Start-ups face all sorts of challenges getting noticed.
Their owners may know that they have created something special that the world truly needs, but it's not always easy at first to make much of the world even aware of this need and that there's someone out there willing to meet it.
So employees need to get creative in their outreach efforts along with being ready to put in the long hours getting the word out - or, at least, find some helpful, useful short-cuts.
One of these tools could be Wayv, a new mobile greeting service, which is designed to help businesses more precisely connect with possible clients and customers.
People who sign up for the service can create, compose and send 30-second videos introducing themselves and giving the recipient an overview of their business.
Wayv CEO Chris DeLetto and Nick Reasner, Wayv's VP of Business Development, are certain that recipients will be excited about receiving something unique, rather than just another unwelcome, unsolicited email. Receiving a Wayv can be an effective and creative introduction and could open the door for further communication.
DeLetto and Reasner recently discussed what they see as the advantages of Wayv, but also raised some questions.
I do think it's smart for start-ups to find ways to stand out from the crowd, especially if the crowd is simply sending out so-so press releases. And the idea of a short video has plenty of appeals - it lets you see and hear the actual words from a company principal, rather than a slick commercial.
As DeLetto and Reasner pointed out, the current "by the numbers" method of direct mail or mass email means that for every 1,000 recipients, roughly 997 will ignore or simply not see your contribution and only 3 will consider buying what you're selling. The method is about as inefficient as you can get.
Instead, Wayv can allow people to target recipients personally and include a personal message.
However, as the video shows, the financial implications haven't been completely explored. The system currently is free, and there are vague ideas how to monetize responses in the future, perhaps based on the volume of responses.
But one of the biggest unknowns is how to get Wayv into the correct people's hands. Even an unsolicited non-form email containing a cool video can still be perceived as spam, and blocked or reported accordingly if the recipient really isn't wowed or doesn't appreciate the unsolicited intrusion. When you're talking about spam do's and don'ts, there isn't a lot of wiggle room for good intentions.
The video alluded to the time factor as well - rather than sending out a mass email, Wayv participants can send out a few targeted Wayvs instead. DeLetto and Reasner compared this to pushing for quality vs. pushing for quantity, which is a noble goal to have. But from a practical view, creating a certain number of videos throughout the day can definitely impact one's daily productivity, especially when you should be trying to focus on the many other start-ups moving pieces.
All in all, Wayvs do have some appeal to businesses trying to get noticed, especially using a new multimedia approach that lets someone be seen and heard. But the approach does seem a little on the gimmicky side at this point.
Check out the video here, or visit Wayvapp.com for more company info.