A new year has begun – time to turn over the calendar and begin another year of hope and promise. Whether 2007 was a successful year for your business or a difficult one, you can choose to begin 2008 with a clean slate. Think fresh and be open to looking at marketing from a different perspective.

So as we at corecubed think about new beginnings, it seems fitting that we should begin a new series. Over the next few months, we will showcase three very different stages in a company’s lifespan and point out how the company’s marketing strategies should be directed in each. How is a start-up business’ marketing focus different from that of an aging giant that’s been in the industry for over 20 years? What about a younger business with an established product – how can they embark into the next stage of growth?

These are the questions we hope to answer. In this, the first of three installments, we’ll be looking at how start-up companies can build an effective marketing platform to steer them toward success.

Starting a new business can be among one of the most exhilarating moments for the impassioned entrepreneur.  It can also be among the most terrifying.

In his article titled “The Seven Roller Coaster Stages of a Start-Up”, Rob Spiegel compares the experience of starting a new business to a thrill ride.

“Ready for the carnival ride of your life?” Spiegel asks. “Launching and building a business is a nerve-wracking journey that will change your personality and alter your very essence.”

If you’ve ever started your own business, you know Spiegel’s comparison is spot-on. You’re standing on the brink of profitability, but before you reach it, you have to cross a minefield without a good map telling you where those dangers lurk.

The risks to a start-up company are many. There are developmental risks: Will you be able to create a product or service that will meet the needs of a particular customer base? Secondly (and probably most significantly), there are financial risks: Will your income be enough to offset the cost of providing that cost or service and will the ensuing profit margin – as meager as it is likely to be in your first year – be sufficient to ensure the continuance of the business? Lastly, there are growth risks. Without a defined marketing strategy, your second year may be less profitable than your first. On the other hand, overspend your marketing budget and you may grow yourself into the ground.

What’s a young start-up to do? Here are some worthwhile tips:

TIP #1: Write down what your product or service does for the customer.

Dharmesh Shah puts it best in his article: "Seventeen Pithy Insights for Start-up Founders", “Eventually your product will need to work and do something useful.” Shah adds, “The problem you solve should be ugly. The solution you build should be beautiful.”

No one is going to buy a product that doesn’t provide some kind of benefit – tangible or intangible – to them. If you’re going to successfully market your new product, you’re going to have to identify its selling points. Only then will you be able to discover how to market those points. And one thing most entrepreneurs find so very difficult is when their product or service just is not what the customers will buy at the price they can afford to sell it. Listening and paying attention to what it is the customer DOES like and will pay is imperative.

TIP #2: Make room in your budget for a modest marketing plan.

Money is always tight in the beginning. Nevertheless, the astute entrepreneur will always set aside some cash for investment into a sound marketing strategy.

How much should you set aside?

In an SEO Weekly article entitled "Search Marketing for Start-ups", the writer suggests that 5-10 percent of net sales expected for the year is a good amount to budget. Each business is different in the value it brings to the customer and in who should be targeted. Understanding who the customer really is, the message that would resonate with them, and how to best reach them for maximum sales is the key to a marketing strategy. Sometimes the entrepreneurs themselves are the least capable of thinking this through as they are too close to the product or service, and an outside marketing expert should be brought on board to assist.

TIP #3: Hit them with everything you’ve got.

It may surprise you, but marketing is most important at the beginning of a company’s lifespan. Think about it: you’re the new kid on the block.

No one knows what you can do or how well you can do it. They’re looking at you with skepticism because to them, you’re a risk.

That means you’ll have to employ a multi-pronged strategy to introduce yourself and show them what you’ve got. What do we mean by multi-pronged?

• Launch a Web site: In today’s high-tech world, you have to have one and it can make or break your business. Getting assistance from Web marketing experts on this ever-growing crucial piece of the marketing strategy will save you a ton in the long run.
• Offer free advice: This is a brilliant way of getting your name out in public. If you’re a pediatrician, develop a way to dispense helpful tips on how the reader can instill good eating habits in his or her child early on. Almost every business is solving a problem. Help your customers understand what problem you are solving, communicating this through either email, direct mail, or speaking opportunities.
• Become a media hound: The first stage of any new campaign ought to be public relations. Getting assistance with attaining media coverage will be invaluable at the start-up stage. Look for who is writing about business or your industry. If you’re an accountant, be on the lookout for stories in which reporters might be looking for an expert in accounting. Offer yourself up as a talking head when tax season arrives.
• Build up a library of literature: Don’t forget the importance of tried-and-true methods. Brochures, product sheets, direct mailings – all of these can be used to introduce yourself to the consumer. The key here is branding. Right out of the gate your design should match your message and be appealing to your target audience.

TIP #4: Learn the art of networking.

When you’re starting a new business, it’s all about networking, networking, networking. Success becomes contingent on who you know. That’s why it pays to join a trade association.

As Robert Ciccone writes in his article, "Top 10 Marketing Tips for Business Startups", “Many times more customers can be secured from effective joint ventures or alliances with other companies. Alliances are a way to proactively generate a source of ongoing referrals for your business. Find complementary companies with complementary customer bases and join forces – create cross-promotions, share endorsements, work each other’s databases.”

And don’t forget to keep track of leads, inquiries and everyone you meet so you are growing a list of potential customers and referrals each and every day.

TIP #5: Measure what is successful.

Doing things in the old way and expecting different results is insanity. Pay close attention to what is working and what that costs.

If a Super Bowl ad is what you need to get customers and you can afford the multi-million dollar ticket, then go for it. However, you had better be certain the sales will more than compensate for the cost of that ad.

Do more of what works that is affordable and the most profitable.

If you are a start-up or thinking of starting a venture, we hope these tips have been of some assistance to you. And if you need help in launching out into your new venture, your partners at corecubed stand ready to assist with any or all of your marketing and communications needs.

Visit us online at www.corecubed.com, contact us at 800-370-6580, or email us at info@corecubed.com. We can help make your start-up venture a bit less painful by shortening that learning curve with our own strategic branded integrated marketing that brings exponential results.

February’s corecubed newsletter will focus on how established companies can employ a marketing strategy to best grow their businesses.

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