How To Market A Startup With Limited Resources
It might be easy for a company to mimic the growth hacking and marketing techniques of well-known firms. However, this is frequently both costly and unfeasible. Businesses with annual sales of at least $300 million may afford to sponsor well-liked podcasts with large followings, run billboard campaigns in San Francisco and New York City, or place pre-roll video ads on YouTube. More significantly, the methods they apply now are different from the ones they used in the beginning to attract their initial clients in terms of marketing.
The Homebrew Computer Club was the venue where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak notably unveiled the initial version of the Apple computer to a group of tech enthusiasts. Dropbox launched a referral scheme whereby users may invite friends to utilize the storage and file-sharing platform in exchange for 500MB of free space. Slack employed typical word-of-mouth marketing, with early workers pushing their peers to use the team communication tool at their own firms.
Like these businesses in the beginning, you'll need to be tenacious and creative, gravitating toward low-cost startup marketing concepts that expose your goods to consumers for the least amount of money. Adopt a marketing plan that will accelerate the expansion and income of your business, ranging from partnerships and public relations to content marketing and crowdsourcing.
How To Market A Startup With Limited Resources
1. Get your content marketing going
Content marketing for startups is a powerful technique to raise brand recognition, position your business as a thought leader in your sector, draw in and interact with potential clients, and produce anything from blog posts and e-books to podcasts and videos.
Search engine optimization (SEO) software provider Moz has made a name for itself in the market by creating a wide range of insightful material, such as their Whiteboard Friday video series and informative blog pieces.
Your startup may gain a devoted following and produce leads that convert into sales by producing and disseminating instructive, inspirational, or informational material that speaks to the requirements and pain areas of your target client.
Read also: How to manage finances in a startup
2. Launch your SEO campaign.
Optimize the content on your website in addition to blog articles to raise your website's exposure and search engine rankings. This marketing technique aims to boost website traffic, which in turn raises brand recognition and boosts sales. To create superior landing pages that appear on search engine results pages and turn visitors into buyers, you must first understand who your target audience is and what they are looking for.
3. Create a plan for your social media marketing.
In the middle of the deluge of popular content on Twitter or the cacophonous newsfeed on Facebook, creating a social media presence for a company may seem pointless. However, there are millions or maybe billions of users on various social media sites, some of whom you can target with a focused social media marketing campaign. Social media has developed into a vital tool for companies looking to expand their consumer base, increase brand recognition, and monitor and interact with existing clients.
4. Go to conferences and events
Trello's kanban team productivity tool was initially introduced to the public during the 2011 TechCrunch Disrupt event, where it attracted its initial user base. Whether on stage or among other participants, think about going to pertinent free or inexpensive events, conferences, contests, trade exhibitions, or meetings to generate discussion about your firm.
Read also: Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking
5. Use PR to get new clients
Public relations, or "PR," is a term that refers to a variety of marketing strategies that startups may use to create awareness of their brands, products, and company while also fostering relationships with the media, influencers, and relevant journalists.
Press releases are only one aspect of PR for startups. Rather, it entails obtaining positive press coverage in pertinent trade journals and channels that draw in new investors, stakeholders, and consumers. An effective press release or article may increase your startup's visibility on social media, drive more people to your website, and produce new leads and sales.
6. Create a function for email marketing
Email marketing for startups is a successful way to connect with present and potential customers, advertise and educate them about your products to increase sales and customer retention, and maintain an open line of communication with them to foster trust. Email marketing can range from one-off emails to comprehensive marketing campaigns.
Don't be scared to move beyond conventional email marketing into direct email outreach in addition to putting up drip programs and perfecting your introductory email. Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Des Traynor talked about cold-calling prospective businesses "morning, noon, and night" in the early days of Intercom to get their first clients.
7. Construct an SMS marketing campaign
A 2022 poll of 1,314 consumers, company owners, and digital marketers revealed that 55% of business owners text their clients using an SMS marketing platform, and 60% of them intend to increase their SMS spend. SMS marketing is a growing cousin of email marketing that is becoming more and more popular.
According to the same poll, e-commerce and retail are the industries where this practice is most prevalent, but 18.9% of participants said they would prefer to receive text messages from technology companies. Think about the ways in which your business may use SMS marketing to encourage consumer connection and thought.