If you’re the head of a company that has shareholders, they have expectations. For some investors this might be to attend a shareholders meeting – at least annually – to find out what’s going on in the business; for others it might be the expectation of a dividend landing in their bank account from time-to-time.
If you’ve run a crowd-funding campaign you need to look after your investors to reassure them that you are using their money responsibly – for the purpose it was intended.
Yes, there are some people who will invest a small amount and forget about it, but the last thing you need are people who have invested, heard nothing – and then talk about it on social media. It’s no longer a few friends who listen to their complaints – but the whole social media stratosphere!
Most people want to know what’s happened to their money – so what is your plan?
Rewards
Typically, a crowd-funding campaign offers a reward. This might be:
- ‘Thank You’ with your name on a Facebook Page for a small investment
- A listing as an investor on a website page
- One or more of the products they’re funding – depending on the finished value of the item
- A discount option on a bigger product
- Promotional items – T-shirts, coasters or other branded goods
- Customised product
It all depends on what’s being funded. The big issue is – when do people get their products or thank you?
Staying in touch
I invested in a product nearly two years ago – and the items I was promised I’d get about six months down the line have still not appeared. If I hadn’t heard from them I would be a little irritated, if not thoroughly annoyed. However, the company has kept in touch regularly with progress reports, details AND pictures of some of the manufacturing glitches they’ve had to iron out. Although the time-lapse has been much longer than expected I’m impressed with their updates – and their attention to detail, to ensure the final product is perfect.
Often there isn’t much room in the ‘Rewards’ outlines to put a lot of detail, so a regular progress report is reassuring for investors – no matter how small an amount they’ve invested.
Our advice:
- Put a note in your diary for a regular monthly update and email your investors to tell them how the project is progressing.
- When your project is complete – put rewarding investors right at the top of the list.
These are simple things to do – and the rewards YOU will get are a group of enthusiastic supporters, who will do a lot of positive marketing for you.
