Why 90% of Startups Don't Survive Past 2 Years

First, here is a customer-distribution chart every business needs to understand:

When you promote your offer, only 3% of customers have an immediate need for your service — and fewer than 1% actually buy.

Picture this:

• Your entire sales cycle is focused on pitching at that very first point of contact → in the end, only 3% have an immediate need, and fewer than 1% act and buy right away
• Then you do no re-marketing → you don't just lose the 97% with no immediate intent to buy, you also lose the 2% who are ready to buy but haven't acted yet — the very people most likely to purchase a little later
• And among the 1% who did buy, you never follow up with new product or service information, or fresh ways to use what they bought → you never turn them into repeat, reordering customers

This is exactly how most startups operate — and it's the fatal reason so many of them fail within two years.

What successful businesses do differently

Successful businesses focus on nurturing the potential customers beyond that 3%. They build a value ladder, continually delivering value to existing customers and making them feel valued — so that a small customer who first spent $100 gradually grows into a lifetime High Value Customer spending $1,000, $2,000, even $5,000 or more.

Take a look at the statistics below and you'll see just how crucial repeated contact is to your sales!

Source: National Sales Execution Association

The takeaway from this data: you need to stay in touch with a customer at least 5 times or more before your business sees results.

Of course, if you have enough salespeople, you can reach customers through a variety of channels. But small and medium-sized businesses don't have the vast resources to follow up with each customer one by one via phone or WhatsApp. An automated funnel is absolutely the sales tool that delivers information to customers in an orderly way — not only scaling your value delivery, but also accurately recording user preferences and building out a full digital footprint. This is the cornerstone of precise re-marketing. Do all of this well, and you won't just achieve marketing conversions — you'll walk each customer step by step to the top of the value ladder, and your sales are sure to grow!