Corporate Crowdfunding in Practice ③ | How Do You Attract Supporters Before Launch? How to Turn Existing Customers and Business Partners into Potential Backers
機械翻訳 / Machine-translated
When companies start a crowdfunding campaign, one of the most common questions I hear is:
"How should we use SNS to attract supporters?"
Of course, SNS matters.
But when it comes to corporate crowdfunding, the first thing I look at isn't the number of SNS followers.
The first thing I check is:
Who already has a relationship with the company?
Existing customers.
Past customers.
Business partners.
Suppliers.
Local businesses.
Employees.
The founder's acquaintances.
People met at events or trade shows.
Every company has relationships built up over years of doing business.
In crowdfunding, we start by taking stock of those relationships.
One of the biggest mistakes in corporate crowdfunding is this sequence:
The page is finished.
You launch it.
And only then you start thinking:
"Who should we tell?"
I do not think of crowdfunding as something where you start attracting supporters on launch day.
Before the launch, you gradually let people know:
"We're releasing a new product soon."
"We're taking on a new challenge."
"We're planning a crowdfunding campaign."
Then, when the campaign goes live, you deliver the message:
"We've launched."
That's the right order.
Whether or not you receive support on the very first day depends not just on how hard you work after launch, but significantly on how well you prepared before launch.
Companies have an advantage that individuals don't.
That advantage is:
They already have relationships with customers and business partners.
For example:
Customers who have purchased products multiple times.
Companies you've done business with in the past.
Regulars who visit your store.
People you've exchanged business cards with at trade shows.
Businesses you have local ties with.
Past event participants.
These people are not complete strangers.
That's why I don't think:
"We don't have many followers, so we can't do crowdfunding."
Before looking at SNS numbers, I look at:
How well have you mapped out the relationships you already have?
This point is crucial.
Just because you have a list of existing customers doesn't mean you should send a mass message to everyone saying:
"We're launching a crowdfunding campaign — please support us."
First, you need to think:
Who is this product a good fit for?
Who is likely to be interested in this challenge?
Who might participate as a corporate backer?
Who might introduce us to others?
Even with the same 100 people, there's a world of difference between sending everyone the same message and tailoring your approach based on each relationship.
I think of crowdfunding outreach not as a numbers game with contacts, but as designing who to reach, what to say, and how to say it.
Customers who already use your products or services know your company.
So you don't need to explain everything from scratch with a company introduction.
Instead, tell them:
"Why did we create this new product?"
"What customer feedback inspired this?"
"What are we challenging ourselves to do with this crowdfunding campaign?"
Because they're existing customers, you can frame it as a new challenge that grows naturally from what you've already been doing together.
Rather than a sudden fundraising drive, help them feel:
"A company I've always used is taking on its next challenge."
That framing is what matters.
For business partners and other companies, purchasing the product isn't the only way to get involved.
They might:
Share the campaign internally.
Spread the word to their own customers.
Become a sponsor.
Purchase products in bulk.
Introduce you to other companies.
Collaborate with you.
So rather than just saying:
"We're doing crowdfunding — please support us,"
think about what kind of participation makes sense for each company.
As I mentioned in my article on corporate sponsors, it's easier to design the campaign when you see companies not as "backers" but as "participants."
In corporate crowdfunding, your employees play a role too.
Of course, I'm not talking about:
Forcing employees to back the campaign.
Forcing them to post on SNS.
But it is important to share within the company:
Why is our company doing this crowdfunding campaign?
What is the product?
Who are we trying to reach?
If employees don't understand the purpose themselves, they won't be able to explain it when business partners or acquaintances ask.
On the other hand, if the goal has been shared internally, some employees will naturally start saying things like:
"Our company is taking on this challenge."
In corporate crowdfunding, I believe sharing information internally before launch is also part of building your supporter base.
SNS tends to be thought of as a place to expand your reach to new audiences.
But in crowdfunding, it's also a place to remind existing customers and acquaintances:
"Oh right, that company is running a crowdfunding campaign."
Someone you contacted directly also sees you on SNS.
Someone who saw you on SNS also hears about it from a business partner.
Multiple touchpoints raise interest over time.
That's why I don't think of direct outreach and SNS as separate things.
Combining individual outreach with broader public communication is what matters in corporate crowdfunding.
Before a crowdfunding campaign goes live, I make a point of confirming:
"How many people seem likely to back the campaign once it launches?"
This doesn't mean getting firm commitments.
But it does mean having a clear picture of:
Who will we contact on the first day?
Who will we reach in the first few days?
Who will speak to which companies?
As I've written before, a strong start to a crowdfunding campaign is not the result of what you do after launch — it's the result of the preparation you do before.
For companies especially, it's a real waste not to leverage the customer and partner relationships you've built over time.
When thinking about outreach for corporate crowdfunding, I start by organizing these five things:
Once these are clear, then I move on to other outreach strategies:
Increasing SNS posts.
Running ads.
Reaching out to influencers.
With crowdfunding, attention tends to go to:
"How do we spread the word to new people?"
Of course, reaching new people matters.
But companies have relationships built through years of doing business.
Map out those relationships.
Share your new challenge with them.
Generate your first backers and introductions from there.
Then gradually expand outward.
I approach corporate crowdfunding outreach not as "gathering strangers," but as "turning existing relationships into new support."
Before growing your follower count, look first at the relationships already within your company.
It's a major asset — one that's uniquely available to companies.
5 Things Companies Should Decide Before Starting a Crowdfunding Campaign
How to Use SNS for Crowdfunding Outreach | "Please Support Us" Alone Won't Cut It
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