Startup Marketing: 5 low cost strategies for achieving growth on a budget

You could develop the most innovative, ground-breaking product of the century, but if your marketings a flop your product will never get the opportunity to reach your target audience because new customers won’t be able to find you when they come looking for your product or service.
Even an established business with an existing customer base could run into trouble without the correct marketing. If they were to launch a new product straight away, they might find that there’s no demand for the product or service. A small amount of market research could have prevented this, saving them a lot of time and money.

Don’t leave your marketing until after you have created your product or received funding. Your startup marketing strategy should be one of the first things you consider when building your business. The market research you uncover in the process could be incredibly helpful with the development of your product or service, and could potentially be the difference between success and failure. Marketing is something you can start straight away, as there are plenty of low-cost marketing strategies for startups.

Put your brand at the front of everyone’s mind by following these simple tips that will help you nail your startup marketing strategy:

1. Choose a killer brand name

Your brand name is going to be the first thing that customers and clients will associate with your business so make sure it’s easy to spell, memorable and engaging. If people can’t spell or pronounce your name properly, how are they going to remember you and talk about your brand to others?

2. Perfect your positioning statement

Any great brand needs a strong positioning statement to guide their marketing decisions. Once you have figured this out communicate it clearly in your written and visual communication, so it always remains in the mind of your customers. If you can create a unique impression in your customers’ mind, you’re much more likely to look like a leading company in your market and stand out from the rest of the marketplace. You can test your positioning statement beforehand using social media platforms to do some market research and see how strongly people are engaging with it.

3. Build relationships 

Building relationships with writers and influencers related to your industry is a great example of how to market a startup business on a budget. For example, if you had a fin-tech idea it would be worth establishing strong relationships with content writers for industry and financial blogs. Building real relationships with Influencers and micro influencers within your sector would also be well worth investing your time in because more people trust recommendations from influencers over an ad or celebrity endorsement.

4. Own your niche

Do your research and establish yourself as an industry expert in your market. Prepare yourself to not only talk about your product but also the field in which you work in. Showing that you’re knowledgeable and can give expert advice within your niche will not only build trust and respect with existing and potential customers but it will also work in your favour when trying to attract writers and influencers. 
A great way to show off this knowledge is to write about your industry. You could do this through your own blogs and articles, guest articles, newsletters, publications and trade magazines related to your industry. Having your own content on your website is a great way to look like an expert in your field, but being featured in a guest article has potential to generate new leads, because more often than not you will find the authors bio at the end of the article with their contact information. 
If you start writing articles on a regular basis you’ll more than likely start building up some evergreen content (content that is always relevant). You can re-use this evergreen content and post snippets onto your social media which will save you time and help you create an online presence. Additional content worth posting would be things like talks you’ve done, podcasts, videos, guest articles, books you have written, interviews, and any third party content (related to your industry) that yourself and others might find interesting.

5. Get social

Another effective marketing strategy for startups is to be more active on social media. 
It’s another low-cost example of how you can showcase your brand, increase brand awareness, build relationships and drive new sales. 
Sadly the days of free advertising are long gone on social platforms, and reaching a target audience organically is very tricky unless your willing to boost your content. 
The good news is that you don’t need to spend loads of money to see a result. If your content is fun and engaging, a boost can go a long way. Even if social media advertising isn’t in your budget right now, you can start building your online community. So it’s important to stay active and consistent on your chosen platforms, by posting regular content.
Social media channels have huge potential to drive traffic to your website. However, with everyone now using social media the competition is high. Drive attention to your brand and stand out from competitors with unique and interesting content that people want to share and tell their friends about. Show your human side and overshadow big brands with clever storytelling and authenticity.

Marketing your brand should go hand in hand with building your business, it’s without a doubt one of the most important key elements to your success. If your struggling to find money for a marketing budget you can rest easy because all of these startup marketing ideas are highly effective, low-cost strategies you can start implementing today.

The heart of every successful business lies in marketing. So whatever you do, don’t abandon your marketing efforts and cut it out of the equation.