We very often observe the following situation: a start-up is founded by a group of young enthusiasts who have a great idea and with time manage to develop a viable product out of it. They make a market test and, lo and behold, people seem to like their product! The company starts to grow, customer base is also slowly increasing. Life is good. If all goes well, the company may even break even in the foreseeable future.
Then, usually six to twelve months later, the founders realize that something seems to be amiss. Their beloved company is not growing as fast as they expected. They slowly – or sometimes suddenly – realize that they may have invested a bit too much energy and resources in product development and engineering and a bit too little in marketing. We advise such companies to give themselves an honest reply to the following questions:
- Do you have a reliable marketing expertise within the company? If not, do you plan to hire such people or outside agencies?
- If you already use an outside agency, does it have the experience and down-to-earth approach to help you grow – or are they simply after your money?
- Do you have a strategic marketing plan and how does it fit into the overall strategy of the company?
- Have you clearly defined your company’s markets? Who are your competitors and main current and potential customers?
- What exactly do you know about these markets and how was this information gathered? Have you ever done your own research?
- What kind of marketing materials do you currently have? Are they sufficient to help you achieve your goals? If not, which materials you need to help you do that?
- Do you have a communication strategy, including PR and events?
- Do you have a dedicated marketing budget? If yes, what percentage of current and expected sales is it?
- Do you have a well-developed brand and the corresponding brand assets?
- How does marketing fit in the overall structure of your organization? If you do not have a marketing function at the moment, where do you expect it to fit?
- Do you have a formal description of all marketing processes?
- In your opinion, is marketing a cost or an investment?
The answers to these dozen questions are a good starting point to determine where exactly you stand in relation to marketing and where your potential problems may be. The most important thing is to adopt a realistic and practical approach based on strategy, processes and market knowledge. It is inevitable that you will make some mistakes in the process – everybody does – but sticking to these three pillars will help you maintain the right course. And, of course, do not forget that it all starts with hiring the right people and working with the right partners!
