Co-op U online
week nine
Connect with your customers
Start
“I look at the anatomy of trees as one of nature’s examples of successful organizing that realizes that our power is in our ability to both be fiercely centered and grounded but also infinitely reaching towards our unique sources of energy, light, and growth. Each tree’s elements are reliant on one another but totally unique in form and function. There is no competition or pressure to be the root or the trunk or the buds that bloom. Each tree is a universe, a master delegator, a puzzle and a puzzle piece. They have encouraged me to not worry so much about making everyone ‘feel important’ and to focus on how to create systems and support efforts where everyone is important and clear on how their work is unique, crucial and totally interconnected.”
- Morgan Mann Willis
what you'll learn
Finally, you'll conclude this week's work by creating a plan for the ways you'll market your co-op.
You'll begin by learning some criteria for pitching your cooperative, focusing on your economic feasibility.
Next, you'll dig into your team. You'll think deeply about the areas of expertise and experience your team members bring, and analyze how you work together.
Then, you'll identify the marketing channels that will likely be the most useful for connecting with your customers.
Marketing Next Steps
Practicing Your Pitch
Your Co-Op Team
Connecting with Customers
cooperative stories: sustainergy
In this short video, you'll learn about Sustainergy, a Cincinnati-based solar power and energy-efficiency company, and how marketing changed their efforts.
Opening Exercise
Opening Exercise
Section 1
Refining Your Pitch
Title 1
In this section, we'll begin by exploring the financial story behind your pitch, and discussing the economic feasibility of your idea. You'll also learn how to effectively evaluate your cohort's pitches.
evaluating economic feasibility
demand
Soon, you'll be recording and sharing a pitch with your cohort. Each member should be prepared to evaluate other pitches based on whether they are economically feasible. To do this, you'll use the scale below. On the next slide, we'll learn what makes a business idea economically feasible.
what is economic feasibility?
Is there a market for this product or service?
demand
Does it seem likely that this business will be able to replicate this product or service?
replicability
Does this product or service seem economically viable for the co-op to offer?
viability
Does the pricing make sense, both for the customers and for the business?
pricing
Does the cooperative's plan for offering its products and services seem operationally sound?
operations
Section 2
Understanding Your Team
Title 1
In this section, we'll delve into your team members. You'll explore their strengths, experience, and the unique skills they bring to your group.
your co-op map
your team is essential
describe your team
Knowledge check
See Answer
Section 3
Understanding Your Values
Title 1
This section will be largely self-directed. During these tasks, you'll describe and enumerate the values that guide your co-op, and give details on how your co-op upholds the 7 Cooperative Principles and the 10 Mondragon Principles.
Key question 1
Key question 2
Key question 3
Section 4
Introduction to Marketing
Title 1
Now, you'll learn about 19 potential channels to market your co-op. You'll also learn some of the general techniques for marketing your co-op and receive a checklist of marketing tasks for your business.
19 marketing channels
Social Ads
Unconventional PR
Publicity
Targeting Blogs
Viral/Referral Marketing
Offline Ads
Email Marketing
Search Engine Marketing
Offline Events
Community Building
Business Development
Sales
Engineering as Marketing
SEO
Affiliate Programs
Existing Platforms
Trade Shows
Speaking Engagements
Content Marketing
escribe una introducción aquí
Escribe un título
rate marketing channels
Drag the marketing types on the right into the columns on the left.
Sales
Content marketing
Targeted blogs
Trade shows
Engineering as marketing
Most important for us now
SEO
Community building
Less important
PR
Publicity
Social and Display ads
Search engine marketing
Offline ads
Important later, but not now
Viral/referral marketing
Email marketing
Not for us
Offline events
Existing platforms
Business development
Not sure
Speaking engagements
Affiliate programs
Your marketing mix
Pricing is one of the 4 Ps of a business’s marketing mix:
Promotion
Place
Price
Product
How do you differentiate your product and promote it through various channels?
Where can your customers find your product or service?
What is the value of the product or service you offer?
What does your company offer? What do you provide?
marketing checklist
Create a logo
Create some outreach plans
Create a basic website/landing page
Create an asset storage procedure
Reserve a Google business profile
Reflect on your target customers
Use social media accounts
Identify a set of go-to people
Develop a content generation process
Manage your technology and passwords
field work
Before continuing to the next chapter: » Identify two to three channels you will be focusing on to connect with your customers. » Continue interviewing and sharing your test/prototype with potential customers as you are able. » Continue to update your Co-op Canvas with new learnings and insights. » Keep working on your pitch! Use the following tools: » sample ByLaws » 19 traction Channels
tools
Existing Platforms
Existing platforms are websites, apps, or networks with millions of users. sometimes focusing your efforts on one of these mega platforms can get your co- op in front of hundreds of million of users. For example, evernote focused on Apple’s App store to grow.
