Should we prioritize communication for a startup? How to build an adapted strategy? When should it be done? These and other questions are very often of concern to young entrepreneurs who, moreover, must fight to succeed in their projects and launch their activity. However, all professionals will say, regardless of the size of the company, a well-thought-out and adapted communication strategy is the key to developing your business and being visible in the market.

A communication strategy, why do it? I am only a beginner, I have to focus on my project, I have not planned a budget for communication, I am on an innovative and advanced technology project, I do not need communication, this kind of strategy is for large structures, not for startups... These are some thoughts we gathered from a number of young people in response to the question about the role of building a communication strategy for their companies. However, professionals and experts in the field are formal: the communication strategy is one of the key axes to be taken into consideration when launching the business project and a lever for the development of the activity. A well-studied strategy makes it possible both to make the company known, to give itself a privileged place within the market, and to build its customer portfolio. "Communication is important, I would even say essential within all kinds of structures, regardless of their legal form. A well-studied communication plan allows a better implementation of the business plan and offers better visibility to the company and, beyond that, an optimization of results, a strong brand image and a better attractiveness", explains Meryem Kaf, founder and CEO of MK Communication. 
Whether it is the communication of a large company or a small structure, the concern is the same: target your message and measure its impact before disseminating it, ensure that you build a solid brand image and preserve it while ensuring that you apply everything as part of a global and well-studied communication. e. Therefore, any startup launch must result in a clear, effective, scalable and readjustable communication strategy throughout the development of the startup.
In addition, and because of their openness to the digital world and being, in the majority of cases, 100% connected young people, these entrepreneurs are embarking on attempts to manage their communication via social networks or Newsletters. Admittedly, this is a laudable initiative, but it also requires very precise and effective management, because, if necessary, the opposite result happens! Instead of making your brand known, you can risk harming it. 

Com professionals are mobilizing around startups

If the entrepreneurship ecosystem takes care of the accompaniment of young entrepreneurs for the realization of their projects, providing the accompaniment and support necessary to guide them towards the right path, the communication component seems to be left aside, or at least approached lightly during this process. To remedy this failure, some communication professionals have looked into this issue by going so far as to offer support adapted to startups with a well-defined strategy and a reasonable cost. You should also know that communication, for it to be effective and bear fruit, requires 25% of the manager's time. But often, the manager busy developing his business sacrifices communication. This is where these com experts come in, like the agency MK Communication & Strategy.
Aware of this reality and to help young entrepreneurs manage this key element of their implementation process, MK Communication & Strategy has just launched a new product to support entrepreneurship and in particular newly created companies and those in the process of creation. The agency offers a set of "Startup Packs" available in France, and Morocco, and soon in Senegal and Ivory Coast. "The purpose of these packs is to set up an effective and efficient communication at studied rates, within the reach of start-ups," says the DG of the agency.
MK Communication & Strategy offers, for example, the "Start Pack", the "Booster Pack" and the "Tailor-made Pack". Three suitable solutions for an optimal communication strategy which consists in setting up a cross-media system and supporting the company as it develops and its objectives. "The rates charged by the agency are adapted to the budgets devoted to communication by a company in the seed phase," it said in a statement. "The idea behind this startup package is simply to allow young entrepreneurs to create a real long-term communication strategy at very competitive prices," says Kaf. Launching a communication campaign is an investment. We provide long-term support, we invest in all phases of the project by engaging the brand image of MK Communication & Strategy, something to which I am very attached. 

Landmarks 

Whether it takes place on the Web or elsewhere, a communication strategy allows the startup to:

• Gain visibility and notoriety.
• Attract customers.
• Successfully launch the company.
•  Increase its turnover.
• Make more sales or services.

Interview with Meryem Kaf, Founder and CEO of MK Communication

"We must not wait until the end of the project to think of a communication strategy"

Management & Career: How important is communication for a startup? 

