“Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.” – Henry Ford
Like Henry Ford put it eloquently marketing is the lifeblood of a business and always be marketing.
Often, as a startup CEO/founder, it is tempting to curtail or cut marketing efforts when there is a cash crunch. (Of course, there are not many parallels to the COVID pandemic. But think twice before you do anything that will jeopardize your B2B firm’s future. To summarize,, the raison d’etre of marketing in enterprise technology space is as follows.
1. Brand building and creating market resonance.
2. Condition the audience around core messages and reduce friction between various sales stages to accelerate conversion.
3. Generate viable leads beyond the Rolodex of individual sales leaders.
Always be Marketing – even on a Frugal Budget
Of course, there is no reason to spend extravagantly. For most startups, the Superbowl spot, even if you can afford it, is not a sustainable promotional strategy. Several frugal marketing methods will yield measurable results.
- Thought leadership in many forms, formats, channels, and venues
- Influencer relations (press, analysts, industry movers, and shakers)
- Social media editorial-driven message amplification
- On and Off-page SEO/SEM (Keyword optimization, content generation on selected topic clusters), Listings in Directories and Review Sites, Participation in Podcasts and Videocasts, guest posts in reputable publications et al.)
- Outreach opportunities through partnerships.
Remember, always be marketing!
Anything else your startups are doing to survive this cataclysmic event and ultimately thrive when things come to pass?
Please share your ideas and also success stories.