Being responsible for marketing at a startup comes with a unique set of challenges, different from those ever faced at an agency or in-house gig. Here are three lessons I learned in the first month:
1. Clients Come First
Your first few clients are the life-blood of your startup. Marketing’s focus should be on their satisfaction, with lead generation being secondary. When your clients are happy, they’re more likely to generate referrals and act as references. Check in frequently, treat them like loyalty and escalate service requests so that they get resolved quickly. Understanding how they use your product, their pain-points, frustrations and successes will inform your marketing efforts going forward and allow for better communication with future prospects.
2. Establish a Community Quickly
It’s likely that your startup doesn’t have much of an online community, in terms of social media follower, blog readers and email subscribers. Look to your fellow employees, family, investors, beta-customers, vendors and partners to form your core tribe. Don’t be afraid to solicit them for recommendations and testimonials, or for content like guest blog posts, interviews, webinars, podcasts and case studies. Once you have some content, expand outward and begin to build to your community. Having core content established will add credibility to your community building efforts.
3. Looking Good Is Critical Early On
A startup will make a lot of critical first impressions in its early days, and you only get one chance to make a first impression. That’s why it’s important to add a stellar designer to your marketing team as soon as possible; one who can make your content look as good as possible. It can mean the difference between being immediately dismissed by a prospect and being a product they can’t ignore.
When your startup transitions into growth mode, it’s crucial that your marketing toolkit be equipped with rabid fans and beautiful content. What challenges have you faced while working in marketing a startup? Let me know in the comments below.
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