Andrea Aker is CEO of Aker Ink PR & Marketing, a full-service agency that helps companies increase awareness, thought leadership and leads.
Leaders are accustomed to wearing many hats in a startup. They often operate with limited resources and need to employ creative strategies to continually level up operations. Relationships, drive and ingenuity can take entrepreneurs far, yet they will reach a point when a structured marketing program with skilled professionals and agencies is essential to fully realizing the organization’s potential.
Whether operating in a launch or growth phase, it is prudent for startup leaders to address these common marketing missteps as early as possible. Doing so can significantly escalate maturity.
Undervaluing (Or Not Having) Defined Brand Messaging
There are many moving parts in a startup. Not only is it important to assemble teams that are working toward the same vision, but it’s equally important to ensure they are communicating the vision, value and benefits in the same way. If team members aren’t on the same page, it’s safe to assume prospects aren’t either.
Core components of brand messaging commonly include:
• Value proposition: Identifies a problem and how the company solves it.
• Brand positioning statement: Communicates the brand’s value proposition, competitive advantage and impact on target audiences.
• Competitive differentiators: Explains how the company is better or different than direct and indirect competitors.
• Product and/or service benefits: Details the outcome the target audience can expect, in addition to what the product or service is.
• Elevator pitch: Explains what a company does and the value to the target audience—concisely, conversationally and authentically.
Defined and consistent brand messaging not only helps align internal teams but also enables organizations to build brand recognition and recall, foster trust and reliability, enhance the customer experience and attract investors and partners. Often, third-party consultants or agencies guide brand messaging exercises and development because of their expertise and objectivity.
Not Investing In Their Websites
A website is the most important marketing investment most companies will make, whether they’re startups or established enterprises. This 24/7 storefront is the central hub for lead generation, sales and brand awareness. Its importance cannot be overstated, yet too often, startups view websites as an expense versus an essential investment that’s critical for success.
The type and scale of a website depend on the industry and target audience. Whether it’s offering robust e-commerce capabilities, educating prospects about product efficacy or providing information to vet credibility, a website needs to match the professionalism and ingenuity of the company. Not only are aesthetics important, but brand messaging needs to be relayed in a way that’s attractive to search engines, and lead capture functionality and user flow need to match customer behaviors.
Not Using A (Real) CRM To Manage Communications
A customer relationship management (CRM) platform is crucial for streamlining a sales pipeline, targeting marketing campaigns, enhancing customer service and making informed business decisions. Too often, sales professionals rely on their personal Outlook or Gmail address books to get the job done. In this scenario, accountability, follow-through, upselling and key milestones in the sales journey are often lacking or not optimized.
CRMs such as HubSpot and ActiveCampaign offer multiple subscription levels based on features. They enable companies to centralize customer data, tailor communications based on needs and preferences, streamline and automate sales processes and use data to measure return on investment.
Not Understanding How Marketing, Advertising And PR Campaigns Differ
Marketing, advertising and PR each play their own roles in driving a company’s success. Without a fundamental understanding of each campaign type and goal, leaders can misalign expectations and focus on the wrong areas to achieve a desired outcome. Here’s a concise rundown:
• Marketing is the process of identifying, targeting and acquiring leads for sales.
• Advertising involves promoting a company, product or service through paid channels.
• PR is focused on managing a company’s reputation and building credibility and awareness.
All of these efforts ultimately contribute to building a successful company. However, confusing campaigns and intended outcomes can negatively impact resource allocation and budgeting. In a startup, misallocating resources can spell the end.
An in-house marketing expert, consultant or agency can guide founders as to which tactics and strategies they should deploy at which times; they can also advise on the resources and funds required. The approach will evolve through various business cycles and seasons.
Not Sticking With Tactics And Strategies Long Enough
Leaders can’t rely on crystal balls and shortcuts. The reality is that very few products and services “go viral” or gain awareness at lightning speed. Patience and consistency are key.
The viability of a particular marketing tactic isn’t just dependent on the channel or a single shot—it’s about how the tactic is executed and what is communicated over time. For instance, one startup may have a thriving email marketing campaign honed over many months, yet a direct competitor could be floundering with email marketing due to poor CRM segmentation and inconsistent brand messaging.
Second, the repetition of key messages for each target audience is crucial. The longstanding rule of 7 suggests a prospect needs to hear a message at least seven times before taking action. Google modernized this concept with the 7-11-4 rule of marketing, which states that a prospect needs to consume seven hours of content related to their purchase decision, receive 11 touchpoints before converting and engage with a brand on four different platforms. If leaders lack the patience, funding and expertise to see their tactics through—and make data-informed decisions to evolve campaigns along the way—they are unlikely to achieve the repetition needed to convert once, much less drive loyalty following the first purchase.
Marketing is a long-term game that gets better with time, data and testing. By investing in the right infrastructure—including carefully defined brand messaging, a robust website and organized CRM—companies are much more likely to reach their growth goals. Passion and persistence will take startup leaders far, but professional marketing strategies are needed to drive awareness, leads and sales.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Read the full article here
