5 Powerful Marketing Strategies for Startups

The importance of marketing in any business cannot be overemphasized. Yearly, small and big companies set aside funds for marketing.

For startup owners who are probably bootstrapping the business, navigating the business world without funds for marketing can be challenging.

Likewise, the possession of funds for marketing does not guarantee an equivalent return on investment (ROI).

A startup needs to be as prudent as possible while improvising whenever it is needed.

Employees working in startups usually wear more than one hat and fortunately, marketing requires the contribution of everybody.

Below are some powerful marketing strategies for startups with a strong will for success.

Develop a strong branding

Irrespective of any business you are trying to kick off, there is a big brand that is either a direct or indirect competitor. You need to do things differently for customers to notice you.

Strong branding can give your startup a unique identity. From your company’s logo to the slogan and mission statement, your branding needs to resonate with your targeted audience.

Also, branding is beyond designs; it includes actions. You will need to investigate your major competitors to detect their weaknesses. Find out things customers would like changed in the industry. This can be your brand identity.

For instance, if the major competitors are offering their products at ridiculously high prices, you can build your brand to be known as the company that offers the same thing at an affordable price without sacrificing quality.

If your competitor’s weakness is their customer service, expand your customer service team to efficiently support your clients.

Once you find your identity, communicate it across all your branding channels. Let your logo reflects it. Let your team understand it like their last name.

Give out customized gifts

Take your marketing to a new level with customized gifts. You may include this in customer orders. To reduce the marketing cost, you may indicate conditions for the gift on your site or make it a surprise for customers.

A customized gift would be a good idea if you celebrate staff on their special occasions such as birthdays, engagements and wedding anniversaries.

These gifts, such as custom drawstring bags bulk, can be purchased wholesale to reduce overall cost.

To do this right, you must decide on a product your customers would most likely use. While the receivers use it and carry them along to wherever they go, your startup will receive free marketing.

Giving them a customized gift they do not need would be a waste of investment and a wrong marketing strategy as they may abandon it somewhere.

Community engagement

There is power in community. Engage your targeted market in their community, where they feel comfortable.

Try as much as possible to build a community around your present audience. This can be done by including a community forum on your site where buyers can post questions, and they are answered by other members of the community or designated advisors.

This does two things; it saves the time of individually answering customers with similar issues, as you can always direct them to the page. Secondly, it engages the audience better than a conversation with a customer representative.

Community marketing can improve your customer loyalty and retention, drastically reduce overall marketing costs, and improve your brand awareness.

Affiliate marketing and new customer bonus

As a startup, it might be difficult to earn the trust of your targeted audience. It is however easier to leverage the trust they have in their family members and friends through affiliate marketing.

If you are wondering how affiliate marketing works, it is a marketing strategy whereby you reward participants with a commission for every purchase made by people they refer.

If you sell a gadget, for instance, to implement online affiliate marketing, you will create a unique link for every participant. They share these links with their friends and families. If any of the people they shared the links with made a purchase, you offer them a percentage of the sales, usually between 5 to 30 percent.

A similar marketing strategy is offering new customers bonuses when onboarding. This encourages them to sign up with your firm. Since they might be scared of your service at first, they would be more willing to give it a try while only committing a few bucks. If they enjoy the service, they are more likely to recommend it to their close associates.

Leverage different marketing channels

First, as a startup founder, you must become your product’s biggest user and marketer. Wherever your brand name is mentioned, be there to respond, if not in person, instruct the concerned department.

Customers are more likely to comment about you on social media, the way you engage them may impact your brand identity.

Be most active on social media platforms your audiences are likely to use.

If your budget can afford it, get featured in major publishing platforms. This can add more authenticity to your brand and boost its reputation.