Offline ads
This includes ads in newspapers, radio, TV, magazines, billboards, direct mail, as well asother offline mediums, like menus at restaurants, church bulletins, etc.
Content marketing
This often refers to content such as articles or journals or a blog. the goal is to make this content as engaging and interesting as possible and to get comments and interaction.
Answer: Demand, Replicability, Viability, Operations, and Pricing are all key elements to determine economic feasibility. While experience can be important to the success of your business, it's not a key metric for economic feasibility of your product or service.
Social Ads
Social ads are on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Display and banner ads are on websites.
Business Development
This refers to the process of creating strategic relationships that benefit both your co-op and your partner. Instead of selling directly to your customer, you’re partnering to reach potential customers in a way that benefits both entities. An example could be partnering with a company that has a product or service that is desirable to your customer base. together you could jointly market or create a new bundle of products and services that can serve the customer.
Community Building
This technique involves investing in and supporting the connections among your potential and existing customers. Wikipedia and Harley Davidson have grown through the passionate communities their products inspire.
Offline events
Sponsoring or running in-person events, from small meet-ups to large conferences, can give you the opportunity to connect directly with potential customers, often around issues that can be pain points for them.
Email Marketing
This is a personal channel. your email marketing sits next to emails from friends and family in peoples’ inboxes. It is usually most effective when tailored and personalized.
Sales
This refers to all the processes involved in directly reaching out to customers to get them to buy a product or service.
Search Engine Marketing
Ads on search engines like Google can be a strong tool for bringing in customers who may not otherwise know about you.
Unconventional PR
There are two different types of unconventional PR: 1. The publicity stunt that is designed to get media coverage. 2. Customer appreciation. smaller, more scalable actions such as sending handwritten notes to customers, contests, etc.
Speaking engagements
Giving a talk to an audience can be helpful when potential clients or influencers are in the room. It can be an especially effective channel when selling books.
Publicity
The art of getting your name out via traditional media, such as TV, newspaper, magazines, etc. This generally involves forming relationships with reporters.
Engineering as Marketing
This is when a business builds a tool such as a calculator or widget of some kind for a website to get the attention of potential customers.
Trade shows
These offer the opportunity to showcase your products in-person at industry- specific events.
Targeting Blogs
Finding blogs that potential customers read is often an effective way to get your first customers. Consider offering to write a guest post or inviting the blogger to try your product or service and write a review. Is there another way to connect? Commenting on relevant posts?
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the process of improving your website’s ranking in search engine results. In other words, if someone searches for your kind of business in your region, you try to get your website to show up in the first page of results. This often requires technical support.
Viral/Referral Marketing
Growing your customer base by encouraging your customers to refer other customers is known as referral marketing. This can be a powerful tool to build your business, because referrals build trust.
Affiliate programs
this is an arrangement where the co-op pays people or companies for performing certain actions, like getting a qualified lead. For example, Sustainergy Cooperative pays HomeAdvisor for leads on potential insulation customers.
Identify a set of go-to people
Your go-to people can be internal, external, or a mix. It's a good idea to know who you can talk to for technical support and developing procedures.
Use social media
Think about where your customers hang out and consider the following: ▢ LinkedIn: this is usually more important for business-to-business companies ▢ Facebook: this can be very helpful for business-to-consumer companies ▢ Instagram: this can be very helpful for business-to-consumer companies ▢ Bluesky: this can be helpful for media relations or community outreach
Develop a content generation process
A repeatable process for creating content can help make it as easy as possible to keep social media accounts and a website updated. It can be helpful to develop a calendar of potential posts. Tools like Buffer (which is free), and Hootsuite allow you to schedule posts across multiple platforms.
Create an asset storage procedure
Make sure you have a way to store and share files, pictures, etc. Google Drive is an excellent online archive that facilitates storage, sharing, and joint work. take some time to develop a logical folder system that is easy for your co- op members to navigate. Start with general folders that contain specific folders which in turn contain files. For example, you could have a folder called Marketing and Communication that contains a folder called Photos which contains folders for each event or year. Also in Marketing and Communication could be a Testimonials folder where you place testimonials according to product or service. the Guide to Google Drive found in the Pre-work Chapter can help you in this process.
