When you are just starting out in the business world, you don’t always have a lot of funds, resources, or knowledge. That is why it is important to focus on the most important things first. The things that are going to get you the results with your limited budget and limited exposure. So, here are my 10 top tips for startup marketing.
Top 10 Tips For Startup Marketing
1: Know Your Ideal Client
All the resources in the world are not going to help your business grow if you are marketing to the wrong people. It is important to take the time to understand who your ideal client is. That way, you can make sure that your offers, your sales copy and your content are crafted just for them. If you want to know more about how to create your client personas, you can read our recent blog.
2: Know The Problem You Are Solving
Every one of your clients will have a problem and you can be their solution. Once you know what problem you solve then you can work that solution into everything that you do. You don’t necessarily want your clients to seek out your specific products or services. What you do want them to do is hunt out your solution as that is a much more compelling reason to work with you.
3: Don’t Spend Money You Don’t Have
There are plenty of low cost or free marketing methods, so don’t start throwing money at Facebook ads before you are ready. Try not to get yourself into debt with advertising, or investing in expensive programmes. It is best to try and bootstrap in the early days until you get a clear picture on what you are offering and who wants it.
4: Utilise Free Advertising
Testimonials are pure gold for your business, so ask every client you work with in the early days to provide you with one. Something a client has said is more powerful than anything you can say yourself. Make the most of this technique as all it costs is your time.
5: Trawl Your Address Book
You will be surprised by who you actually know. Now I am not saying that you should try and force your friends and family to buy your products or services. But you might actually know some people that could educate you on the small business world, help you find some valuable connections, or give you information on reputable and reliable suppliers.
6: Do A Pre-Release
How great would it be to hit the market with your new business and already have a following? You can capitalise on the hype of your new offerings by teasing your ideal client before they are even ready. Then, when you do launch, you will have a captive audience ready and waiting to see what you can do. You will have already started to build that all important client relationship that encourages trust and has people reaching for their credit cards.
7: Make Sure You Can Measure It
If you invest time or money into any form of advertising, you need to know if you are getting a good return for your investment. So there needs to be a way to measure it. Online methods are great because you can check who has engaged with your content, who has clicked to know more, the demographic that took the most interest, and any number of other things.
8: Content Is King
Using great content is an inexpensive way to tell your audience what you are all about. Use blogging to prove your expertise and to drive traffic to your website, use social media to build your brand and to give insight into the face behind the business, use a newsletter to build trust and confidence, and use your website to speak directly to your target audience.
9: Target Your Content
It is better to be targeted with your marketing than to try and appeal to everyone. But wait, doesn’t that mean I will reach less people? Yes, as a numeric figure you will reach less people with targeted startup marketing, but you will be reaching the right people. It is actually good if your marketing turns away the tyre kickers and the clients who don’t align with your brand. It means that you will attract the kind of client that you want to work with and the ones that appreciate what you do.
10: You Are Your Brand
Remember that everything you do is a reflection on your brand. That doesn’t just mean the logo that you use, or the colours on your website. It means EVERYTHING. Every interaction with a client is a chance to impress, every social media post should look like it comes from your brand, every piece of content you write should align with your message. By realising that you are your brand you can consistently impress your clients across all mediums.
If you are in the startup marketing phase then there is lots to learn. Head on over to our blog now as we have a huge collection of helpful articles and resources that will help make your marketing journey a lot easier. Our blog posts are released on a weekly basis, so you can sign up for our alerts to ensure that you never miss an article! Or head over to our marketing strategy page and see how we can help you make your marketing startup a whole lot easier!