Why Startups Need to Invest in Marketing

So you own a startup, but now what? As you go through your checklist of starting a business, don’t forget about the importance of having a marketing strategy. How are you going to tell your target customers about your product or service and why it’s so valuable? You have to be sure every effort, no matter how small, is well-planned and executed properly.

At Big Marlin Group, we believe these are just few reasons of why startups need to invest in marketing:

Strategic Positioning

Have you heard of the adoption curve? The first step is understanding the strategic position of your product or service and which type of customer you are focusing on, for example the early adopters. This is also part of understanding your target market and who you are trying to sell towards.

Lead Generation

Lead generation can come in many forms; webinar sign-ups, marketing downloads, quote tools, or anything that captures potential customer information. Make sure you have an offer that makes customers want to sign up for. Be different than your competition and find ways to stand out. Also, remember to always be testing and comparing different wording and layouts of those tools to make sure you are capturing as much of the audience that visits those pages as you can.

Blog

Having a blog strategy is crucial, especially if you want to keep your website update and improve its search ranking. They have gained a reputation for being a very useful tool in order to boost website SEO and improve your search ranking. Blogging also gives you the opportunity to share on social media platforms to interact with customers.

Digital PR

To support and drive your company’s web presence and social media marketing activities, digital PR is a must for startups and can help prepare your business for the challenges ahead. Mapping out upcoming opportunities for digital advertising and PR that you the ability to connect with customers is one way you can get ahead. As customers now-a-days lack the brand loyalty that was once dominant, gives your startup the ability to gain potential customers if you differentiate yourself correctly in the digital world.

Analytics

When it comes to marketing, there are numerous questions that come up. Where should you spend your marketing budget? Which channels should you use? What campaigns should you focus on? The best way to answer these questions is by understanding your data. Analytics allows you to track every marketing effort to get the best results and see which areas are providing the best Return on Investment (ROI) for your business. Once you start to understand the data, you can build models to predict and understand key customer actions.

Brand Development

In the world of endless competition, branding is everything. Having customers identify your product immediately by a logo or name gives you a significant advantage over competitors. Every piece of your company should blend into a cohesive branding strategy. Once your brand is well established then you can venture out to see the effects of different marketing campaigns.

Video

As the world revolves around technology, video is becoming more prominent and is almost a must for startup businesses. It is a great way to reach customers as well as share why your business is unique.

SEO

In the age of social media and having everything online, your web presence is very important. SEO is another opportunity to expand your marketing and increase your audience. SEO is what moves your website up the ranking, making you more visible to customers. Having a website that is mobile optimized, user-friendly is a top priority, but don’t overlook the importance of SEO on your site as well.