Marketers undeservedly get a bad rap.
(The reasons for this would make for another post entirely, but there's a great argument put forward by Rory Sutherland that marketing itself needs a rebrand. Petition to change it to Consumer Psychology or Behavioural Economics, anyone?)
Anyway, as an ex-marketer for startups and now growth consultant to entrepreneurs, I believe one of the most common misconceptions is that marketers just want you to spend money...
Now, it's true that one needs to spend money in order to make money, but for lean startups, cash-strapped scale-ups, and even larger enterprises focused on the bottom line, I'm crystal clear on the distinction between brand-building exercises, and what's just a complete waste of cash.
So, inspired by a recent scale-up client meeting, here are three things I would not advise spending your money on as a startup marketer:
Top 3 overrated marketing activities for startups
PPC (Google Ads) on your brand name. (For clarity, this is when you Google search "Samsung," for example, and you've paid to be the top result on the page).
Adidas famously discovered this expensive "mistake" when their branded PPC campaign was accidentally turned off and it impacted their website traffic by... Zero. Granted, Adidas is a household name that's had the best part of a damn century to build up brand awareness and equity, so we need to ensure we're not comparing apples to oranges here. That being said, if you have good enough SEO and other activities driving traffic to your website, someone searching your exact brand name is already displaying what us marketers call "intent" - i.e. they know what they're looking for (i.e. YOU) and just want to get to your website. Perhaps the only exceptions I would advise to invest in branded PPC campaigns is if your brand name is commonly misspelt (a commonality in the vowel-free land of startups... ) Certainly run brand name campaigns alongside related search terms if you're very early days and struggling to be visible among the masses, otherwise I'd re-allocate your startup marketing budget to another big tech platform (or somewhere else entirely... ) On the subject of Big Tech...
LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator
Sorry LinkedIn! I love you. And the main reason I love you is because I've been able to build a pretty strong personal brand and multiple businesses off the back of you, all for zilch dolla. (Thank you!) And this is why I do not advise my clients to upgrade their LinkedIn profile...
As a result of my own LinkedIn success, I've trained dozens of sales teams and I have got *SO FAR* without needing any sort of upgrade. LinkedIn is one of the last social media platforms one can still achieve traction organically (if you know how!) Want to book me for a free LinkedIn consultation? I'd love to hear from you!
Vanity projects
Finally, I urge every single startup (and even cash-strapped scale-ups or larger enterprises going through some belt-tightening) to not waste your money on vanity projects. What do I mean by this, exactly? Anything that YOU want to do more than your customer actually needs.
(I don't mean don't go above and beyond to create "surprise-and-delight" moments in the customer experience, I mean anything that doesn't support your audience). This could include marketing activities like paying big name influencers when you're still small, top-tier PR when you're a niche B2B business, or a shiny new website for example.
Entrepreneurs, I hope you've not fallen too badly into these traps - and if you have, we're all guilty and learn the hard way sometimes! If you'd like a marketing angel on your shoulder to help market your business, get in touch with me here or keep reading for more on my track record below:
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Stephanie Melodia is the Founder & ex-CEO of award-winning marketing consultancy dedicated to startups, where she and her team helped 100+ founders grow their businesses. From top rectech scale-up, Tempo to pre-loved childrenswear marketplace, thelittleloop, clients were named in the Top 10 Startups with work featured in the likes of Forbes, The Independent, Sifted, and more.
Now, Stephanie mentors MBA students in Entrepreneurship with edtech scale-up, Oneday; hosts the Top 20 UK Business Show, Strategy & Tragedy (featuring guests such as Simon Squibb, Maxine Laceby, Hannah Chappatte, Andy Ayim MBE, Simon Franks, Matt Lerner, Lottie Whyte, and more); travels the world delivering workshops & keynote talks for forward-thinking organisations, and; consults 1:1 with a select few value-aligned clients looking to tap into Steph's unique perspective & valuable expertise. View more on services here.
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