无论您想打破哪个市场，启动场景都是拥挤的地方。而且，如果您无法快速建立行业的信誉，那么您可能不会破解它。
If you’re going up against established players or launching a new technology solution, your prospective customers will likely have some healthy skepticism to overcome before buying whatever it is that you’re selling. Same goes for investors. But in order to explain who you are, what your company can do for them, why they should believe in you, and the reasons to expect you’ll be around for the long haul, you need to gain a credible platform from which to make your case. Here’s how to do it when you’re starting from zero.
1.像其他所有事物一样为您的信誉设定目标
正如您的公司应该拥有梦想中的客户，目标市场，里程碑目标等清单一样，您需要绘制梦想的信誉符号列表。从现在起，您已经大致知道六，12或18个月的“成功”是什么样的，因为您坐下来定义了它。那么，您公司的个人资料和声誉也是如此：什么会让您觉得您的公司确实在您的行业中成为了尊敬的存在？它是在特定出版物中介绍的吗？赢得奖项？被邀请在某个会议上讲话？
Whatever the answer may be, you need to start identifying your credibility goals early on. Describe them in concrete terms and set deadlines for achieving those milestones along with your overall business growth and marketing objectives.
2.利用伴侣的声誉为您的利益
Unless your company is still in the two-people-with-laptops-in-a-garage stage, chances you’ve already built a base of trustworthy people who are connected with your company and believe in your value proposition–that’s one of the first things startups need to do in order to get even halfway off the ground. So use that to your startup’s advantage.
You may already have a marquee management team and investors in place, or you may not–either way, you need look for ways to emphasize the expertise and connections of the people who are already related to your company. This can be as simple as asking your board members to make a few key phone calls or introductions on your behalf. Or just encourage your inner circle of partners to spread the word about your company on social media andendorse you and your company on LinkedIn。这些是小手势，但可以走很长一段路。
In addition, include detailed bios of your board members and testimonials from key partners on your website and in company communications–don’t focus exclusively on the founding team. Needless to say, you’ll need to get permission from your partners first, but many of them will likely be glad to help spread the word about your company if they’re already satisfied with your partnership. Just make sure you do this as openly and collaboratively as possible; the quickest way to lose credibility is by overstating the extent of a partnership or claiming an endorsement that doesn’t exist.
3. Develop A Voice In Your Most Important Communities
每个创业公司都希望在纽约时报它的服务在主要渠道中突出。但是，与其尝试在主流大众媒体出版物中大放异彩，而是首先要考虑对您最重要的利基市场的质量覆盖范围。例如，技术初创公司可以通过直接与已经关心并密切关注其产品类别的技术受众交谈来更快地建立信誉。
也不需要巨大的公关将蝙蝠从蝙蝠上推开。在社交媒体上开始建立敬业的受众：创建有用的互动和思想领导能力的记录，并具有与您公司所做的事情相一致的兴趣（这是为什么如此众多的启动创始人在Twitter上活跃的原因）。或者，无论是在LinkedIn群体中还是在特定于行业的次级零件中发表评论，您也可以参加其他影响您的客户和行业的在线社区论坛；担任Quora的专家评论员；创作在行业出版物中撰写的文章；或创建原始的内容营销作品。
关键是要保持专注，而不是尝试投入太大的网。如果您还没有足够的声誉来邀请您在梦想的行业会议上讲话，请举办自己的会议。为了有效，它不必是一件奢侈的事情。邀请一些合作伙伴与您一起托管和赞助一些亲密的东西，只要它制作得很好。如果您愿意与他们共享平台，那么您的许多行业合作伙伴和其他出色演讲者将很乐意支持您的活动。
4.转向您的创始人
最成功的初创公司已广为人知的CEO，他们是公司的代名词。但是，即使您没有经营十亿美元的业务，每位初创公司首席执行官都需要像思想领袖和公司的公众面貌一样行事。建立首席执行官的个人品牌和信誉是人们迅速熟悉公司并了解如何在他们关心的问题上增加价值的最有力方法之一。
Especially in the early stages of your startup’s growth, the founder/CEO needs to be a prominent presence and take a high-touch approach with early customers. Those first customer relationships are hugely valuable, and the CEO needs to be front and center–building customer relations, listening to feedback, and asking early customers to help by promoting and recommending you if they’re happy with their experience.
Building credibility is often a matter of working from the inside out: Start with your inner circle of trust–your board, partners, and key mentors–and then ask for their help in building a foundation of credibility to speak to a wider audience. Then get the attention of the inner circle of influencers and enthusiasts who care the most about what your startup does. If you can win their trust, they’ll help spread the word about your company even further.
信任是每种成功的业务关系的基础。就像您的创业公司需要一个进入市场策略一样，您还需要一个详细的计划来建立信誉。这是将遵循的成功的起点，或者是他们没有的原因。
Juliet Travis is the founder and principal ofLiftoff Communications这是一家基于湾区的数字通信公关代理商，可帮助技术初创公司实现宣传并实现其战略营销目标。