Having handled the pay-per-click (PPC) marketing for a top 250 e-tailer, DrJays.com, I wondered shortly after joining Chrysalis whether venture firms practice similar forms of direct marketing. As I wrote earlier this week, aggressive deal sourcing still holds mixed feelings in the investor community. A few really “with it” firms are taking the search engine optimization route (i.e. optimize the firm’s website via text, page titles, static URLs vs dynamic ones, etc), but I hadn’t seen anyone doing straight PPC until I ran across the following today while editing my LinkedIn profile:
Of course it’s Summit (second advertiser down from the top). The firm is known, along with TA Associates, as putting serious resources behind their sourcing efforts. It’s a model that works (especially in the later stage environment), and I’ve seen others move to imitate it.
Will PPC work for Summit? Interestingly, they’ve set up a landing page that does a nice job of allowing the firm to measure ROI. One is greeted with a white paper entitled, “Unlock Wealth in Your Company While Staying Firmly in Charge,” that requires a short “tell us about your company” kind of form. So Summit is able to capture private company information into its database while offering some value (ostensibly) to the visitor. It’s a soft sell that’s geared to later stage investment and it’s handled well. I’m guessing we’ll see forward-thinking firms doing more of this type of marketing.
Interesting post. The marketing technique that you describe (offering whitepapers, industry analysis, or other thought leadership in exchange for basic contact information) has been popular for a number of years with consulting firms. Not only does the consultancy capture basic contact information on a potential client, but by offering a battery of thought leadership on various industry segments and business horizontals, the firm gains insight into the areas of interest and potential pain points of the visitor–this of course allows for a more meaningful follow-up opportunity.
Makes sense. I’d be surprised, though, if the big firms are doing standard PPC marketing without a highly targeted audience. I’d think they might advertise in focused C-level e-newsletters or print pubs with mention of a URL to download. Any idea of ad medium?
Matt, I know Union Square also uses Tacoda, but most likely because Fred seems to love being hands on with technology and Tacoda is an USV portfolio company. Not sure how useful Tacoda network data is too USV. I would guess some of the most relevant internet advertising is on portfolio company web pages where VCs are listed as investors and or directors.
What would be interesting is if someone threw up an Adify VC branded CPA network. Click to call definitely wouldn’t be appropriate. Perhaps click to blackberry:)
Rob:
I’m not familiar with Adify, though a quick peek at their site left me intrigued. Do you have any experience with them? I’d love to see an example of USV’s Tacoda advertising, but I suppose I’d have to be a targeted recipient - do you have a screenshot?
Click to call might not be so far out of the realm of possibility. An outsourced function that allowed intake of basic company information and distilled it for review isn’t implausible in my view.
Re web marketing, it’s amazing to see the varying degree to which firms effectively market on their own sites. One of the best examples that I’ve seen recently is Gemini Israel Funds’ (http://www.gemini.co.il/homepage.aspx?p=homepage) recent revamp. They take the “let our entrepreneurs tell our story” path well beyond the standard few testimonial quotes, and deliver transparency (e.g. the “ask us a question” section). Great stuff.
Best,
Matt