You’ve spent years developing your product or service and are finally ready to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. Though you know your product inside and out, knowledge and enthusiasm alone will not make your business a success.
Start-up companies must be deliberate in marketing their businesses to be successful. There are a few basic rules every start-up entrepreneur can use to get their marketing efforts on the right track.
Find Your Target Audience
Most start-up entrepreneurs are anxious to spread the word about their products or services. Often, when asked who they’re trying to market to, their answer is enthusiastically, “Anyone!”
However, when businesses target to anyone, all too often they receive responses from no one. That’s why it is important for start-up businesses to identify their target audiences.
Imagine a young businesswoman is starting her own home cleaning company using green products. While “anyone” could certainly use her services, the entrepreneur realizes that young mothers in particular value having their homes clean and chemical-free. The businesswoman chooses to market directly to young moms to make the most of her marketing efforts. Now, all she has to do is determine what her message should be.
Separate Yourself from the Pack
Much marketing copy is full of superlative language that lacks substance. “Great Service!”, “Best Value!”, and “Friendly Customer Service!” offer nothing about what makes your company the right choice over competitors. Instead of relying on words like “best,” “great,” and “super,” start-up companies should inform their target audiences about what sets them apart from competitors.
For the young businesswoman with the house cleaning company, this may mean focusing her message on the advantages of green products, a benefit that many house cleaning services may not offer.
Speak to Your Target Audience, Not at Them
One of the simplest ways for start-ups to onnect with their target audiences is to show them how the company fills a need, addresses a challenge, or solves a problem they have. Don’t rely on generic marketing language that does little to address the needs of potential customers. Instead, focus on building value and trust.
Now that she’s identified her target audience and knows what separates her business from the rest of the home cleaning services in her area, the businesswoman is ready to get her marketing campaign up and running. She chooses to create a direct mail postcard targeted to young moms. The graphic shows a beautiful, clean home, and the copy focuses on how green products are safer for children and are effective cleaners.
To print her postcard, the businesswoman chooses a digital printer like Matreks. That way, she can personalize her postcard to each recipient, using their name in the main text of the postcard to catch their attention.
With these three tips, start-up companies can bring their marketing efforts into focus and get the most out of their advertising dollars. To get start-ups on the right path, Matreks offers a Business Start-Up Combo package with everything a new business needs to help jumpstart its marketing efforts. To learn more, contact Matreks Printing today at 952-746-4010.
