No entrepreneur starts a business hoping it will fail, but the hard reality is that 9 out of 10 start-ups will fail. So what does it have to do with marketing?

A product – even a perfect product – with no market is called a hobby. Why? Because “lack of market need for their product” is the single biggest reasons that startups fail. Without a market for the product, there are no customers, and without customers, there is no profit, no revenue, no company. Yikes!

Okay, but so what if you have a perfect product that fills a market need? There’s a myth in the business world that for a business to be successful, it only needs to fill a need. Consider it a “build it and they will come” approach to business. Unfortunately, if no one knows about this wonderful product, no one will buy it.

To sum this up, any startup can succeed when it fulfills two criteria:

1. They create products or services that people want.
2. They can find the people that love what they offer.
   

Enter marketing

I would like you to consider another approach. A “market it and they will come” approach if you will.

Marketing is the highest return on investment an entrepreneur can leverage to help ensure that her startup doesn’t end in a fizzle. It can offer critical user feedback, market testing, customers and distribution channels, partners and affiliates, sales, and revenue.

We know it’s important to tell the world about your great product, your wonderful service, your new company, but how? Marketing. It’s more than its disparate elements. It’s more than Facebook ads and social media campaigns and, yes, even press releases and sales funnel and everything else.

Marketing shouldn’t be sold in pieces. It shouldn’t be seen in pieces – it should be seen in its entirety. Marketing is the branding, the website, the key messages, distribution channels, and even on some levels, the actual product itself. How do you talk about the product? What makes people want to buy it? How do you spin the story? It’s all marketing.

Marketing shapes the entire experience of a product

Founders of startups are very busy, big picture people. They wear so many hats – coder, customer service person, janitor, designer, liaison – that sometimes marketing takes a backseat.

It’s easy to wait to invest in marketing. Why sell a product that isn’t perfect yet, right?

Millennials – now the largest consumer group in history – crave a true, authentic, personalized experience as customers. They choose brands they know and trust and can engage with on social media.

In short, they choose companies with marketing that speaks to them.

Too soon is never soon enough

How to shape the experience of the product and the experience of the company should be something that’s considered shortly after the initial idea for the product. It should be built right into the core of the whole shebang.

The good news is that digital marketing can bring in a lot of money for very little investment. With social media, it’s easier than ever to reach – and engage – customers all around the world. Powerful impacts to your bottom line can be made with small outputs.

meko8 is a full-service team that works with startups and small businesses on lean marketing strategies that include branding, funding, strategic partnerships, and actual customers. We offer a comprehensive flat fee structure, which means no surprises (at least the bad kind). meko8 is backed by a team of experienced marketers that know the ins and outs of both digital and real-world marketing tactics and how to make the most of a tight, startup marketing budget.