No company can make a profit unless they come up with a solid marketing strategy. However, marketing is even more important for startups that need clients/customers to stay afloat. That’s why we will go over 7 essential marketing strategies intended for startups.
It’d be good if you started a blog
Only bloggers make money from blogging but starting a company blog is a great way to generate traffic and leads. Namely, you are not going to start just any blog but an informative blog with a lot of info that potential clients and shoppers will find interesting.
A corporate blog is an essential part of any firm’s long-term marketing strategy. Namely, a blog is more personal than a sales page or an ad, so all sorts of people will be ready to read it. If you are aiming for expert content, then ask professionals and your staff to help with posts.
How to approach social media posts
Nearly one-third of Earth’s population is on social media, unclosing your present and future customers. As a startup, you cannot afford not to establish a presence on social media. However, this marketing move can easily backfire if you are careless.
The trick to running a successful profile or account on a given social media platform is to post consistently. A month between two Facebook posts will make followers lose interest in your brand. On the other hand, creating ten stories per day on Instagram will bore people and they will soon unfollow you.
Marketers often wonder how many social media platforms they should open accounts on. The answer to this question is hardly universal. A Twitter account, for instance, will get you far in the United States, India, and Japan.
Regardless of how many accounts you open, don’t forget to update them with fresh, engaging, and topical content.
E-mailing is not dead
Although it had reached its zenith back in the 1990s, e-mail marketing still matters. All you need to implement an e-mail marketing strategy are e-mail addresses of customers which you can collect in numerous ways (pools, competitions, voluntary mailing lists, newsletters, etc.).
E-mail marketing is free of cost, which makes it highly effective. Once you populate the mailing list, try to diversify the content of e-emails. Apart from ads and special offers, include guides, videos, infographics, how-to articles, etc. But if you would like to reach more audiences and convert more leads, then spending a little for an email address scraping tool is a great idea.
Make your website stand out
There are various ways startups look for prospective clients. Some have moved onto LinkedIn, while others still rely on word-of-mouth recommendations. Regardless of the strategy you opt for, business partners and/or customers are going to visit the company website at one point in time.
This is where functionality and web design professionals come into play. If you are able to come up with a website that stands out from your competitors, you’ll gain a comparative edge. The best way to achieve this is to hire a web design agency and let professional web designers do their magic.
Sponsor an event or support a local initiative
Depending on your target group, you will want to engage the local community. Sometimes, getting involved in local happenings is a direct way to promote your business, while in other instances, social engagement helps boost your brand identity in the long run.
Pick a local initiative and support it logistically and financially. This can be a kids’ sports club or a petition for more cycling lanes, to name a couple of examples. Furthermore, you can sponsor an event that the local and (preferably) national press will cover.
We are suggesting you sponsor local events, as they are cheaper but are a great stepping stone to major events that will earn you regional recognition.
Carefully choose a target market
Speaking of the structure and the size of the target market, you have to invest an extra effort into market research. Unlike well-established brands, you cannot afford a major blunder in your marketing strategy.
It’s nice if the whole world falls in love with your products and services but you are after a specific group of people. As mentioned earlier, first think about the size of the market (local, national, or regional).
Then, consider the wealth of the market (will folks have enough money for your products) and whether the market is already saturated, i.e. will you face strong completion.
A free sample goes a long way
For a startup, it will take a bit of convincing for people to notice and purchase their products. You should be one step ahead of future customers and offer them free samples. Everyone loves free stuff, so make sure there are plenty of giveaways and complimentary (e-mail) coupons and vouchers.
Business owners often stay clear of such deals, as they deem them financially harmful. However, as your business grows, instead of alluring potential customers, you will simply switch to rewarding regular buyers through loyalty programs.
As you have seen from the 7 points made above, a startup’s marketing strategy isn’t all that special. It all comes down to implementing the right strategy at the right time for maximum outreach.
Punit