Many people think that the pace of a startup’s growth is largely dependent on the size of its marketing budget. What reality shows is that more often than not, the growth is more a result of efficient spending than heavy spending.
If you are spending hundreds of thousands of whatever currency it is, on a marketing budget monthly or yearly, you want to make sure that you are making the best use of those funds, and that they give you the results you want.
If a business using a $1000 marketing budget records the same market growth as one using a $2000 marketing budget, you can tell which one has a better-optimized marketing plan. Startups usually do not have so much money to spend on an advertising budget, but still, need to grow into the market
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I cannot advise about what your business values and marketing objectives should be, but once you have decided on all of that, here are some tips that will help you optimize your budget and get good results.
Conduct market surveys
This can take any form, online or offline. What you want to communicate to potential customers is that satisfying them is important to you. So, what will you be asking? First, you ask to know what an ideal product/service means to them. You can also ask to know what their horror experiences have been with products or services similar to yours. What this does is equip you with the knowledge of what not to do, and how not to do it. There is no law that says you have to do exactly what the respondents say, but you will generally do better than if you were simply groping in the dark.
Your marketing campaign should consistently set out to educate
Sometimes, the market knows a lot about their problems, but not enough about the causes and possible solutions. Every marketing content you send out should not just be about converting and making sales. You should set out to just inform and educate sometimes so that your audience can make informed decisions. You can also add why the solution your brand presents is better for them.
Earn testimonials and reviews and use them to build credibility
Your audience will doubt every claim of yours until they find someone or something that urges them to believe. This is the role of testimonials for your business. I consider testimonials to be some kind of pitch to customers, and it is not something you should joke with. Reviews work in the same way too. If your van, get recognized by independent bodies through such reviews.
Try to deliver what you promise to avoid negative reviews, and where such reviews come up, do well to address them properly. One bad review can render an entire marketing budget useless, especially when you end up trending for the wrong reasons.
Clear call to action
There should be no mistaking about what your business is about, or what service you are out to render. If there is, you might as well be flushing money down the drain. Let your value proposition be as clear as water.
Use Data and technology to pursue your end
There is a lot of data and technology that can help you reach your market better, at minimal or zero cost. You can do a bit of research into them, as it regards your particular industry or sector, and adopt them.
Build the founder or owner’s personal brand
Most businesses are one with their owner at almost every stage of the business, and that is why you can see customers tag the business owners, founders, or CEO in their complaints/reviews on social media. While working on market optimization for the brand, you may also build the leaders’ personal brand. Both will naturally complement each other, and grow together.