Meryem Kaf: Communication is important, I would even say essential within all kinds of structures, regardless of their legal form. A well-studied communication plan allows a better implementation of the business plan and offers better visibility to the company and, beyond that, an optimization of results, a strong brand image and a better attractiveness. As for the startup, we are always in the same configuration with the only difference that, often, the startup relies on innovation in the product and ideas, more than on the means put in place, at least at the start-up. Communication is relegated to the background, for lack of means or time. However, this is very important in all phases of the project, even more so at launch.

When is the ideal time to think about your communication strategy? Do you have to wait until the end of your project to communicate?

Communication is a support function, it accompanies all projects undertaken within the company. Even if communication is not made public, it must exist, be defined, studied and planned. A communication strategy is a sequence of actions and the result of several actions carried out upstream. I would mention, among other things, knowledge of the market and the target, as well as the control of competition. That said, there is no tailor-made communication strategy or fixed strategy. Take the case of the health crisis we are currently experiencing. It has put several structures in difficulty in the face of the absence of a crisis management strategy and, sometimes, the total absence of a communication strategy. This means that we should not wait until the end of the project to think of a communication strategy. The end of the project and the launch phase are rather an opportunity to refine the strategy and make the final adjustments. For me, the ideal moment is the phase of reflection, the main lines of the communication strategy are written at the same time as the project. We have supported projects even before they were launched and the result has been better. 
We must not forget that this same communication makes it possible to constitute the intangible heritage of each structure and this is very important in the life of the company. 

Why did you choose to support startups? 

Support for startups is a new service offer that we are launching in parallel with MK Communication & Strategy's initial activities, which include strategic communication, brand image management and content production for publishing. 
I am a woman of field and projects. My satisfaction is in the challenge. 
My professional career is quite atypical and I have been very mobile in my professional career, which has allowed me to accumulate professional experiences in France and Morocco and to evolve in large structures. 
I wanted to breathe new life into an experience of more than 15 years and deploy it in a new segment. The health crisis has strengthened my thinking, the startup pack was born and it goes well with the activities already in place. The future is shaping up through innovation, collective intelligence and new forms of management, and we must adapt to this new order. 

What does this accompaniment consist of, when does it start and when does it stop?

This support should ideally start at the same time as the reflection around the project. In reality, it begins when the client asks the firm to accompany him in his communication. At that time, we establish an audit that results from a qualitative and quantitative study of the existing. Then, we establish our mission offer on the basis of the company's overall strategy. During this phase of the project, we make sure to listen to the client and understand their short- and medium-term objectives. 
Once all the elements have been validated and the support contract signed, it can be said that the work can begin. On the Start Pack and the Booster Pack, we require a minimum commitment of 6 months, while the Tailor-made Pack is deployed over one year. 
Let me explain. Launching a communication campaign is an investment. We provide long-term support, we invest in all phases of the project by engaging the brand image of MK Communication & Strategy, something to which I am very attached. 
Therefore, the support can stop at the end of the contract, as it can continue if the customer wishes to restack and as long as he needs to be accompanied. 
You had to exchange as part of your activity with many young people, what is the impact of the crisis we are experiencing on their morale? 
The impact of the health crisis is heavy and morale is at an all-time low. It is even more so among young entrepreneurs and those who were preparing to start their business and, as we all know, some activities are much more vulnerable than others. 
The context is very delicate, we live in uncertainty. In Europe, for example, many countries are experiencing a second lockdown that complicates matters even more. As a communication consultant, I have the right to continue to carry out my activity and even to meet my clients in compliance with health rules. With all the constraints we are experiencing, suspended construction sites and limited travel, I find it a huge chance for me to be able to continue working when I see, for example, that real estate agencies or craftsmen are restricted in the exercise of their activity. 
In Morocco, the situation is even more delicate, because there is no back-up to these losses due to the cessation of activity. 
In France, for example, the state has set up several grants to young entrepreneurs and startups. Of course, certain conditions must be met, including the seniority and regularity of the activity. Cash loans have been allocated to startups, Chambers of Commerce are mobilized, among others. This is to say that solutions were needed, simply because startups occupy an important place in our economies. Value creation, innovation and economic growth are in the hands of startups.