NEWWhy failing to invest in marketing could cost you your business!
The harsh truth is that more start-up companies fail than succeed; in fact, sadly. 70% of tech start-ups fail within 20 months. Why? Nine of the top 20 reasons for start-up failures – and five of the top 10 – are related to customers:
- Not knowing their pain points
- Not knowing their needs and goals
- Not listening to them
- Not communicating effectively with them
- Having a product that they don’t need – no market.
These failings are the direct result of poor, or no, marketing.
Without good marketing your company has a limited chance of success
Innovation may give birth to a company but marketing is what keeps it alive and underpins its growth. Even if your budget is tight, investing in marketing must be a priority. Marketing addresses all the problems noted above, and more. It is the pivotal activity that gives you early feedback on your product and market, builds brand and reputation and secures and retains the customers who provide the revenue that is the lifeblood of the business.
“If you think marketing is too expensive, you should try how expensive it is to build a company without it.” Lisa Calhoun, Write2Market.
The greatest product in the world is going nowhere if nobody knows about it. Your business is going nowhere without effective marketing.
The value of marketing is misunderstood
Some businesses believe that marketing is an add-on or optional extra, something that will wait until later, an investment that perhaps they can’t afford. They could not be more wrong. Launching a new business or product without building some brand awareness, knowing who your ideal customer is and effectively communicating with them is like fishing by throwing stones into the ocean. It’s just not going to work.
But if you invest in marketing in a focused and strategic way, it will deliver in spades.
In fact, marketing offers a 300% return on investment for young companies (HubSpot survey), while companies that prioritize marketing are 13 times more likely to see a positive return on investment (HubSpot).
Make sure your marketing is effective
Once you accept the absolute necessity of investing in marketing, it’s important to make sure you put your money where it will be most effective. Because of limited marketing experience or expertise, small businesses often use scattergun marketing tactics that burn valuable time, budget and resources and yield poor results. An infinitely more efficient and effective approach is to create a focused strategy that will build brand, reach volumes of prospects in a cost-efficient way and enable you to grow your customer base rapidly. Marketers who document their strategy are 538% more likely to report success than those who don’t.
And take the time to really get to know your customer and to understand what problem you are solving for them or what their aspirations are. Knowing your ideal customer is the most critical element of creating a successful marketing campaign that will drive business growth. Being truly customer-centric and taking the time to understand your customers’ needs brings benefits to your entire organization, creating economic gains of 20%–50% (McKinsey Quarterly Report, 2019).
Don’t think of marketing as something separate from the rest of your business operations. It should inform your product design, your price point, your customer relationship management and your business planning.
Find the marketing strategy and approach that works for your business and your budget
B2B tech companies often don’t have a lot of marketing expertise in the early days and are understandably reluctant to spend money buying in marketing services that they’re not sure will work for them. But investing in marketing doesn’t have to cost a fortune. For a modest outlay focused on the right strategy, you can reap enormous rewards.
The alternative – ignoring or side-lining marketing – is to risk all the hard work you’ve put into developing and refining your product, setting up your business and attracting investors, may come to nothing.
Download The ultimate guide for B2B companies to rapidly scale their customer base to learn how to systematically engage with a significant volume of high value leads, nurture them through automated marketing and generate a sustainable pipeline of potential customers for your business.
