We caught up with Caitlin McGregor, CMO at NerdApp, a marketplace to connect people and businesses that need tech support with verified IT professionals (or Nerds!).

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The idea for NerdApp was born when their founder, Kelvin Wetherill, found himself in demand helping friends and family with their tech issues. Since launching in 2020, the business now has 14,000 active customers on the platform.

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Caitlin has been with the business since the start of the journey and had lots to share about exactly how the business honed in on their target audience, and which marketing tactics did (and didn’t) make a difference.

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Check out the full conversation on LinkedIn, and read on for our top takeaways:

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⚡Your first customers could be closer than you think

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Caitlin shared that while NerdApp was first figuring out their target audience, the team looked to their immediate surroundings for their first customers. They were based in a business park with hundreds of companies around them, so they started there.

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Discount codes for friends and family also played a significant role in the early days. Caitlin gave these to her friends (who were also, luckily, influencers!), which boosted NerdApp’s profile and provided vital feedback to improve their offering. Asking these early customers to review the business on Google and Trustpilot also helped to raise the profile of the business and build trust with other potential customers.

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⚡Marketing is easier when you niche…

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In the beginning, Nerdapp’s target audience was “pretty much everyone”, as Caitlin described it. They started to niche when remote working really took off during lockdown and they saw a gap for businesses needing more tech support for their remote workforces and over-stretched IT teams.

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A more defined target audience meant that they could really focus their marketing efforts and messaging on reaching this specific audience with a clear value proposition.

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⚡…But don’t over-rely on one channel

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Through analysing customer behaviour they soon discovered that a lot of NerdApp’s customers were often in need of immediate help and didn’t have tried and tested avenues for IT support. As a result, they often turned to channels like Google for quick solutions. This insight led NerdApp to using GoogleAds as a way to directly target those customers actively looking for support.

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Shortly after closing their first round of pre-seed funding, they decided to put extra budget into their paid ad campaigns, but struggled with Google’s approval process. This meant a previously well performing channel was no longer providing the same level of return.

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On reflection, Caitlin says she wishes they had developed their SEO strategy sooner to avoid this overreliance on paid - because once they did, their global job listings really took off! But at the time they needed quick results and SEO felt like a long-term play that was hard to prioritise.

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⚡Take your time to choose the right partners

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Caitlin’s parting advice is to partner with experts and agencies who are completely aligned with your company goals and values, and to take the time to check their references and reviews.

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We definitely agree with this, and one thing to look out for is how people explain things to you. Can they articulate what they’re recommending you do, why it’s the right thing to do, what the expected results should be as well as any risks involved? You want to work with someone you can have clear and constructive conversations with, that fill you with confidence.

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If you’re ever in doubt, look to your network for advice. I'm also more than happy to chat anytime if you need a second opinion. Just hit reply to this email or DM on LinkedIn!

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