As had been said in previous posts, there are already ways by which customers can try products before committing fully such as leasing them, then paying the difference to make the purchase.

This happens in both the automotive and tech sectors and many others. Depending on where your business would be based, some countries such as the UK have a 'cooling off' period where people can return a product they've bought.

The other area that needs exploring and that I'd question is why a Brand would pay you, as there is no clear benefit from doing so.

It's good that you've thought about this though, and I'd recommend maybe developing the idea, or coming up with similar but different ideas or other ideas. Entrepreneurs and Innovators have to challenge the status quo so your way of thinking is good.

I am a Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation as well as a successful Entrepreneur myself and have helped hundreds of companies over the last two decades with help and advice. I would be happy to discuss your ideas or plans and the best way forward with you or others any time.

I'm new to Clarity but you can check my LinkedIn profile here https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyspiller/ and if you do schedule a call, please send me a Summary of what you would like to discuss beforehand so I can prepare properly.

The answer here depends on what resources you have, who your audience is and what you want to achieve.

Also people use Facebook differently in different countries and regions so there's a cultural influence here as well. Also you mention Google or Facebook but both offer a wide array of options for a campaign with different benefits and challenges.

The key question here though is which is most effective in reaching your particular audience and how much will it cost you to acquire a new customer. We call that the Cost of Customer Acquisition or CCA. So say for example you buy clicks on Google Ads and these cost you $1 per click (called the Cost per Click or CPC).

Then let's say your conversion rate to gain a customer was 2% (called the Conversion Rate or CR). This would mean that to gain each customer would cost you $50.

The question here is does that give you a profit and can you achieve better with another platform eg Facebook?

If you can only afford one platform, then try one and see what your Cost of Customer Acquisition is. Spend an amount you can afford for a limited period of time. Then test the other channel and do the same.

Then ask yourself two questions 1. Did I make a profit on both? 2. Which one made the most profit? Then go with the one that made you the most profit.

It is worth mentioning that due to something called Quality Score, your bid prices will be more efficient over time with Google Ads, therefore you will spend less to earn more.

But being on top of understanding what you're receiving for what you invest called the Return on Investment (ROI) or what you spend which is called the Return on Spend (ROS) is vital for all start-ups to survive and succeed.

I'm very new here on Clarity but check me out on LinkedIn to see what I do and who for https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyspiller/ and particularly the recommendations. I'd be happy to help you more and in much more detail.

Hope this helps and very best of luck to you with your business.

As you probably know, what you want to do is going to be tough. To answer your question fully would need a book, however for the purpose of Clarity and your post, if you don't know them already, then here are a few tips.

1. Know, define and understand your audience well, not just their demographics but their behaviour, attitudes, likes, dislikes and what makes them tick. In your case to become the brand of choice in your sector, you need to change their behaviour and for that you really need to know who they are and as much about them as possible.
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2. Be very clear about your brand and create something called a brand positioning statement. This is a single paragraph defining who your brand is for, what needs it serves and what makes you different. Every major brand in the world has one and I'd be happy to help you develop one as it's tougher than it seems.

3. Research your market, this means both quantitive and qualitative research ie facts and opinions, but also the environment you're trading in. Identify your competitors, research how they position themselves, and how you will fit into the market.

4. Customer centricity. Loads to say here, but you should be customer centric in everything you do. Love it or loathe it, that is the core reason that Amazon is as successful as it is. So much so that Jeff Bezos calls Amazon 'customer obsessive'.

5. Set clear time driven objectives, Again if you want help on these, I'd be more than happy to help you.

6. Then you need a strategy. This means planning how you're going to launch your brand and build your market share. It also considers the distribution of your products and what channels you're going to use to market them (Omnichannel Marketing) and your strategy has to be as good as it can be.

7. Then Tactics; Tactics goes into more detail about your planned growth and is essentially what needs to be done. So logistics and marketing, processes and more. I'd recommend considering great SEO, Adwords, social media both organic and paid, Email, content, video and more. You'd need a robust and well planned Omnichannel campaign for this.

8. Measurement; everything you do should be measured and monitored and you'll need daily reports. This is so that you know what's working and what isn't. By knowing these, you can then improve what you're doing continuously.

I could share with you how I've helped many start-ups become multi-million dollar businesses but then that'd be another book needed. if you would like some help on any of this though, you know what to do :)

Stay well and stay safe.

When recruiting people in this area there are a number of things you're looking for and these are primarily knowledge and experience in the work required but there are some other aspects you to consider carefully.

In addtion to knowledge and experience, you will want people that will fit into your business and with whom you will get on well with and will help you grow the business.

I recommend making a list of the particular requirements you would like in a potential employee and then when you get to receiving enquiries and running interviews scoring each on these criteria to select the right people for the job.

With regards to social media management there are some guidelines I can help you with, from my own experience of running leading agencies over the last twenty five years.

I'd recommend finding people with excellent communication skills, who also have very good writing skills, are creative, have an eye for detail and most of all know how to post in a friendly and engaging way as they'll be representing your brand and that is so important these days.

Of course you also want people who will work hard for your business, have energy and are organised.

Nowadays, there are a lot of young people in their 20s who know social media well, want to use their skills and maybe haven't done so in a business setting. These can make really great people to work with.

Among many, I once took an intern on at very low pay, and told him that if he proved his worth, I'd pay him well. He went on to be one of the best employees I ever had, to the point where he was running social media campaigns for clients like Microsoft and Samsung and yes, was paid well to do so.

We're still friends today, he's actually now one of my best friends, so much so that I recently went to his wedding in Spain and am now friends with his family as well.

So most of all, find people you like as life is too short to work with people you don't like.

It is strange but convincing people to take analytics and digital marketing seriously is often difficult.

One way to get around this is to offer the business owner some free competitor analysis then demonstrate competitors who are higher in Google Rankings, have more reach on social media and are thus making more sales ie 'eating her/his lunch. As you probably know, there are many other aspects and KPIs that you can compare a business with its competitors and most business owners do not like being beaten by their competitors.

The brutal reality is that where businesses aren't using digital marketing and measurement properly they will simply cease to exist or at the very least be struggling to compete against those who are.