Reflect on your target customers
Consider the Day in the Life of your Customer exercise, the Customer Journey, and all your potential touchpoints with your customer, and develop a very detailed marketing flowchart. how will your customer find you? How will you let your customer know you appreciate them? how can the customer provide feedback to you and other potential customers about how they value your service?
Manage your technology and passwords
Use a Password Manager (an online software application that allows you to store all passwords and usernames for any accounts: your website, your domain, your social media accounts, etc). It’s so easy to misplace such info, especially when working with a team that needs access. A Password Manager saves time and securely stores your passwords. examples of Password Managers include Last Pass and 1Password. Make sure everyone on your team has basic technology training and can help out in whatever ways make sense with getting the word out. Discuss everyone’s participation in getting pictures and videos with their smartphone. Discuss ways to coordinate and review ideas for connecting with your customers where they are!
Create a logo
The Canva platform can be a big help. see the Guide in the Pre- work chapter. A good logo conveys the concepts and style of your business while being replicable, memorable, and unique. On the next slide once you've viewed the rest of the checklist, you'll learn some of the basic principles of logo creation.
Create a basic website
Platforms like Squarespace have the ability to keep customer contact information, accept online sales, and even support some email marketing. Platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact are set up for email marketing and have the ability to create a landing page. Custom websites, like the one shown to the right, can be built by web developers to reflect your unique vision.
Old Growth Cooperative's website was designed and built by comp.coop
Develop an outreach plan
If you're local, design a basic ground game (networking with people and putting out signage) with physical collateral (i.e. a flyer). If you’re regional or online only, design a basic virtual ground game (getting sell sheets and brochures in the right people’s hands and meeting via video conferencing software such as Zoom).
Create a Google business profile
For certain types of businesses this is important for purposes of credibility, but that’s reason enough. This is free! A Google business profile lets customers know you're a legitimate business. A Google profile can also help you gather reviews of customers' experiences.
Co-op U online: Week 9
Anna Wilkes
Created on September 8, 2025
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Randomizer
View
Timer
View
Find the pair
View
Hangman Game
View
Dice
View
Scratch and Win Game
View
Create a Word Search
Explore all templates
Transcript
Co-op U online
week nine
Connect with your customers
Start
“I look at the anatomy of trees as one of nature’s examples of successful organizing that realizes that our power is in our ability to both be fiercely centered and grounded but also infinitely reaching towards our unique sources of energy, light, and growth. Each tree’s elements are reliant on one another but totally unique in form and function. There is no competition or pressure to be the root or the trunk or the buds that bloom. Each tree is a universe, a master delegator, a puzzle and a puzzle piece. They have encouraged me to not worry so much about making everyone ‘feel important’ and to focus on how to create systems and support efforts where everyone is important and clear on how their work is unique, crucial and totally interconnected.”
- Morgan Mann Willis
what you'll learn
Finally, you'll conclude this week's work by creating a plan for the ways you'll market your co-op.
You'll begin by learning some criteria for pitching your cooperative, focusing on your economic feasibility.
Next, you'll dig into your team. You'll think deeply about the areas of expertise and experience your team members bring, and analyze how you work together.
Then, you'll identify the marketing channels that will likely be the most useful for connecting with your customers.
Marketing Next Steps
Practicing Your Pitch
Your Co-Op Team
Connecting with Customers
cooperative stories: sustainergy
In this short video, you'll learn about Sustainergy, a Cincinnati-based solar power and energy-efficiency company, and how marketing changed their efforts.
Opening Exercise
Opening Exercise
Section 1
Refining Your Pitch
Title 1
In this section, we'll begin by exploring the financial story behind your pitch, and discussing the economic feasibility of your idea. You'll also learn how to effectively evaluate your cohort's pitches.
evaluating economic feasibility
demand
Soon, you'll be recording and sharing a pitch with your cohort. Each member should be prepared to evaluate other pitches based on whether they are economically feasible. To do this, you'll use the scale below. On the next slide, we'll learn what makes a business idea economically feasible.
what is economic feasibility?
