There’s a point in time when a startup needs to meet the market, and look at its best
Stealth mode is a common early stage strategy in which a product, or a brand is being hidden (or partially hidden) from the market until a certain point is met.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to coming out of stealth, there are some best practices for this process with a timeline of preparations and activities that usually take place.
After 10 years of operation and more than 150 startups we have served over this course of time, we are now offering an out-of-stealth package that is ideal for early-stage startups.
What’s included? Get all (or some of) the activities listed below:
Strategy, planning and timeline
Usually takes between 2 to 3 weeks
Here we setup the KPIs, decide on the strategy (keep everything hidden? start exposing materials step by step? Coming soon page or a teasing landing page? Prepare a full website or just a minisite (or a landing page)? A lot to strategize about. This part also includes a marketing competitive analysis that would later on serve the other activities. Based on the strategy we prepare a project plan and setup the timeline
Messaging sprint
Usually completed in 1 to 2 weeks
Messaging and storytelling that help you create differentiation is a must starting point. We developed a unique methodology to craft a compelling story and derive out of it simple yet sharp marketing messages, to help you create differentiation. Our messages are then customized to match different marketing channels (social channel, the website, collateral etc.)
Visual identity - Branding
Usually takes 2 weeks, done in parallel to other activities
Even in the early stage, and when there’s a need to run really fast, there’s still a baseline that must be kept, including the visualization. Buyers today are used to high standards and a neat L&F is essential for trust building among target audiences. As part of the digital assets buildup we ensure that an impressive visual language is created.
This part includes an initial color palette, brand book, visual elements, icons and more, and is usually done together with building the website (in order to be practical and save time and resources)
E2E Website / minisite buildup (yes, with the content)
Usually completed within 1.5 to 2.5 months – depending on the specifications
Time for the first professional web identity to be created. Some prefer a whole new website, others insist on a lean landing page to start from. In anyway it has to look professional and fine. We share our recommendation and then start working, from the website specifications document, to the design approvals, to oversee the development and we complete this with a proper QA that looks at all UX issues as well as backend elements (SEO, plugins, forms etc.) .
Content pages usually include the home page, product / solution page, about, careers, blog (or resources) and sometimes can include additional pages such as platform, partners or alike.
** We have expertise in WP, webflow and other platforms.
Basic implementation of marketing automation
Basic implementation of marketing automation
Usually, full implementation of marketing automation is an “overkill” for a startup that is just coming out of stealth, especially as many times the customer jeurney milestones aren’t yet clear. Still, many startups find themselves running a tedious, expensive and unnecessary implementation project that doesn’t serve their needs.
Out approach is based on implementation levels that match the needs in each stage. As part of building the first professional web identity we also take care of basic implementation that includes: Setup and integration of lead forms, marketing analytics, integration with the website, meeting assistant, email marketing, some basic rules and more.
When the startup reaches a point where there’s a need for a more advanced implementation – it makes sense to fill out the gaps then, and not before.
Setup of social media channels
Usually executed within 1 week or less
The work includes setup of social company pages (based on the messages and visual identity), optimization of the personal profile of the selected front persona (the company’s evangelist) as well as all needed preparations around increasing followers and social communication planning (copy and creative).
Collateral and sales materials
Usually executed in parallel to the website, may take 2-3 weeks
Out of stealth preparations include most of the times a set of materials (such as one pager and product deck) that are aligned with the new messages and visual identity. These materials are meant to help the management team present the company to new prospects, design partners, potential investors and more. The work includes interviewing the sales and BizDev people, puting together the outline (skeleton), writing the content, rounds of improvements and the graphical design. We many times also create versions that match different audiences, use cases or alike.
Out of stealth PR and launch campaign
Usually takes 1-2 weeks to prepare, executed when all other components are ready
Now it’s time to decide on the exact launch strategy and execute it. The launch may include social communication, PR release, Sponsorship of an industry conference and more. We define launch KPIs and based on multiple parameters we choose the tactics and execute them. The work includes writing the announcement, collaborating with the investors, building the media minisite, pitching journalists, building the social communications (copy and creative), working with the employees to amplify the launch impact and more.
Wrap-up
The project ends when the company is officially out-of-stealth and now its time to measure the impact and start the proactive marketing journey. Then we move to accompany the company with services such as CMO as a service, product marketing, advanced content marketing, SEO, paid media campaigns, influencer marketing, events management and other activities – Ask us about it.
Learn more about our marketing offering tailored to companies that emerged out of stealth and need to setup their initial inbound marketing machine .
