Do startups need to do marketing?
Yes.
Marketing is important and essential for startups.
It is one of the biggest mistakes that startup owners often made, is ignoring the marketing of their own product/service.
Marketing is like the heart of the business. Those who have a long-term plan of business, don't have an option for marketing.
Why?
Here are the reasons :
Boosts the Organization Identity
Startup marketing and/or branding are integral components of organization development because they help a new business establish an individual organization identity, which is beyond visual representation - the overall entire personality.
Differentiation from the Competition
Marketing is an opportunity that helps companies articulate what it is that makes them unique, and what particular gaps they are filling in their respective markets. The ability to effectively sell their unique contribution can bring in a variety of new customers who are looking for the specific product or service offered by the startup.
Helps you gain and retain customers
Once your brand has built solid foundations and made its name, marketing will enable you to retain your customers and create a solid following of loyal consumers – a critical factor in not losing ground to the fresh and trendy products that hit the market.
A Promise of Longevity
By carefully formulating a brand identity that coincides with its values, goals, and beliefs, a company is clearly demonstrating its investment in its own mission and product. The care a company takes in marketing to its demographic, whether it is through a commercial, a website, or a print ad, signals that it intends to be a reliable and recognizable business for the long term.
Saves you time
Effective marketing helps you to get discovered by your audience and engage with them – while also enabling you to get on with the other duties critical to your business’ success.
Provides the direction towards the Growth
Not investing in marketing often keeps your business where it is at now. In other words...stuck in a rut with no new prospects, a business model that no longer works, and overhead expenses like rent, payroll, and depreciating assets that aren’t going away.
The worst-case scenario is that it can cause your business to go under. We have seen this all too often when businesses do not focus on marketing and sales.
Successful companies or those who want to be successful never stop marketing. They look at marketing as an investment … not a line item expense that can be cut in order to reduce the budget.