From nobody to somebody through storytelling: The number of startups with a green intention is growing dynamically, bucking the declining trend for other startups in Germany. The challenge for young entrepreneurs is to make their own idea known in the market and stand out from the crowd.
In 2014, the green economy was already the largest field of start-ups in Germany after retail. 21,500 new businesses were founded in the green economy sector in 2014, 4,800 more than the previous year. 17.3% of all start-ups in 2014 were in the areas of renewable energies, energy efficiency, emission reduction, the circular economy, and other areas of the green economy. This is confirmed by the latest figures from the recently published Green Economy Start-up Monitor for Germany.
And: green or sustainable start-ups are in demand. Not only has the government initiated various funding programs, but large corporations are also increasingly seeing themselves as incubators or accelerators for young green economy companies and their innovative ideas. Green start-ups often represent important drivers of transformation in individual economic sectors, for example, in the energy sector, where 86 percent of start-ups in 2014 were "green" or "renewable." The situation was similar in the construction sector, with 54 percent of green start-ups – a key issue being energy efficiency. This trend will expand and transform other sectors as well.
So, anyone who is a green entrepreneur pursuing a sustainable business idea currently has good opportunities, not only for funding and programs. More and more people seeking funding are looking for sustainable startups, often resulting in fierce competition for the best green startups. Founders are offered mentoring from experienced experts, office space, and, above all, funding. Sponsors from the business world benefit from image and technology transfer, even taking over entire business models of young startups. A win-win situation for both sides.
The challenge for young entrepreneurs is to make their own idea known in the market and stand out from the crowd. Startups must quickly develop from nobody to somebody in order to assert themselves in the fight against the competition for financing and funding, but not least for target customers and employees. And this brings us to the topic of professional communication. For many innovative business ideas, only a fraction of the target audiences learn about them because young (green) startups forgo professional communication and media relations altogether, or neglect traditional press and public relations in favor of social media profiles. But anyone who wants their business idea to be noticed and understood in the competition for investors and sponsors must communicate professionally from the very beginning. This begins with a meaningful and contemporary website and by no means ends with regular and in-depth press work and the development of a network of media contacts. Where complex information needs to be communicated in an understandable and credible manner, press work in traditional (specialized) media is indispensable. The saying has always been: "What isn't in the media is unimportant!" If you are not found there, you do not exist!
Prepare your own founding story accordingly
Instead, your own founder story and business idea should be told in all its different facets. This is where professional corporate communications is needed. Storytelling is the current communications trend and really just old wine in new bottles. Instead of a bland press release in which the sender praises themselves with sentence fragments à la "leading solution provider", good stories are much more exciting for journalists and, of course, for readers too. Information that conjures up images in the mind, generates emotions or hits a nerve is easier to convey and is easier to remember. Startups should therefore convey their content, messages and goals to their target groups through storytelling - i.e. communicating them in a narrative, storytelling, entertaining and also beneficial form.
(Specialist) journalists are constantly looking for content and stories that might interest their readers as potential buyers or users. But to avoid a key misunderstanding: the focus should not be on the product itself with all its features, but on the context in which it is presented. So don't just provide a list of facts and features; journalists will only be peripherally interested in the data sheet. Instead, content that is as individual as possible is more interesting. This could be the founding story, case studies and expert contributions, market figures or graphics. Time for a change of perspective: What is the target group interested in? Can readers derive practical benefit from the information? The worm has to appeal to the fish, not the angler! It is important to make offers in conversation with the journalist. Anyone who regularly delivers good stories, takes a position on current topics and thus positions themselves as an expert becomes a source of information with added value for journalists. This is where the success of communication depends.
Surprisingly, storytelling has so far gained little traction in the communications of German B2B companies. According to a recent study by GfK, only a meager 8 percent of German B2B companies use this method in their corporate communications.
If you manage to present your business idea and the story of your company's founding in an exciting and emotional way, with added value for your audience, you will stand out from your competitors and attract the attention of investors, incubators, interested parties and employees.
Conclusion
When communicating as a startup, it's easy to make a lot of mistakes: too little, too much, too general, too late, using the wrong language, etc. As a start-up entrepreneur, who already has enough issues to tackle, you shouldn't also take on the burden of corporate communications. This is where external PR professionals can help. They understand the startup's topics and core messages, translate them into appropriate messages and content, and deliver them to the media through their network. This is ultimately more cost-effective than failed attempts at communication in-house that don't generate the desired attention from the target audience.
Guest author Frank Brodmerkel
Frank Brodmerkel, owner of the Munich-based agency GRÜNE WELLE KOMMUNIKATION, supports technology startups with tailored communications. Information at http://gruenewellepr.de.
