Launching a start-up can be an exhilarating adventure, but let's face it, it can also be a bit overwhelming. If you're a founder without a marketing background, it can be even more daunting. But don't let that stop you!
With the right mindset, a clear vision, and a solid marketing strategy, you can turn your small business into a powerhouse. In this blog, we're excited to share some of our top tips and tricks for marketing your business, based on our experience working with numerous start-ups and scale-ups. So buckle up and get ready to unleash your marketing mojo…
finding your purpose
The first step in the wide world of marketing and branding is also the most important: finding your brand's purpose. This should be your driving force, the reason why your business exists, and probably the thing that gets you motivated each day. It should encompass the value you provide, because you know it’ll capture your customers’ hearts and minds.
Your brand's purpose is more than just a statement or a tagline. It's your essence, the thing that drives your business forward, motivates you and your team, and gives your customers a reason to believe in you. So take the time to define your yours, because it will guide every aspect of your marketing strategy.
creating your brand
With your purpose as the foundation of your strategy, you’ll need to set your direction, and solidify your vision. Your brand's direction and identity should be aligned with your purpose and be strong enough to guide your business decisions and actions. Defining this clearly helps you stay true to your brand's core values. It informs every decision you make, from the products or services you offer to the way you communicate with your audience, and your business ethics.
Choosing your look and feel, colour palette and tone of voice should be a fun, creative and iterative process; where you take inspiration from something you love or the world around you and craft a strong visual presence. Inspiration can come from anywhere at any time so collating mood boards, scrapbooks and digital bookmarks of aesthetics you aspire to will help creativity blossom.
setting your objectives
Once you have these bits nailed, it’s important to set objectives which should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This sets the bar for what you’re aiming for and helps you track your progress and success. Objectives focus the mind, and start to give you and your team a ‘to-do list’ of priorities, which helps create a culture of efficiency and ensures that everyone (even if everyone is just you!) is working towards the same goals.
These goals provide your roadmap to success and help to keep you and your team focused, motivated and accountable. Without objectives, you risk losing sight of your vision and wasting time and resources on activities that don't drive your business forward.
understanding your audience
Once you've defined your brand's purpose, direction, and objectives, you need to begin understanding your target market. You’ll need to identify who your target audience is, what their needs and preferences are, and outline how your brand can meet those needs and preferences. One effective way to understand your target market is to develop buyer personas, which are detailed and personalised descriptions of your ideal customers.
By creating these personas, you can focus your attention and ensure that your message resonates with the right people at the right time. It's a highly effective strategy for achieving the maximum impact from your marketing efforts.
doing your research
Marketing your business probably requires a budget, but you don't always have to break the bank to start getting results. The priority here is to set clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and to do your research to find out where your target audience hangs out.
With this knowledge, you can identify the best platforms and channels to reach them and allocate your budget accordingly. And why not get creative? Take advantage of free trials and credits offered by social media platforms and other marketing tools to test out different strategies and see what works best. After all, you don't need to take a big shot to make a big impact. So, before you start spending, do a bit of digging and get resourceful.
getting set up
Protecting your brand is crucial to ensure its longevity, and buying domains, trademarks, and registering your brand is the main objective here. This will not only prevent others from using your name or logo, but also ensure that your brand is recognisable and memorable to your target audience. You’ll want to do a lot of Googling to conduct thorough research before you get set on a specific idea. Immersing yourself in competitors (if there are any!) and key themes in your industry can help you establish your own identity.
Same name as the problematic business down the road? Probably not ideal for your own brand reputation. Similar identity to a big existing company? Bit of a blocker in increasing your own visibility. Buying domains and registering your brand can be done through domain registrars and official trademark offices. It's worth taking your time with this, and investing in getting it right the first time around.
building your website
Your website is an essential part of your strategy and identity, and it's usually the first impression you get to make, so you need to ensure it’s a great one. Firstly, consider your audience and what they’d expect from your website and use this to inform your content plan. Your design and layout should be user-friendly and easy to navigate; and you’ll need to ensure that your content is engaging, informative and relevant and that it has clear call-to-actions so your users know what to do on the site.
It's also important to choose a reliable hosting provider and a platform that is easy to use if you’re not a developer. There are lots of builders available with templates to help you get started.
choosing your channels
Now that you've laid the groundwork for your brand, it's time to choose the right marketing platforms to promote your business. The key here is to focus on the platforms where your target audience are most active and engaged. This may include popular social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. You'll also want to consider other marketing channels like email marketing, influencer marketing, or paid advertising, depending on your target audience and budget.
Keep in mind that managing multiple channels can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, so it's important to prioritise your efforts and choose the most effective platforms. Remember, it’s about quality over quantity, and it's far better to excel at a few channels than to spread yourself too thin. Less really can be more, so consider resourcing requirements and how effectively you’ll be able to manage multiple channels ongoing. If a platform is not hyper-relevant for your brand and your audience, don’t feel you have to join in.
in conclusion
By focusing on developing a strong brand, understanding your target audience, and creating a comprehensive marketing strategy, you can set your business up for success. Just remember to stay focused, work with purpose and measure your results.
If you need some support, advice, or someone to do the whole lot for you, give us a shout. If your business matters to you, it’ll matter to us. Launching successful brands is a well-trodden path for The Chaos Collective and we love a new challenge.
Thanks for reading part one of our marketing series blog, next time we’ll deep dive into marketing plans, content strategies and optimising your website, so stay tuned!
This blog was written by our CEO, Sophie Smith.
Sophie has a wealth of knowledge and experience in branding, product development and marketing strategy through driving and implementing ambitious growth plans for nearly 15 years across a variety of industries.