#99: Red Balloons?đ Flake?đŚ Or Marketing a B2B Startup?
The MessageUp Newsletter | Vol. 2, Edition 47
Hi there! Itâs Matt with MessageUp.
Sorry, Nena, you might have cornered the market on â99â for a certain generation of radio listeners, but this edition isnât about music marketing or âLuftballoonsâ.
Nor is it about an ice cream cone with a crumbly chocolate bar sticking out the top (IYKYK).
Instead, this weekâs epistle responds to feedback that much of what we write about is applicable to an established B2B company but not to a startup.
This is fair cop. Startup businesses generally donât invest a great deal in marketing until they have begun generating revenue and/or raised their first round of institutional investment.
However, that isnât necessarily a good thing. So letâs try to rebalance things.
The temptation for many startup founders/leaders is to delay marketing until they have achievedâto some degreeâwhat is known as âproduct-market fitâ. In other words, their solution has been successfully deployed by one or more customers, demonstrating that it delivers on its promises.
The risk in waiting this long to begin investing in marketing is that right when youâre ready to make a big splash, youâll discover that your company lacks an audience to splash upon.
Attracting and engaging an audienceâand beginning to earn their trust and respectâtakes a long time.
Your brand must show up on a consistent, relevant basis over many months, in places your audience members frequent, for them to take notice and register you as a domain authority.
On the other hand, marketing before you have access to social proofâcustomer testimonials and case historiesâis also challenge. You will be accused of being all style and no substance if what you publish contains too many promises but no results.
The key is to build trust and domain authority based on things that you do have while waiting for your early adopters to validate and begin writing about your solution.
This weekâs post on the Framework blog, Marketing Your B2B Startup: Creating Engagement Without a Track Record, explores several tactics that early-stage businesses can employ to begin building and engaging their audience.
At a strategic level, the unwritten advice is donât wait too long to start marketing.
While marketing without a track record is less satisfyingâand inevitably less impactfulâthan marketing once you have results to share, it is no less important.
One final thought on this topic: Donât forget to update and add to your testimonials and case histories once they begin to flow.
I see many B2B websites featuring just one or two early testimonials and a âta-da, it works!â case history. My gut reaction is, âSo, what happened next?â
If youâve genuinely established product-market fit, you should have a growing pool of satisfied customers from which to procure testimonials.
Furthermore, your solution will hopefully get successfully applied to more than one use case.
Publish feedback from multiple customers and show your audience numerous case histories, since this both strengthens the social proof and increases the chances of them seeing their own situation mirrored in one of your reports.
Reading and Taking Action
This week, our What Weâve Been Reading collection includes articles on:
Steps to take before launching a B2B product.
Where differentiation often comes from in the B2B sector.
Marketing strategies that appeal to digital natives.
How to approach PPC in the era of video content and AI.
The first piece on launching a B2B product, written by Eric Gates, seems apropos for a newsletter about startup marketing. In some ways, so does Jason Ballâs post on B2B differentiation. The one that really speaks to us, thoughâand that we suggest everyone in our audience readsâis Dee Blohmâs article on appealing to digital natives. After all, Millennials and Gen Z, who have grown up with technology in their hands, make up an increasing percentage of the B2B buyers youâre targeting.
To round out this edition, my One Step actionable tip invites you to choose your own adventure, based on the stage of your businessâstartup, first growth, or late growthâand then answer three questions about your marketing strategy.
Have a productive seven days. Iâll see you back here next Wednesday.
Cheers!
~ Matt
Our Latest Posts on The Framework Blog
Apr 10, 2024 - Marketing Your B2B Startup: Creating Engagement Without a Track Record
Apr 03, 2024 - How to Tune-up Your B2B BrandâA 13-Step Guide
What Weâve Been Reading
Here are some articles weâve been reading this week that we hope you will enjoy and find valuable:
The 4 Steps You Must Take Before Launching Your Product
This piece by Eric Gates, writing for MarTech, offers an interesting four-step process (that actually has six steps, but who's counting?) for orchestrating a successful go-to-market campaign. Much of what he writes aligns with our belief in the importance of focusing as muchâif not moreâon the awareness and evaluation stages of the buyer's journey as the selection stage where they're ready to make a purchase.
Brand Differentiation: What's It Look Like in B2B Marketing?
While the title is a bit misleading (the article has nothing to do with branding), Jason Ball's article, published on CMS Wire, hits on an important point. What you sell is unlikely to be a unique point of differentiation in B2B. Differentiation is much more likely to come from a combination of how you serve customers and a focus on helping solve their most important challenges.
Appeal to Digital Natives with New B2B Marketing Strategies
Writing for Forbes Communication Council, Dee Blohm cuts to the chase on an issue that we've been coaching clients about for a couple of years but some people still resist: today's B2B buyers want more information, more self-service, and more choice. Successfully engaging them requires going beyond traditional marketing into the realm of data-driven, easy-to-find content that's relevant and timely for the buyer.
Try These PPC Strategies for Your B2B Business in 2024
The world of PPC is constantly changing but, as Pauline Jakober reports for Search Engine Journal, this year might be the biggest year of change for PPC management, especially for B2B. She recommends leaning into video marketing and the possibilities of AI while not forgetting some of the proven strategies youâve used for years.
Books on B2B Content Marketing
Secure yourself a copy of Content Marketing: Mission Critical, a guide for B2B CEOs, and Content Marketing: Making the Magic Happen, a guide for B2B marketing leaders, in paperback, e-book, or audiobook format, by visiting www.messageup.com/books. There youâll find discount codes as well as details on limited edition boxed sets that include copies signed by the author.
One StepâŚ
This weekâs One Step actionable tip invites you to choose your own adventure, depending on the maturity level of your business.
Option A: Startup
Contemplate the following questions and write down any actions that you might take as a result. Are youâŚ
Effectively marketing your business despite not yet having market validation or customer testimonials?
Taking the opportunity to showcase your team, their domain expertise, and their track record?
Publishing content that is informative and helpful to your audience, to help build trust and establish domain authority?
Option B: First Growth
Since your business has demonstrated solution-market fit, think about the following and write down any actions you might want to take. Are youâŚ
Asking early adopters for testimonials and updating your website and other marketing materials to feature them prominently?
Publishing content that explains how your solution was developed and why your team was uniquely positioned to make it happen?
Expanding your reach by consistently demonstrating thought leadership on social media and regularly interacting with other influencers there?
Option C: Late Growth
As an established business, whose solutions have been deployed successfully by many customers, you have a track record to showcase. Are youâŚ
Adding regularly to your library of case histories so that it covers as many use cases as possible?
Highlighting the accomplishments of your team to demonstrate their continued thought leadership and contributions to moving your sector forward?
Publishing relevant, helpful content on multiple channelsâincluding a blog, social media, and third-party channelsâto ensure you meet your prospects and customers where they like to find new information?
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