Is there a market for this product or service?
demand
Does it seem likely that this business will be able to replicate this product or service?
replicability
Does this product or service seem economically viable for the co-op to offer?
viability
Does the pricing make sense, both for the customers and for the business?
pricing
Does the cooperative's plan for offering its products and services seem operationally sound?
operations
Section 2
Understanding Your Team
Title 1
In this section, we'll delve into your team members. You'll explore their strengths, experience, and the unique skills they bring to your group.
your co-op map
your team is essential
describe your team
Knowledge check
See Answer
Section 3
Understanding Your Values
Title 1
This section will be largely self-directed. During these tasks, you'll describe and enumerate the values that guide your co-op, and give details on how your co-op upholds the 7 Cooperative Principles and the 10 Mondragon Principles.
Key question 1
Key question 2
Key question 3
Section 4
Introduction to Marketing
Title 1
Now, you'll learn about 19 potential channels to market your co-op. You'll also learn some of the general techniques for marketing your co-op and receive a checklist of marketing tasks for your business.
19 marketing channels
Social Ads
Unconventional PR
Publicity
Targeting Blogs
Viral/Referral Marketing
Offline Ads
Email Marketing
Search Engine Marketing
Offline Events
Community Building
Business Development
Sales
Engineering as Marketing
SEO
Affiliate Programs
Existing Platforms
Trade Shows
Speaking Engagements
Content Marketing
escribe una introducción aquí
Escribe un título
rate marketing channels
Drag the marketing types on the right into the columns on the left.
Sales
Content marketing
Targeted blogs
Trade shows
Engineering as marketing
Most important for us now
SEO
Community building
Less important
PR
Publicity
Social and Display ads
Search engine marketing
Offline ads
Important later, but not now
Viral/referral marketing
Email marketing
Not for us
Offline events
Existing platforms
Business development
Not sure
Speaking engagements
Affiliate programs
Your marketing mix
Pricing is one of the 4 Ps of a business’s marketing mix:
Promotion
Place
Price
Product
How do you differentiate your product and promote it through various channels?
Where can your customers find your product or service?
What is the value of the product or service you offer?
What does your company offer? What do you provide?
marketing checklist
Create a logo
Create some outreach plans
Create a basic website/landing page
Create an asset storage procedure
Reserve a Google business profile
Reflect on your target customers
Use social media accounts
Identify a set of go-to people
Develop a content generation process
Manage your technology and passwords
field work
Before continuing to the next chapter: » Identify two to three channels you will be focusing on to connect with your customers. » Continue interviewing and sharing your test/prototype with potential customers as you are able. » Continue to update your Co-op Canvas with new learnings and insights. » Keep working on your pitch! Use the following tools: » sample ByLaws » 19 traction Channels
tools
Existing Platforms
Existing platforms are websites, apps, or networks with millions of users. sometimes focusing your efforts on one of these mega platforms can get your co- op in front of hundreds of million of users. For example, evernote focused on Apple’s App store to grow.
Offline ads
This includes ads in newspapers, radio, TV, magazines, billboards, direct mail, as well asother offline mediums, like menus at restaurants, church bulletins, etc.
Content marketing
This often refers to content such as articles or journals or a blog. the goal is to make this content as engaging and interesting as possible and to get comments and interaction.
Answer: Demand, Replicability, Viability, Operations, and Pricing are all key elements to determine economic feasibility. While experience can be important to the success of your business, it's not a key metric for economic feasibility of your product or service.
Social Ads
Social ads are on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Display and banner ads are on websites.
Business Development
This refers to the process of creating strategic relationships that benefit both your co-op and your partner. Instead of selling directly to your customer, you’re partnering to reach potential customers in a way that benefits both entities. An example could be partnering with a company that has a product or service that is desirable to your customer base. together you could jointly market or create a new bundle of products and services that can serve the customer.
Community Building
This technique involves investing in and supporting the connections among your potential and existing customers. Wikipedia and Harley Davidson have grown through the passionate communities their products inspire.
Offline events
Sponsoring or running in-person events, from small meet-ups to large conferences, can give you the opportunity to connect directly with potential customers, often around issues that can be pain points for them.
Email Marketing
This is a personal channel. your email marketing sits next to emails from friends and family in peoples’ inboxes. It is usually most effective when tailored and personalized.
Sales
This refers to all the processes involved in directly reaching out to customers to get them to buy a product or service.
Search Engine Marketing
Ads on search engines like Google can be a strong tool for bringing in customers who may not otherwise know about you.
Unconventional PR
There are two different types of unconventional PR: 1. The publicity stunt that is designed to get media coverage. 2. Customer appreciation. smaller, more scalable actions such as sending handwritten notes to customers, contests, etc.
