How should a startup begin marketing when budgets and manpower are limited?
No matter how excellent a product is, it’s hard for it to shine if its value is not properly conveyed to customers. Especially in the IT sector, with its specialized jargon and unfamiliar concepts, non-expert customers may find it difficult to understand.
Even with groundbreaking technology, startups often face responses like, “What is it?” or “How does it help us?” Additionally, many startups have limited marketing budgets, making it challenging to hire professional IT marketers. As a result, many startups struggle with marketing.
So, is there a way to achieve marketing success on a limited budget? Let’s explore why strategic marketing is essential for startups and discuss the direction they should take.
1. The Power of Content That Explains Specialized Technology Simply
Even if your technology is unprecedented, if customers do not perceive its utility, it risks being deemed a failure. This is akin to creating a delicious dish without explaining its taste or health benefits.
Startups often fall into the trap of explaining their technology from their own perspective. [However, for non-expert customers, even slightly unfamiliar terms can be challenging to understand.
Industry insiders sometimes pride themselves on the technical complexity of their explanations. However, consumers are primarily interested in how the technology makes their lives easier.
What is needed here is content that can explain in the customer’s language from their perspective. Exclude the technical complexity but clearly and simply convey the benefits and value customers can gain.
For instance, an IT company providing cloud storage services might replace terms like availability and scalability with “a service that allows access to files anytime, anywhere, without worrying about data capacity.”
Such content, which interprets specialized technology in the customer’s language, is crucial for IT startups. Instead of explaining the complex technology, focus on how it will change customers’ lives and solve their problems.
By creating content from the customer’s perspective, startups can finally properly showcase their true competitiveness and value.
2. Storytelling That Appeals to Investors
For startups, securing investment is critical. But to capture investors’ interest, merely highlighting technological excellence or market potential is insufficient. Investors want to know what vision the company holds and what unique story it possesses.
For example, when Airbnb initially raised investments, they didn’t just explain their business model as a “peer-to-peer lodging platform.” They drew empathy with emotional storytelling like “unique homestay experiences” and “redefining travel paradigms.”
While written storytelling alone may not secure investment, it undoubtedly can serve as a powerful message to investors. It convincingly communicates the company’s spirit, values, and vision that are difficult to convey through mere technology and business models.
Some entrepreneurs might be hesitant to share company information openly during the investment process, fearing exposure to competitors or idea theft.
However, contrary to these concerns, a well-crafted brand story can leave a positive impression on evaluators. It allows investors to see the company’s authenticity and vision, and a validated story that gains public interest can favorably impact company valuation.
Such storytelling, incorporating the company’s journey, vision to change the world, and dedication to customers, has the power to open not only investors’ wallets but also their hearts. It can be a powerful tool to convey the true value and potential of the company beyond a mere business plan.
3. Branding That Captures the Hearts of Talent
For early-stage startups, securing talent is crucial. However, attracting skilled developers, planners, etc., in today’s competitive talent market is not easy. Startups often struggle with talent acquisition due to low brand recognition and inability to offer the same benefits as large corporations.
In such situations, many startups overlook the importance of branding. Branding is often thought to be solely for customer acquisition and sales increase, but one of its most critical purposes is attracting top talent.
Looking at recent job-seeking trends, this becomes clearer. Today’s youth place significant importance on company culture and values when choosing a job, just as much as salary and benefits. It’s a time where merely offering good conditions isn’t enough to win over top talent.
For this reason, startups must consistently communicate their values and culture through various channels. No matter how great a company’s culture is, if it is not well communicated, it is of no use.
This is why IT giants like Google and Apple have long invested in branding. They understand that branding is not just for customers but also for future colleagues.
Thus, building a brand identity and forming an attractive corporate image is essential for talent acquisition. Since this cannot be achieved overnight, patience and investment in branding are necessary.
Such branding will ultimately become a powerful magnet for attracting top talent. These gathered talents will, in turn, enhance the company’s brand value, creating a virtuous cycle that is the ultimate goal of branding and a growth engine for startups.
Conclusion
Effective marketing strategy for startups is a crucial element that determines survival rather than a matter of choice. Especially for startups with limited budgets, finding cost-effective marketing methods is essential.
So, what is the most effective method? I firmly believe that blog marketing can be the answer. There are few promotional tools as cost-effective as writing for startups. Gaining media attention in the early stages is difficult, and advertising costs are substantial. However, using open blog platforms like Naver, Brunch, and Medium allows startups to create and disseminate content at a low cost.
Strategic approaches are necessary for startups to achieve maximum marketing impact with limited budgets. Creating content that meets customers’ expectations, storytelling that appeals to investors, and powerful branding that attracts talent are key strategies. Through these methods, startups can achieve significant results even with limited budgets.
Your brand surely has beautiful and impressive stories. Strive to understand your company’s value genuinely and convey it through compelling stories.