Jennifer Jones invented venture marketing in 1989 when she launched JJ&P and began working with Mayfield Fund. Before that, no venture firm had tried to brand and strategically market itself. Today, every smart venture firm is thinking about marketing. But most don’t know how to create a unique position, develop a strategic plan and execute it. That’s where JJ&P gets involved.
JJ&P VC brand strategy development and market execution involves four main elements:
Perception is reality for venture capital firms. What a firm’s main influencers think matters. They are key to a firm’s success. A VC firm has to understand its own SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). The Market 360™ gets to the heart of the firm’s position and its influencers. More than 55 VCs and LPs have used this strategy for their brand understanding since 1989.
Gaining market share for a venture brand is a process, not an event. The best firms develop strategic plans and iterate them. The plans are both tactical and strategic –tied to the firm’s business goals and budget. Marketing is an art, not a science, and JJ&P works with her clients to build a plan that will get results.
Social media is a powerful force today for venture firms. It hasn’t yet replaced “traditional media”, but it could soon. Channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content sharing and collaboration are instrumental to firms that want to build thought leadership and increase relationships. JJ&P works with each of her clients to build social media programs and other market relations programs that work and use analytics to guide success.