Speaking engagements
Giving a talk to an audience can be helpful when potential clients or influencers are in the room. It can be an especially effective channel when selling books.
Publicity
The art of getting your name out via traditional media, such as TV, newspaper, magazines, etc. This generally involves forming relationships with reporters.
Engineering as Marketing
This is when a business builds a tool such as a calculator or widget of some kind for a website to get the attention of potential customers.
Trade shows
These offer the opportunity to showcase your products in-person at industry- specific events.
Targeting Blogs
Finding blogs that potential customers read is often an effective way to get your first customers. Consider offering to write a guest post or inviting the blogger to try your product or service and write a review. Is there another way to connect? Commenting on relevant posts?
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the process of improving your website’s ranking in search engine results. In other words, if someone searches for your kind of business in your region, you try to get your website to show up in the first page of results. This often requires technical support.
Viral/Referral Marketing
Growing your customer base by encouraging your customers to refer other customers is known as referral marketing. This can be a powerful tool to build your business, because referrals build trust.
Affiliate programs
this is an arrangement where the co-op pays people or companies for performing certain actions, like getting a qualified lead. For example, Sustainergy Cooperative pays HomeAdvisor for leads on potential insulation customers.
Identify a set of go-to people
Your go-to people can be internal, external, or a mix. It's a good idea to know who you can talk to for technical support and developing procedures.
Use social media
Think about where your customers hang out and consider the following: ▢ LinkedIn: this is usually more important for business-to-business companies ▢ Facebook: this can be very helpful for business-to-consumer companies ▢ Instagram: this can be very helpful for business-to-consumer companies ▢ Bluesky: this can be helpful for media relations or community outreach
Develop a content generation process
A repeatable process for creating content can help make it as easy as possible to keep social media accounts and a website updated. It can be helpful to develop a calendar of potential posts. Tools like Buffer (which is free), and Hootsuite allow you to schedule posts across multiple platforms.
Create an asset storage procedure
Make sure you have a way to store and share files, pictures, etc. Google Drive is an excellent online archive that facilitates storage, sharing, and joint work. take some time to develop a logical folder system that is easy for your co- op members to navigate. Start with general folders that contain specific folders which in turn contain files. For example, you could have a folder called Marketing and Communication that contains a folder called Photos which contains folders for each event or year. Also in Marketing and Communication could be a Testimonials folder where you place testimonials according to product or service. the Guide to Google Drive found in the Pre-work Chapter can help you in this process.
Reflect on your target customers
Consider the Day in the Life of your Customer exercise, the Customer Journey, and all your potential touchpoints with your customer, and develop a very detailed marketing flowchart. how will your customer find you? How will you let your customer know you appreciate them? how can the customer provide feedback to you and other potential customers about how they value your service?
Manage your technology and passwords
Use a Password Manager (an online software application that allows you to store all passwords and usernames for any accounts: your website, your domain, your social media accounts, etc). It’s so easy to misplace such info, especially when working with a team that needs access. A Password Manager saves time and securely stores your passwords. examples of Password Managers include Last Pass and 1Password. Make sure everyone on your team has basic technology training and can help out in whatever ways make sense with getting the word out. Discuss everyone’s participation in getting pictures and videos with their smartphone. Discuss ways to coordinate and review ideas for connecting with your customers where they are!
Create a logo
The Canva platform can be a big help. see the Guide in the Pre- work chapter. A good logo conveys the concepts and style of your business while being replicable, memorable, and unique. On the next slide once you've viewed the rest of the checklist, you'll learn some of the basic principles of logo creation.
Create a basic website
Platforms like Squarespace have the ability to keep customer contact information, accept online sales, and even support some email marketing. Platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact are set up for email marketing and have the ability to create a landing page. Custom websites, like the one shown to the right, can be built by web developers to reflect your unique vision.
Old Growth Cooperative's website was designed and built by comp.coop
Develop an outreach plan
If you're local, design a basic ground game (networking with people and putting out signage) with physical collateral (i.e. a flyer). If you’re regional or online only, design a basic virtual ground game (getting sell sheets and brochures in the right people’s hands and meeting via video conferencing software such as Zoom).
Create a Google business profile
For certain types of businesses this is important for purposes of credibility, but that’s reason enough. This is free! A Google business profile lets customers know you're a legitimate business. A Google profile can also help you gather reviews of customers' experiences.