Marketing is an essential part of any business, but it is even more important when considering a start-up. When you start a new business, one of the biggest challenges you may face is making sure potential customers are aware of you and your product/services. However, marketing can be expensive, and without the proper funding, many prospective entrepreneurs will have to handle the task themselves.
Marketing expert and angel investor Charles Moscoe with more than a decade worth of experience in the industry. According to Moscoe, marketing is one of the major key elements to finding long-term success for your business.
“There are a few things you can do when it comes to having a successful business: market effectively and keep your customers happy,” said Moscoe. “It’s simple in concept, but a lot of entrepreneurs fail to market effectively and lose out on that early marketing opportunity.
Once you have a marketing strategy in line with your business plan and identify your target market, you can start to get your brand out there.
Here are some expert-approved start-up marketing strategies.
Build a positive reputation
“Building a reputation is one of the best things you can establish with your customers,” said Moscoe. “Keeping your customers happy ensures you have a loyal base of people who will continue to give you their business.”
Building a reputation for having a good product or service is a key to being successful at marketing. However, as an unknown start-up with no way of customers knowing if you’re trustworthy can be a hurdle.
Getting featured in a major publication is great for building a reputation. Using social media gives you a direct line to big brands and other businesses, allowing you to build positive relationships you can leverage in the future.
Start an email campaign
Email marketing is an easy and cost-effective way of attracting customers to your start-up. In order to take advantage of this strategy, you need to gather prospective customers’ emails. If you have a website, you can set up a sign-up option for a newsletter updating customers on what your business is up to as well as new products and services. Make sure to keep the content diverse and enjoyable to keep your customers subscribed to your newsletter.
Utilize social media
Billions of people use social media, so incorporating it into your marketing strategy is a smart move. As your business’ presence on social media grows over time, more people will see it and begin to recognize your brand. Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., allow business owners to put money in and pay for traffic and exposure. This allows you to create ads that will appear in potential customers’ news feeds.
Making sure you have engaging content is key to successful marketing online, giving more reason for users to follow your account. Once you’ve attracted followers, you need to encourage them to stick around by regularly engaging with them.
“The more traffic you’re able to generate will help you in the long run. Exposure in today’s market is necessary when it comes to brand recognition,” added Charles Moscoe.
Create a product/service you believe in
It’s not enough to just have an idea for a product or service, let alone make one. According to Moscoe, creating something you yourself wouldn’t use is a pointless venture. Spending the necessary time to develop something you truly believe in only further ensures you can find an audience interested in your business.
“Never try to sell something that you haven’t personally perfected,” said Moscoe. “Making sure whatever you’re trying to market is something you would utilize and believe in is essential. If you wouldn’t buy it, there’s a good chance others wouldn’t either.”
