Corporate Crowdfunding in Practice ⑧ | What to Do When Support Stalls? What to Reassess at the Midpoint of a Corporate Crowdfunding Campaign
機械翻訳 / Machine-translated
When you launch a crowdfunding campaign,
support comes in at first.
There's a reaction on social media.
Existing customers and business partners cheer you on.
But after a few days,
the support stops.
This happens even in corporate crowdfunding.
When it does, it's tempting to think:
"I need to post on social media more."
"I'll ask for support again."
But I don't immediately ramp up my output.
The first thing I look at is:
Where exactly has it stopped?
If the cause of the stall and your next move don't match up, increasing your posts won't easily change the situation.
The midpoint isn't a time to pile on more requests — it's a time to review the first half and build your next move.
In crowdfunding, the middle period tends to be harder to generate buzz compared to:
right after launch, and
near the end.
On the opening day, there's the news that:
"We've started a crowdfunding campaign."
In the final week, there's a reason:
"Only ○ days left."
In between, without doing anything, the reason to post gets weaker.
So,
support settling down ≠ failure.
The real problem is
continuing to do the same thing while support has stalled.
In corporate crowdfunding, the first thing I look at is who the backers are.
Were most of them existing customers?
Did business partners step up?
Are new customers coming in?
Are any corporate sponsors involved?
Is most of the traffic coming from social media?
Looking at this reveals
how far the message has reached, and where it hasn't reached yet.
For example, if it's stalled at existing customers only, you may need to expand to a new audience next.
On the other hand, if there's interest from new people but it isn't converting to support, the page or the rewards might be the issue.
Rather than just looking at the number "support has stopped," I look at who is actually moving.
A common pattern in the midpoint is that every post ends up being just:
"We're in the middle of our crowdfunding challenge!"
"Please support us!"
This gives people who've already seen it no new information.
So instead, I would vary the angle:
A different appeal of the product.
Behind the scenes of development.
Reactions from backers.
Scenes of how it's being used.
The thoughts of the person in charge.
The reason the company is taking on this challenge.
An introduction to the rewards.
The key is:
Rather than increasing the number of posts, increase the reasons to support.
Activity updates during the campaign are also important.
But
"We're currently at ○%"
alone is weak.
I would share things like:
What kind of people have supported us.
What feedback has come in from backers.
How the project is progressing right now.
What we're aiming for next.
For those who have already backed the project, it gives them the sense that
the project they're part of is moving forward.
And the activity update itself becomes new material for outreach.
You don't need to focus solely on getting people who've already backed you to contribute money again.
Have them refer others.
Have them share on social media.
Have them tell people they know.
Have them introduce companies.
There are things backers can do even after they've supported.
A crowdfunding campaign becomes powerful when
backers bring in the next backers.
So rather than ending the relationship with
"Thank you for your support,"
I also think about
how they can continue to participate.
When support stalls, I also check the rewards.
Is the main reward unclear?
Is the price range too narrow?
Is there a lack of ways for companies to participate?
Are there any compelling rewards that could be added?
That said, just because support has stopped doesn't mean I would:
immediately slash prices, or
randomly add more rewards.
This is because it also affects regular sales after the campaign ends.
In corporate crowdfunding, I make changes while considering
not just the immediate funding amount, but also alignment with the business going forward.
In the midpoint, it's also important to create new talking points yourself.
For example:
Reaching the first goal.
A new partnership with a company.
New rewards added.
Media coverage.
Hosting an event.
A new use case.
Rather than
"We're still running our crowdfunding campaign,"
shift it to
"Something new has happened within our crowdfunding campaign."
With news to share, you have a reason to reach out again.
When support stalls, waiting around thinking
"Maybe someone will find us through CAMPFIRE"
won't change the situation.
I don't design a crowdfunding campaign on the premise that CAMPFIRE will do the outreach for us.
Rather than placing a page and waiting,
we reach out ourselves.
To existing customers.
To business partners.
To companies.
On social media.
Through backers' networks.
Even after launch, the work of reaching people continues.
What to do in the midpoint isn't just about increasing support right now.
It's also about preparing:
What to post in the final week.
Who to contact again.
How to approach corporate sponsors.
Whether there's any news to add.
What to do on the final day.
I think of the midpoint as
a review of the first half + preparation for the final week.
Getting things in order here makes it easier to move in the last week.
When support stalls in a corporate crowdfunding campaign,
I look at:
Who has been reached.
Which rewards are moving.
Whether the content is becoming repetitive.
Whether new news can be created.
Whether backers can be given a next way to participate.
What's needed when support stalls is not
asking more, but diagnosing where it has stopped.
The midpoint is not a time of failure.
It's a time to take the responses you gathered in the first half and think about your next move.
And for corporate crowdfunding, that reassessment itself becomes
first-hand information about what your customers are responding to.
A crowdfunding campaign's value doesn't only exist when support is flowing in.
Even when it stalls, there are hints that connect to your next business move.
What to Do When Crowdfunding Support Stalls | 7 Things to Reassess at the Midpoint
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