So you have an amazing idea that’s going to change the lives of millions, but you have little time and little resources and you need to go go go. Welcome to the era of startups. In fact, in 2021, I seem to spend the majority of time working with and talking to newly established businesses or folks looking to start new ventures. In many of these cases, the people I talk to have trouble focusing on their marketing planning, strategy, and overall value proposition. Sure, they may have an awesome new idea; but when asked how and what they will do to achieve this dream, they seem to have difficultly articulating it. Moreover, when asked about their marketing strategy, startups tend to jump right into tasks and platforms they believe they should be on with without much confidence on how to approach this type of marketing campaign or set goals.
When I work with startups or groups looking to revamp their marketing strategy, I always start with a thorough assessment of their idea, company, potential product/services, and most importantly their target audience and customers. The process can range from a few hours to a few days of interviews just to establish this foundation. In some cases, these folks haven’t considered all of the competitive obstacles for their idea, the range of who their potential customers could be, or which marketing channels and messages are best suited to reach their target segments. More often than not, this initial background analysis leads to several “A-ha” or “I never thought of it that way” moments.
This part of the process gets really interesting when we start to segment potential customer groups and look at their customer journey, psychographics, and other traits. I emphasize the importance of establishing who your most likely to convert customer segments are, which customers you aspire to obtain in the long-run, as well which groups are likely to never be your customer. Getting crystal clear on your target customers saves time and money as you’ll be focusing your main marketing efforts and resources to just those who are likely to quickly convert and keep your startup office lights on. This may sound so obvious, but over the years, I’ve more often than not unearth major marketing costs that were broad and non-targeted with little to no results. And when I ask why these folks why they continue with this expenditure they often respond that they thought it may eventually help, it’s what they always budgeted for, or that they have no idea. Well, it’s time to take those non-functioning dollars and put it towards something that will show some return!
The next phase of analysis examines business goals and short, mid, and long-term marketing objectives. We typically go through a thorough marketing channel audit and review all potential marketing channels (and there are lots!) such as content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing and so forth along with the strategies and costs for each channel. Finally, we put together a budget and timelines and then we’re off! Of course, this is a snapshot view of the marketing planning process, but you get a general idea that marketing strategy planning doesn’t have to be so daunting, but it should be thorough and structured.
Oftentimes for new groups and startups, they have an unrealistic idea of what it takes to build-up a brand or marketing success. However, by the time we complete the entire review and planning process, folks usually gain a clearer picture, more confidence, and a truly plausible guide to get them to their next step and the steps after that in their journey. If you’re interested to learn more, feel free to send me a note! I’d love to hear from you. Email: ben@bvmconsulting.com
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