Introduction
In order to grow, startups need marketing expertise to reach new markets and customers. Marketing is essential to a growing startup company because it helps generate awareness and interest in the company's products or services. Additionally, marketing can help a startup establish itself as a thought leader in its industry, which can attract more customers and investors.
Startups need marketing expertise to grow for many reasons. Marketing is how you get the word out about your product or service, and it's also how you build relationships with potential customers and partners. It's important to have a solid marketing strategy in place from the very beginning, because it will be the foundation upon which your entire business grows.
Marketing experts can help you create a strong brand, develop messaging that resonates with your target audience, and create a plan for getting your product or service in front of the people who need it. Without marketing expertise (either inhouse or external help), it could be quite challenging to get your startup off the ground.
Marketing is a key element for any startup company, but results take time and effort. Marketing should be seen as a long-term investment and essential part of a company's growth strategy. Depending on the product or service, it could take years to see a return on investment, but the rewards can be worth it if done correctly.
Here are 5 reasons why every startup owner should think about marketing from Day 1.
David vs Goliath
Everyone loves the story of David vs Goliath. Its the story of the underdog winning against all odds. What people don't realise is that David had a secret weapon - his sling. In todays business world, startup founders are the Davids and marketing is their "sling". Marketing expertise is essential for startups to grow and succeed.
Who's the Goliath you ask? That would be your competition. Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming they have no competition if there's no similar product in the market. A marketing guy will however look at the big picture, visualising businesses who are solving the problem for the customer. For example, think about the movie theatre industry. Do you think Tiktok is a competition for them? I would say yes, because for many, Tiktok is a form of entertainment and the time they spend on Netflix has reduced considerably (Source: TikTok overtakes Netflix as most popular app with under 35s in US)
Get Fans, Quick!

So you've had the eureka moment, found a problem you love to solve and designed that beautiful piece of MVP. The next crucial steps is of course getting customers quickly. When taking their product to market, the biggest challenges startups face is to drive adoption. In marketing lingo, we call them "Early Adopters" and "Innovators". These are people who'll not be the biggest customer segment, but the ones who decide whether your product will be a success or a failure.
Startups need marketing expertise to grow for building a community of fans quickly.
Marketing consultants can help an entrepreneur by analysing market and consumer data to identify early adopters and innovators. This information is crucial to the success of a startup because it allows them to focus their efforts on the people who are most likely to be interested in their product. Ideally this research should also be an essential part of the product development and design process as well.
You Need a Brand and People Who Care
An important part of getting fans for a startup is to have a brand that is different and interesting. Startups are often praised for their innovation, so it's important to create a brand that is new and exciting for both your customer and customer population. Your brand should be something that people can enjoy using, such as your name or brand name. It should be something people can look up to see what you're all about. And it should be something people will remember.
One way to achieve this is to have a brand strategy. This will involve creating and following a set of social media platforms that are relevant to your product or service. This will help you to build brand awareness and increase sales. Additionally, it's also important to have a product website and product retail locations. This will help you to create a physical presence for your product and to reach more customers who might not be reached through online marketing.
Brand building is essential to standing out in today's marketplace and attracting the attention of potential customers. Marketing campaigns that are well executed will result in increased web traffic, social media engagement, and ultimately, sales. To be successful, startups need to build a team of marketing experts who are passionate about their product or service and who can create a compelling brand story.
Ideas Need Momentum
Every business, whether a startup or an established company, needs marketing expertise to grow ideas and gain momentum. Marketing is the process of creating and executing a plan to reach and engage customers, and it is essential to the success of any business. A good marketing plan will help a startup to identify its target market, craft a unique selling proposition, and develop a strategy for reaching and engaging customers. Marketing is also essential for building and maintaining relationships with customers. without marketing, a startup will have difficulty gaining traction and growing its business.
Successful startups recognise marketing as a strategic function during the early stages. Allocating resources for this equips them with the insights to building scale and driving competitive advantage.
Itβs Not Only About Tactics β You Need a Holistic Approach
For many startups, generating awareness and excitement for its product or service is the first priority. This can be accomplished through a variety of marketing channels including paid advertising, public relations, and content marketing. Second, a startup needs to generate leads and customers. This can be accomplished through lead generation campaigns, conversion rate optimisation, and customer acquisition strategies. Third, a startup needs to build its brand. This can be accomplished through brand building activities such as thought leadership, social media marketing, event marketing and employees branding. In addition, a startup needs to retain its customers, This can be accomplished through customer loyalty programs, customer service, and customer success programs.

Quite a lot of things to digest right? Some companies do take the short route and cut back on a lot of these crucial elements. But, imagine driving your car when the pressure on one of the wheels is less. It might be ok for a few miles (or kilometres), but will definitely cause trouble in the long run. A holistic all round approach is crucial. It need not require a huge budget, when does cleverly with a clear plan.
Thats why startups need marketing expertise to grow. Having a dedicated team or external expert could be immensely helpful to give strategic advice and help build your reputation. Technology today has thankfully made it possible to derive ROI for most of these investments. marketers can track and analyse the resources that work best for you.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why startups need marketing expertise to grow. Marketing can help startups to identify and reach their target market, create a strong branding strategy, and develop and execute an effective marketing plan. Additionally, marketing can also help startups to track their progress and measure their success. By working with a marketing expert, startups can gain the knowledge and tools they need to succeed.