LAIRE | Digital Marketing Articles | Inbound Agency

8 Tips on How to Gain Investors for Your Business

Written by Stephanie Kidd | Oct 25, 2024 4:15:00 AM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Know Your Audience   |   Build Your Brand   |   Build a Professional Online Presence   |    Tell a Compelling Story  Highlight Opportunity   |   Show a Strong Team   |   Show Data   |   Clear Path to ROI  

 

Your company is unique, and you’re working diligently to grow your business. It’s time that more investors knew this too.

So, how do you attract investors?

Creating a solid marketing strategy is an important first step. Having a marketing plan and sticking with it will help you attract investors to your business. Here are our top tips for revamping your marketing and branding strategy to present an investable business.

 

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is paramount.

It's no secret that investors are looking for specific business traits that stand out. If you're wondering what will attract investors to your business, you’ll need to understand what they need from you.

Here are a few traits investors look for:

  • Profitability: Profitability asks you to weigh the costs of doing business against your revenue. This is your big-picture perspective which provides information about your company's future.
  • Scalability: How effectively can you grow your business while retaining quality? Investors want to know if you have a plan for this.
  • Market demand: Is your product or service in high demand? How does it compare to competitors?

Understanding these important investor motivations will allow you to tailor your marketing approach. It’ll give investors everything they need to say “yes” and invest in your business.

 

2. Build a Strong Brand Identity

Here's another tip for how to attract investors: Create clear, memorable brand messaging — but prioritize clarity over cleverness.

Your brand needs to have a clear mission and vision, but also clear communication. Being too “clever” or “entertaining” can draw attention away from what truly matters. Leave fluff out of your messaging, and get to the point.

Being clever and entertaining isn’t a bad thing, but prioritizing it over clarity is an issue. It is possible to be both clever and clear, however, it does require a balancing act.

Part of this balancing act is finding your unique value proposition (UVP) and mission. In short, your UVP is what makes your brand remarkable.

But what is considered remarkable? There isn’t a boilerplate answer. This is a question that only you can answer when it comes to your business.

So, you tell us. What makes your business stand out from your competitors? What edge do you have that other companies don’t?

Here are a few other questions to help you define your UVP and mission:

  • Can you deliver with value? (are you worth the hype?)
  • How are your features and benefits different from your competitors? (are you better?)
  • What is your brand promise? (your commitment to customers)
  • Whose problems does your product or service solve? (be specific)

Also, are you being consistent?

Consistency across all platforms (website, social media, etc.) is an important piece of the branding puzzle. It’s more important now than ever. Everyone has the world at their fingertips, with more options than ever before.

If you have inconsistent branding your potential investors will likely choose someone else.

 

3. Create a Professional Online Presence

Customers and investors alike are drawn to well-designed, easy-to-use websites. Why? A company’s website is a first impression for investors or customers. And you know what they say about first impressions … they matter.

Also, a person’s attention span is shorter than ever before. Now, the average human attention span is 8 seconds. That’s why mediocre websites often slink into the background.

Superior websites shine with originality and clear messaging. And it isn’t a mistake. These website creators took the time to map out their mission, design, and online content. They decided early on to create a company story that reflects their growth potential.

Growth potential is a large part of why investors decide to contribute money to a business. Here are a few ways to display your growth potential on your website and social media:

  • Case studies: Data doesn’t lie. Make sure to keep track of your successes. Display them in a visually appealing way on your website.
  • Showcase past achievements: Has your company won awards for something of value? Make sure your audience knows.
  • Testimonials: What do current customers or clients say about your business? Collect direct quotes from them about their experience and results. Make sure they are authentic and honest.

Displaying your growth potential allows your business to build credibility. More credibility is another key to unlocking how to gain more investors.

 

4. Tell a Compelling Story

The significance of storytelling is too powerful to ignore. Everyone loves a good story. We’re all captivated by stories that resonate with who we are. We emotionally connect with them, and they can drive us to make decisions.

In fact, buying decisions are often quite emotional. Connecting with investors is no different. Emotions will likely play a role in how to attract investors.

So, begin crafting a narrative. In crafting this story, you need clarity on several important matters.

  • Market opportunity: Is there a clear want or need for your product or service? Can you prove it?
  • Real-world application: Define how your product or service solves a real-world problem. Why should this matter?
  • Your journey: What is your background story? What is your “why” behind your business?
  • Your vision: What are your goals, hopes, and dreams for the future?

After you gain clarity on these points, keep your audience in mind. It helps to picture one person in particular who would invest in your business. Narrow down a specific person and get to know them by understanding their pain points. Then, speak directly to them through your story.

 

5. Highlight Market Opportunity and Competitive Advantage

The next step on how to gain investors is highlighting the market opportunity. Hold tightly to a competitive tone, and focus on communicating clearly. Here are a few ways to highlight your market opportunity:

  • Present market research: This in-depth research shows your company’s potential growth and demand. Make this information clear and easy to understand.
  • Share projections and future goals: Display how your company’s future is expected to pan out. Investors like to know their money is in good hands.
  • Show your competitive edge: What sets your company apart from others?

 

6. Showcase a Strong Team

Your strong leadership team tells investors two things:

  1. You will get the job done.
  2. You're likely to deliver a return on investment (ROI).

Investors know having a revolutionary product or service is only half of it. Without an effective leadership team, a business can quickly start plummeting. Here are a few things to emphasize about your leadership team:

  • A clear and compelling vision: Connect your vision with your business growth. How is your leadership a part of this vision?
  • Open-mindedness: Is your team open to feedback? Are they open to new ideas?
  • Team dynamics: They will likely study your team’s dynamics. Do you work together well, or are there constant conflicts?
  • Your team’s ability to execute: Does your team have a history of executing? Do they often meet or exceed their goals together?

Communicate the connection between your strong leadership team and business growth. Making this connection makes it much easier for investors to say “yes.”

 

7. Use Data to Back Your Claims

Data doesn’t lie. If your company has great data to share, use it to your advantage to attract investors. You’ll want to focus on data and analytics that prove your business' performance.

Including case studies and key performance indicators (KPIs) demonstrates your growth potential. For example, let's say your sales increased by 75% last quarter. This would show that the processes you have in place are creating positive results.

Investors will look at key metrics such as revenue growth, customer acquisition cost, and lifetime value. Collect information for these important metrics. Then, connect a data point with each claim you make. This way your claims are clearly backed by data, every step of the way.

 

8. Present a Clear Path to ROI

Here is the bottom line: Investors want a return on investment. They want to reap the benefits of investing in your business, and nobody can blame them. You'll need a clear outline of how your business will provide them with a solid ROI.

Without a promise of an ROI, an investor is far less likely to put forth any money. So, if you're wondering how to gain investors, you can't skip out on this step.

 

A Roadmap to Attract Investors

How to attract investors is both an art and a science. You will blend strategic marketing with clear, concise storytelling. You’ll display your competitive side while also evoking emotions. All the while backing up your promises with informative data.

We encourage you to refine your marketing efforts, framing your business as an investable opportunity. Right now, you might be spinning your wheels. Maybe you're wondering how to create a marketing strategy to attract investors.

What if you had a map showing you which way to go at every step?

LAIRE has a roadmap for achieving marketing goals and growing revenue. We've designed a workbook to help businesses just like yours find marketing direction. It’s a tried and true system in which many businesses have found success. Now, it’s your turn.

Download our Marketing Action Plan (MAP) Workbook, and have all the resources you need to start achieving your marketing goals.