As a startup founder, one of the biggest questions you’ll face is: “when should we start marketing?” Just about every entrepreneur will struggle to find the right balance between building a product and generating buzz, especially when they’re spinning so many plates. Marketing too soon can be a waste of resources, but waiting too long could result in missed opportunities, like funding, media attention, or just straight-up sales. In this blog, we’ll cover when is the right time for a startup to begin their marketing journey and why.
1. Start your marketing prep before you launch
The best time to start marketing for startups is often before the product even launches. Early marketing allows you to learn exactly who your audience is, create some awareness, build anticipation, and gather real-world feedback. Implementing startup advertising and product marketing for startups while your product is still in development ensures you have an audience ready and waiting when you go live. It can even help humanise you in the eyes of your audience and build some relatability! Pre-launch campaigns via social media, email marketing, and other channels are essential parts of any start up marketing strategy. But how soon should you start? Well…
Actionable Tasks for Pre-Launch Marketing:
Create a Pre-Launch Landing Page: Build a simple landing page to capture email addresses, and depending on your offering, maybe some other details too. Tease your product and provide a clear call to action (e.g., “Join the Waitlist”). This gives you a list of potential customers to market to once you’re ready.
Build Hype on Social Media: Share updates on product development, behind-the-scenes content, or teasers of your upcoming product. Consistent posting of interesting content helps build anticipation and attract early followers.
Offer Exclusive Pre-Launch Deals: Encourage early sign-ups by offering them discounts or exclusive offers, like early access or Kickstarter-style addons. This strategy helps make people feel valued and increases the likelihood of engagement (and referrals) by launch day.
2. Go live once you know your audience
Effective marketing for startup businesses should start as soon as you’ve identified your target audience and their pain points. Even with a limited budget, it’s important to start connecting with potential customers early to continually learn about them and what they’re looking for in products like yours. Marketing companies for startups (like us at Fractal, wink wink) can assist you in crafting marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience and interpreting the results of your marketing work. Through thought out startup business advertising and carefully tailored marketing campaigns for startups, you can begin to position your product as the solution your audience needs, and get them hyped up by the time you launch.
Actionable Tasks for Identifying Your Audience:
Conduct Market Research Surveys: Create simple surveys or polls to send out via email or social media. Focus questions on understanding customer pain points and preferences. Use tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to gather insights.
Set Up Customer Profiles (a.k.a. Personas): Based on your research, create detailed customer personas outlining demographics, needs, and behaviours. This will guide your content and messaging to be more targeted and relevant.
Test Your Messaging with Paid Ads: Run small-scale, low-budget ad campaigns on platforms like Facebook or Google. Use A/B testing to experiment with different ad copies and see which resonates best with your audience.
3. Go big when your product solves a real problem
Your marketing efforts should ramp up when you know – and can clearly show – that your product can provide a real solution to a well-defined problem your audience is struggling with. At this stage, marketing your startup means demonstrating the value of what you’re offering. It’s important to focus on startup product marketing to educate your audience about their problems and your solutions, and be sure to set marketing goals for startups that align with your business’s growth objectives. This is the point where consistent product promotion, testimonials, and customer stories come into play, helping to build your brand’s credibility.
Actionable Tasks for Problem-Solution Marketing:
Develop Case Studies or Success Stories: Showcase real customer experiences that highlight how your product has solved their problem. These stories can be used on your website, in ads, or shared across social media.
Create Value-Focused Content: Write blog posts, produce videos, or design infographics that focus on educating your audience about their problems and how your product solves them. Share these across your digital platforms.
Leverage Customer Testimonials and Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on Google, Trustpilot, or your website. Share positive testimonials to build social proof and trust with potential buyers.
By starting marketing early and leveraging the key strategies described above, you position your brand to succeed from the very beginning. The sooner you establish your brand in the minds of potential customers, the smoother your path to growth will be.