9 current marketing strategies for your startup business
Startup businesses have more opportunities at hand to create interest in their business without overspending, especially if they choose to operate some or all of their business online. They can do this by tapping into creative marketing strategies, to build more than just their online presence, but increase their sales pipeline.
Consumers are much more savvy than before, with many choosing to spend with companies who are meeting their requirements and putting in the effort to not only draw their attention, but keep it. Keeping their attention is one of the most important aspects of marketing, which means that acquisition should be the first step in your marketing strategy, not the last.
Let’s take a look at 9 marketing strategies you can use to acquire your audience and keep them interested long-term:
Create relevant content
Creating relevant content should be the anchor of any content marketing strategy. By creating content your audience will find informative, you’ll go further in educating them on your product/services, therefore reducing the amount of time it takes to go from product/service discovery to sale.
Your content marketing strategy should be broken up into two or more groups. For instance, you will need a strategy for new customers who are coming across your business for the first time and another strategy for customers who are already following your social media channels, on your mailing list or have made a purchase on your website. By segmenting the two you’re ensuring that the content you create will always deliver value.
Guest blogging
Guess blogging is an old but very important strategy. Including this in your marketing strategy will work towards building your online presence, particularly in the search engine. This practice can be seen as an opportunity to get in-front of your ideal customer, position yourself as an expert in your field and power-up your website importance all at the same time.
You can begin submitting guest articles to publications that you have researched and have found that your ideal customer already spends a lot of time on their platform.
Build a referral network
Creating referrals and word of mouth are two of the most powerful marketing tools. This will result in other businesses referring their customer base to your business and you doing the same - complete win, win.
Create partnerships
B2B partnerships do work, if done well. We’ve seen partnerships like Kanye and Adidas yield incredible results. Kanye was able to utilise the infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, branding and long-term trust factor that Adidas has to deliver his unique footwear designs to the world. Likewise, Adidas was able to tap into the creative capabilities, audience commitment, influence and brand direction that Kanye West had to offer - resulting in what is now one of the most bought footwear in the world.
Although beneficial, business partnerships should always be treated with open and clear communication to deliver a positive result.
Network
Become a people person - network as much as you can. Take time to join in the conversations, follow up any leads that cross your path and don't be afraid to pick up the phone or respond to an email.
Although key, its great practice not to burn yourself out trying to get to know everyone. Networking is supposed to result in genuine relationships, so although there may be a business related benefit, the important elements are genuine connections and honest communication.
Listen to your customers
For genuine feedback use social media platforms and online customer review platforms - customers tend to be very honest here. It may also be helpful to create a survey to find out what your customers really think.
More than anything else, this information will yield untold benefits if used correctly. It can create the base of your content marketing strategy, product launches, improvements, collaborations, etc. As a marketing strategy customer feedback would should be top of your list.
Go where your customers are
You might be tempted to use as many platforms as possible, but the best option is to use the platforms your ideal customer spends the most time on. The internet is steaming with platforms such as Youtube, Pinterest, Disqus, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok. Instagram, etc. Which makes choosing where to build your audience kind of tricky, but it need not be if you take a few hours a week to research each platform.
A lot of businesses make the mistake of trying to be everywhere, whilst not being able to genuinely and effectively make use of the platforms. This is especially true because each platform will require a different form of communication. For instance, communication on Facebook is very different to communication on Twitter.
Create a loyalty scheme
This is very popular right now, all the big players are using this tip to drive sales. It creates a rewarding scheme for customers, which encourages them to purchase more whilst winning free products or service discounts. Never feel too small to use this - there could be more to gain than lose here.
Sponsor a local competition or team
Sponsoring in your community can vary depending on what aligns with your business. You may have a small football team in your area that you like - get your logo on their uniform and show-off their upcoming games to your customers. This shows community spirit and introduces your brand to a new audience at the same.
Building a startup business is all about utilising the creative opportunities available at your disposal. Although these techniques are usually directed towards businesses with low cashflow, the reality is most successful businesses use these strategies every year. Take a look at some of your favourite brands and you will recognise a lot of the strategies detailed above. You have the same access they do even with a smaller budget.
