Why Full Data Visibility Is Crucial to a Successful Capital Raise

Introduction: The Fast-Paced Nature of Modern Capital-Raising

The modern fundraising environment is dynamic, responsive, and above all, fast-paced. Investors expect quick responses, campaigns can go viral overnight, and market conditions can shift in the blink of an eye.

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In this rapidly changing environment, data is the backbone that can determine the success or failure of a campaign. Founders often invest significant resources into marketing their capital raises, making it crucial to have access to comprehensive, real-time data.

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Platforms that restrict data visibility can hinder performance, reduce the effectiveness of marketing efforts, and limit the value founders can extract from their campaigns. In this article, we will dig into the limitations of delayed or incomplete data, the incredible impact full data ownership can have on your raise, and the key benefits it offers to issuers using DealMaker’s advanced tools.

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The Limitations of Delayed or Incomplete Data

On other funding platforms, issuers have only a bird’s eye view of their campaign’s performance, forcing them to rely on periodic reports and delayed data analysis. This approach comes with several significant drawbacks:

1. Limited Insight into Marketing Performance: Without detailed data, issuers can only see high-level attribution of investment dollars, leaving them in the dark about which specific ads, copy, or audience segments are performing best. This lack of insight prevents effective optimization, resulting in wasted marketing spend—a huge deal, considering most issuers spend 10-20% of their total raise goal on marketing.
2. Restricted Funnel Visibility: Other crowdfunding platforms often provide a very limited view of the conversion funnel. Issuers can see how many prospects are at each stage in their funnel, but not who those prospects are; specific investor data is only viewable for completed investments. This limits the ability to tailor communications and engage with potential investors effectively (which inevitably means some of those prospects are lost).
3. Inefficient Resource Allocation: When data is incomplete or delayed, issuers cannot make informed decisions about where to allocate their marketing resources. This can lead to overspending on ineffective strategies and missing out on high-potential opportunities.

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Given these limitations, it's clear that full data ownership is critical to modern capital-raising campaigns. But what exactly do we mean by data ownership?

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Full Data Ownership: What It Is and Why It Matters

Full data ownership means that you, the issuer, are in full control of your raise—not just your completed investors, but your leads, followers, and prospects too. You can access granular investor data at every step of your funnel, from interested to invested, in real time. Some of the benefits include:

• Up-to-the-minute tracking of funds raised
• Instant notifications when new investors express interest
• Live updates on investor behavior and engagement
• Immediate feedback on the performance of marketing efforts
• Real-time analytics on campaign page views and conversion rates

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The importance of real-time data in fundraising cannot be overstated. It empowers you to raise more effectively with:

1. Enhanced Campaign Optimization: See which ads, copy, and audience segments are driving the best results. This enables immediate adjustments to optimize performance, reducing ad spend and increasing the cost-efficiency of the campaign.
2. Personalized Investor Communication: See where each potential investor is in their journey. Craft tailored communications, engage with high-value investors personally, and nurture leads more effectively. DealMaker’s CRM makes this possible by showing investors at every stage of the funnel.
3. Accurate Forecasting and Goal-Setting: Real-time data provides a clear picture of campaign progress, helping you set realistic goals and forecast outcomes more accurately. This data-driven approach ensures that resources are allocated effectively, and performance targets are met or exceeded.

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Now that we understand what real-time data is and why it's important, let's delve into the specific benefits it can bring to your fundraising efforts.

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Key Benefits of Real-Time Fundraising Data

a. More Effective Campaigns and Better ROAS

Issuers typically budget 10-20% of their total raise goal for campaign marketing, so optimizing that spend is absolutely critical. By utilizing real-time data, issuers can continuously optimize their marketing efforts, leading to more effective campaigns and a better return on ad spend (ROAS). With good performance marketing data, you can:

• Track the performance of different marketing channels in real time and adjust your spend accordingly.
• A/B test different messages or visuals and quickly identify which resonates best with your audience.
• Identify the most effective times for social media posts or email blasts based on real-time engagement data.

Improving conversion by just 5-10% can amount to hundreds of thousands more dollars raised. DealMaker’s platform allows for granular insights into ad performance, from copy to creative to audience and more, ensuring that every marketing dollar is spent efficiently.

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b. Personalized Investor Communication and Nurturing

Full-funnel visibility is critical to effective investor communications; with full, responsive data on investor behavior, you can personalize your communication to a degree that wasn't previously possible. For example, you can:

• Identify potential “big fish” investors, see where they are in the funnel, and call them up personally to get them over the finish line
• Send automated emails, updates, and targeted marketing efforts like webinars and SMS campaigns
• Continue to communicate with incomplete investors and prospects even after your campaign is closed—keeping them interested and engaged until your next round

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This level of personalization can greatly enhance your investor relations, potentially leading to higher conversion rates and larger investments.

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c. Forecasting and Goal-Setting

Real-time data provides a solid foundation for more accurate forecasting and goal-setting. With up-to-the-minute insights into your campaign's performance, you can:

• Make more accurate projections about when you'll hit your fundraising targets.
• Set realistic, data-driven goals for your team.
• Identify potential shortfalls early and adjust your strategy accordingly.

This improved accuracy in forecasting and goal-setting can help you manage your resources more effectively and keep your team aligned and motivated.

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Case Study: How a DealMaker Client Leveraged Real-Time Data for Success

To illustrate the power of full data ownership in action, let's look at LiquidPiston, a tech startup that develops innovative rotary engines that are more efficient, compact, and powerful than traditional internal combustion engines—so much so that they’ve earned over $30M in government contracts to bring them to market.

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LiquidPiston has raised capital online five times so far—four on marketplace-style platforms, and the latest round powered by DealMaker’s technology. Here's how they leveraged DealMaker's real-time data capabilities:

• Optimized performance marketing throughout their campaign: LiquidPiston ran sponsored placements in multiple different platforms, plus numerous newsletters (including Morning Brew, Robinhood Snacks, and more). By honing in on their highest-performing channels, LiquidPiston significantly increased their return on ad spend (ROAS).
• Nurtured leads, followers, and investors for better conversion: Using DealMaker’s funnel data dashboards and investor CRM, LiquidPiston was able to target (and retarget) their leads, followers, and investors at every step of the funnel. They also used higher-touch marketing strategies like webinars and SMS to keep engagement high.
• Meticulously tracked their campaign from start to finish: LiquidPiston’s team was able to monitor their campaign’s performance 24/7, allowing them to make quick, informed decisions and keep their campaign on track.

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LiquidPiston’s self-hosted offering brought in over $30M in investment—more than all its previous rounds combined, and almost twice as much as their best StartEngine campaign.

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Conclusion: The Competitive Advantage of Full Data Ownership

In the competitive world of online capital raising, true data ownership provides a significant advantage, allowing you to make informed decisions quickly, optimize your efforts continuously, and engage with investors more effectively.

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The benefits of comprehensive, responsive, granular data are clear. Data ownership allows you to:

1. Analyze and optimize your marketing efforts, dramatically boosting ROAS and cost efficiency;
2. Personalize investor communications based on their progress and behavior, increasing engagement and conversion rates;
3. And set more accurate goals and forecasts, helping you manage your campaign more effectively.

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DealMaker’s self-hosted solutions ensure that issuers have complete access to investor information at every step of the funnel. Not only does this enhance the effectiveness of marketing campaigns—it also empowers issuers to keep their communities informed, engaged, and ready to invest in the next round.

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As you plan your next fundraising campaign, consider how you can leverage the power of true data ownership. The insights you gain could be the key to your most successful raise yet. Remember, in the world of fundraising, knowledge isn't just power—it's capital.