10 Big Benefits of Crowd Funding
By Narek Vardanyan
At The Crowdfunding Formula, it’s our job to talk about the benefits of
crowdfunding. If you dig in our site a lot, you will know by now it’s not all
about the money. Yes, the money might be the driving factor behind your
campaign, but you stand to gain a whole lot more from crowdfunding.
Here’s our quick rundown of the 10 (yes, ten) BIG benefits of crowdfunding.
Funding
OK, so funding isn't everything but it is important and it was obviously going to make
the list. Next…
Market Research
Crowdfunding might just save you as much as it makes you thanks to this handy
benefit: free market research. Your crowdfunding community are the perfect guinea
pigs for your brand, as they’ll help you assess demand for your product. If you’re
really good idea gets absolutely no backers, then that’s a pretty good indication
that there isn't a market for it. Imagine if you’d gone down the traditional funding
route, you might have ended up with something stock manufactured that
was sitting in a warehouse before you realized no one wanted to buy it...
Feedback
The crowdfunding community is also very vocal. They’ll tell you what they like about
your product and share their ideas for improving it. Your backers will invest in your
story (emotionally and financially). They’ll become more than just another customer;
these guys will consider themselves a part of your project. They’ll take pride in your
success and are much more likely to get involved in helping spread the word than a
traditional consumer.
Pre-orders
Your crowdfunding campaign is basically a place to sell a product or concept
before you’ve brought it to market. Pre-sell a lot of items, and you can start
production with little or no financial risk. For many people, this is THE big benefit of
crowdfunding — there’s even platforms that specialize in pre-selling (check
out Quirky if this is your thing).
PR
The media likes crowdfunding. To your average journo, crowdfunding is full of
unique, inspiring human-interest stories. It is the place to find innovators,
entrepreneurs, and the Next Big Thing. Everyone wants to be a part of a success
story and, if yours is newsworthy enough, you might just find yourself with free PR and
a wealth of eager backers.
Loyalty
There’s no question about it, crowdfunding builds you a team of loyal customers.
They are part of your success and they’re not going to ditch you for the next flashy
competitor who comes along. These guys are going to be the first ones to buy your
latest product and respond to your surveys. It’s the kind of loyalty brands like Apple
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