Running a startup is a thrilling experience, especially when you’ve achieved some success with your investors. Once you’ve got over the exhilarating high of getting through Series A funding, you need to start thinking about a seriously effective marketing strategy. Gaining the confidence of your potential buyers at this stage is crucial to ensure you have as much success once you get to the Series B round. Make sure you’re not lost among the competition with these five marketing best practice tips all startups should be following.

1. Don’t Get Hung Up on the Competition

It might seem like a great idea to spend an inordinate amount of time scouring your competitors' websites, blogs, social media accounts, and even physical retail points to find out how they’re doing it. Don’t do this. The “if it works for them, it will work for us,” mentality has two drawbacks. Firstly, you want to be more successful than your competition. It stands to reason then, that if you copy their strategy exactly, you can only be as successful as them, which isn’t the goal. Secondly, your product or service is uniquely yours and needs to show your company’s values and ethos, in order to stand out from the crowd.

Certainly, market analysis and assessment of the competition are beneficial. But don’t make them the core concept of your marketing strategy.

2. Embrace the Digital

Factors such as the pandemic and a consumer and B2B preference for faster, more efficient solutions have driven a huge uprise in digital transformation. IDC predicts that investment in digital transformation will increase by 18% by 2023, so it’s never been more important to ensure that your startup is connected to its audience via as many digital channels as possible. Omnichannel businesses engage with their buyers in as many ways as possible, from business email conversations to messages sent across digital platforms. For example, if you provide a cloud-based platform for insurers, can your users contact you directly through the platform, or do they have to get on the phone to talk to someone? It’s also worth taking the time to research how your demographic likes to be contacted, to ensure you’re providing the right contact points for each stage of your user journey.

Research experts McKinsey reported a 65% uplift in digital interactions with businesses since the pandemic, so embracing your business’s omnichannel potential is beyond desirable – it’s essential.

3. Tell Your Story

Marketing is about so much more than simply demonstrating the features and benefits of your product or service. Go beyond talking about the value your product brings to your buyers and how it solves a specific problem. Tell stories that will draw your buyers in. How did your business start? When did your passion for disruptive technology or products begin? How did you meet your partners? Relatable stories give your business a human face that starts conversations and gets social media buzzing. Discuss your corporate values openly. Consider being transparent about how you are hitting your corporate social responsibility targets. Share a spotlight reel on Instagram of a different employee each week. Bring your company to life to build your brand recognition and buyer loyalty.

4. Video, Video, Video

We touched on “reels” in the last point, the short video function hosted by Instagram that’s become a big hit – especially for business accounts. Video is instantly consumable and more accessible than text posts or even images. Share your stories, product features, goals and visions – everything that can go in a video should, and across as many channels as is appropriate for your industry and target demographics.

5. Get Help to Stay Focused

Marketing can bring a host of confusing challenges to startups. Building an effective strategy requires a thorough understanding of your industry, current market conditions, and a range of other economic factors that can seem baffling to the uninitiated. That’s why so many startups hire a freelance marketing consultant or factional CMO to help them through the maze of marketing faux pas to the ultimate prize: a highly focused, effective marketing strategy guaranteed to bring sustainable growth and impress potential investors at the next round of funding.

Final Word

No startup needs to go it alone when it comes to marketing. Hiring a fractional CMO with a wealth of experience across a range of industries from FinTech to InsurTech and more brings your company the experience and innovation to build a marketing strategy that really works.

Whatever your product or service, we want to help you get it in front of the right audience. Find out more by booking a short 15-minute introductory call with our marketing-focused team who can assess your business needs and recommend the right freelancer for your needs.

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