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Swift trust and client acquisition in technology conferences - A start-up entrepreneur’s perspective
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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en
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46
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The author, being a CEO of a Finnish startup Panda Training, noticed that 90% of the startup’s clients were acquired during technology conferences and events. This sparked two research questions. Firstly, why might events and tech conferences work better than cold calls or social media as a client acquisition channel for new ventures whose entrepreneurs are young or are entering an industry they do not know? And secondly, why is it that short personal contact so important for establishing the trust required for the client to place their first order?
Young entrepreneurs that are entering the industry often lack established connections and reputation. This leaves them without good channels for early client acquisition and testing. As a result, entrepreneurs are often left guessing if the root cause behind the lack of growth is a product or a marketing challenge. This thesis aims to clarify the feasibility of technology conferences as a client acquisition channel and understand if this channel has an advantage in comparison to more traditional channels like cold calling and social media for young entrepreneurs.
The author examined the theory in the light of his personal experiences as an entrepreneur. The literature on client acquisition was scarce in relation to technology events, but the literature on trust provided some insight into the role trust might be playing in the relationships formed at the conferences. Exploration of the theory of swift trust provided a better picture. The literature on swift trust revealed that technology conferences have attributes required for building swift trust and thus might be a very good source of initial client acquisition for new ventures which don’t yet have an established reputation.
That is why we need more empirical studies that could compare the effectiveness of conferences and tech events as the channels for client acquisition versus more traditional channels such as cold calling, and social media marketing.