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Marketing Strategy is prepared with the fundamental goal of communicating the value propositions of your product, creating an impression on your target audience, building a competitive advantage and driving sales over time. A startup company will always have a different approach to marketing than the ones used by well-established firms in a mature market.

In today’s market, having a great product alone is not enough to succeed. Every great product needs to be backed by well-thought-out marketing initiatives. Young companies and products succeed when you have both a great product and great marketing that works hand in hand.

In today’s market, having a great product alone is not enough to succeed. Every great product needs to be backed by well-thought-out marketing initiatives. Young companies and products succeed when you have both a great product and great marketing that works hand in hand.

Below are a few tips to help you market your new business successfully.

Focus on your target market

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As startup founders we tend to believe the whole world will love our products. Because we obsess over our products 24/7, we think the buying public will do the same. But, of course, the reality is different. When startup companies try to market their products to everyone, they waste both time and money. Thus, the key is to carefully identify a niche target market and go after that market share aggressively. Our target market should be narrowly defined by considering the essential demographics, user needs, purchasing power, buying behaviour, and the profitability of catering to a defined segment. As an initial step, targeting must be done carefully, and then everything else you do should essentially be informed by your target audience. Thereafter, all your efforts should be directed towards providing lifetime value for this group.

When startup companies try to market their products to everyone, they waste both time and money. Thus, the key is to carefully identify a niche target market and go after that market share aggressively.

Use the SMART approach to marketing

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You should be using specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed objectives to outline a successful marketing approach. When marketing new companies and products, everything you do should be quantifiable, ideally in numbers. You should include both major and minor details of planned activities with proper dates assigned. Having a proper timeline always benefits business as it helps in achieving pre-set objectives. As young and ambitious entrepreneurs, we often set unrealistic goals and vague business objectives. Later, all we get in return is the pain of not achieving any of them. Thus, you should always double check what you are doing and make sure that your marketing objectives are realistic, specific and achievable.

As young and ambitious entrepreneurs, we often set unrealistic goals and vague business objectives. Later, all we get in return is the pain of not achieving any of them.

Proper resource allocation

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Merely having beautiful plans does not assure you beautiful results. You need timely and proper allocation of resources for each of your marketing objectives in order to gain the expected results. For a new business, it will not be easy to allocate enough resources for all the plans you have come up with. That’s why focusing on proper allocation will prepare you to deliver results beforehand and will also ensure that you set the right targets. Based on your plan, you should allocate for required infrastructure, technical support, human resources and expenses. If you are not able to make proper and proportional distribution of required resources, you can scale down and pivot. Regarding manpower, assign a specific task for every individual, rather than groups, and empower them with support resources. This will help you achieve your marketing goals and get better output on time.

Focus on delivering results

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In business, process matters, but results count. That is why new businesses are advised to have result-oriented marketing strategies. Although every company should have long-term strategic marketing objectives, the short term goals shouldn’t be ignored either. You should be focused on getting results out of every activity you perform, making sure all your team members are putting in their best work. For the members of the marketing team, you should reward achievements and provide constructive feedback for failures. This will help you meet your marketing and overall business goals. Your team should be well oriented and result-driven. Everyone should know their job and be aware of the outcomes of performing or not performing their part well. Making the best use of your resources and focusing on results is how you help market your business.

Your team should be well oriented and result-driven. Everyone should know their job and be aware of the outcomes of performing or not performing their part well.

* First published in M&SVMAG