Marketing for startups: What to do after launch?

In fierce competition on the market, marketing for startups is no less important for the development process itself.

Take the product off the ground requires you to properly set the framework, deadlines, strategies, and goals for the startup to gain success.

Terrifying statistics say that 90% of startups fail before even hitting the first revenues. In the following writing, we are going to explore marketing plan ideas that you better apply in 2020 and why applying the example of a marketing plan for startups is not your best choice.

What is marketing for startups?

First things first, ask yourself a question “What do I want to get from the product launch? What goals have to be achieved?”. A product launch is a final step within startup development phases that includes brand promotion and positioning, sales, and product maintenance. At the same time, marketing is a long process that has an impact on the whole company.

Many companies tend to create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) before developing a full-scope product. MVP includes a small set of features and functionalities that, after the launch, helps to understand customers’ needs, desires, define weaknesses. However, now, as you have your product done, let’s go through essential steps within the product marketing plan.

A sample marketing plan for startup: Step-by-step guide

A startup marketing plan is not only a way to promote the product it is the approach that roots your business on the market and lets it grow.

Step 1: Understand the company and do SWOT analysis

Even though you have your first product to go live, it will serve as a ground for further company’s development. You may read a load of articles and get professional consultancy from marketing experts, but when it comes to practice – customize the strategy to your goals, needs, and company’s culture.

Regarding SWOT analysis, it helps you to understand the weaknesses and strengths, get to know market opportunities and threats.

Step 2: Explore your customer

The audience is what makes your product stay alive through use and word of mouth. There are key aspects you need to consider while defining the audience: age, gender, culture, needs, and behaviour. The latter matter gives you insight into what drives the user’s willingness to buy and use the product.

Step 3: Research competitors

Even though this step was included in your pre-development research, now it’s time to take things more seriously. Exploring the features, monetization methods, brand positioning, and other services they provide. The key task of a competitor’s analysis is not to copy their strategy but to initiate things that will show your superiority. Remember that the holes in competitors’ marketing will be your opportunities. One extra tip in this step is to read the reviews from customers who use the product of your competitor.

Step 4: Determine your budget

Modern customers are in front of a great variety of choices: they are given high-quality services, smart costs, and unique features. Therefore, you will have to spend a lot on a marketing team, promotion on social media platforms, and making changes to the already-existing product to improve its quality.

Step 5: Select marketing channels

By picking up the channel that perfectly reaches your audience is a way to talk to your customer. These days, you are in front of a great number of online channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even TikTok that will become a really powerful marketing channel in 2021. However, the old and known website blog remains an excellent tool for search engine optimisation. While fulfilling this strategy, make sure you have well-organised and helpful content for your user. Promoting via social media will bring you an organic audience and even make your product known globally.

Step 6: Brand establishment

Building a brand name doesn’t only mean creating a logo and slogan for your product to be heard and seen. It is all about the association that appears in people’s minds everything they hear the name of your company. Think about iPhone: the first thing that comes to mind: “Everyone has it, everyone wants to have it, everyone loves it!”. Why? Because they proved their superiority by giving quality items.

Why does tech startup marketing plan fail?

You have a marketing template, established goals and objectives, know your customer but at some point, everything runs to waste? Let’s define the reasons behind failures and find ways to mitigate them.

• Poorly set up goals. Most of the times startups fail due to a lack of concrete objectives. They have a weak view on how the product will be presented on the market, what value it will give to a customer and company, and how to maintain the Also, a great number of businesses build short-term goals and do not consider that long-term goal is essential for growth.
• Using one marketing channel. Being a novice on the marketplace means having doubts about your customers regarding your product. That is why speak out on different social media and prove your worth is a sure way to attract customers.
• A lack of team integration. The performance of the marketing department and sales members requires diligent collaboration. As a solution to this issue, try to organize follow-ups and weekly meetings where employees will share data and exchange ideas to serve for a common goal to market products.

Killer tips for your marketing plan

• Generate an organic flow of customers. While blogging on the website or social media, sell without selling. Make sure your customers don’t feel the pressure and naturally come up with a desire to use your product.
• Talk to your team. Analyzing the results and assessing achievements as well as pitfalls will guide your team towards the goal. Make sure your team has all the necessary resources and energy to drive your business and reach the target.
• Do not neglect visual content. Creating interactive videos and tutorials about your product will have a much bigger impact on your customer. Moreover, as a benefit, using YouTube will bring monetization to your channel.

Conclusions

Marketing is not a one-time action for anyone, let alone startups, it is continuous work on your product to go higher and higher. Developing a detailed and accurate plan that includes competitors’ analysis, determining the audience (their needs and expectations), choosing digital channels for marketing, and other steps that establish your brand position on the market and recognition among customers. Moreover, successfully completed marketing leads sets the ground for further success for your company.