Pressat TeamMarketing is the process by which a business promotes its services or goods in the hopes of creating interest, buzz and ultimately sales! Granted, a good product speaks for itself, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help it shout a little louder! That’s where different marketing campaigns and techniques come into play.
A marketing strategy can be as easy or hard as you make it and there really are no boundaries as to the amount of money that can be thrown at it. However, the underlying factor remains the same; its importance is axiomatic.
So, without further ado, cast your eyes over our 5 tips to kick-start your next product, service or promotion, Gangnam startup style:
Dedication – Rome wasn’t built in a day
There’s no golden path when it comes to marketing. All businesses have different budgets and methods of achieving publicity, it takes time and none manage to succeed overnight. If you’re looking for a “Get rich quick scheme” i’m afraid you’re out of luck!
Like most things in life, hard work and commitment are the actions (with a dash of luck) that really develops your startup business. Overnight success stories are very rare and in most cases just good PR (with years’ worth of undocumented hard graft behind the scenes).
As a startup you may not have an overabundance of money (or manpower) but your commitment and dedication should be limitless. In short, without the right attitude and dedication to regular marketing campaigns, small or large, free or paid, your business will fail. Your unwavering faith in your product is the true driving force in your startup years.
Strategise – Identify your audience
You love your product, but not everyone wants your really cool moondust powered MP3 Player. Find your niche audience and demographic and stick with it! Make sure you have researched the market size, potential sales, expansion, competition etc. thoroughly.
As a startup, you cannot afford to target the whole of humanity (and beyond!), instead make sure you carry out sufficient market research on your target audience in a concentrated area making sure you plug your product at every free opportunity possible. This also allows you to truly identify and relate to the needs of that small community of buyers. Then, simply rinse and repeat in a different area and before you know it you’ll be growing into the regional and national market space.
Targets and goals
Wanting is very different to having. Setting business targets can act as the underlying bridge between how well you want your business to perform and how well it is currently performing.
Analyse where you are and where you wish to be, making sure you set key performance indicators(KPIs). Also use the SMART approach when setting these targets making sure you are truly setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound targets. Then the most important bit, plan your your business and its direction around hitting each one of these targets. Now, as your business develops you will reach the right goals which will not only help with expansion and sales but also add a sense of achievement and progression (it’s always nice to see tangible results that prove your business is moving forward).
Organise your workflow making sure you assign/allocate work proportionately and realistically whilst always considering efficiency. At the very least, each of your identified business targets and objectives should be allocated to one member of the team as this ensures it will be worked on.
These should then be regularly reviewed looking at the time spent, progress made and expected completion date. As a startup business this is crucial even if your company only consists of one person or similarly a handful of people etc. This level of discipline ensures you do not get ‘sloppy’ with your work ethic, approach and dedication.
Trending Topics
What makes startup marketing so challenging is the very low or non-existent budget you have to play with. Now, you may feel like that closes many doors but why not leverage the PR, news, topics etc. of another issue/company and ‘ride the wave’, so to speak. Find a trending topic, which is currently ablaze in the media and market around it. With the topic already in full swing with journalists and media contacts, your “related” news is more likely to get picked up and published. Granted this will be on the backs of others but beggars startups can’t be choosers!
Email and Online Marketing
As a startup the likelihood is you will not have a (huge) subscriber/members list for your service but worry not, that’s fine. It is sure to build up in time. However, if you are reading this and thinking I don’t have any system in place for collecting customer email addresses then that is something that needs to be addressed now. Email marketing can be very effective when you know your target audience and the authenticity/relevance of the email list being used.
For example, users who have registered on your website, ARE interested in your services which makes it very likely they would purchase again, should the price be right. Email marketing is an extremely cost-effective solution to helping revive and promote products and sales.
Online marketing is very much the new sales arena and is by far the most effective way in which to reach your target audience. Luckily, if done properly it can achieve greater results than offline marketing whilst actually providing a better return! This is where press release distribution services shine. Using such systems can help you target the right media sources, making sure your news is shared with hundreds of sector specific journalists.
Summary
The above are just some of the ways to supercharge your next campaign. That said, you have to remember that marketing success is not necessarily measured by a checklist of to-do’s nor is its effectiveness infallible. Each company, whether startup or established has to make decisions unique to itself and you need to remember, even the best marketing doesn’t last forever, it is work in progress which needs to be attended to regularly, throughout the lifespan of your business.
Good luck!!
Pressat Team