotaion: John Tozzi, The Escalator Pitch, Journal (Businessweek.com), May 16 2008
Last entry (#14) by 20500297
No comments:
Post a Comment