Putting up a marketing communication strategy for startups is easy if we follow a step by step procedure. It is not the lack of knowledge which leads us in the wrong direction. Most of the time it is due to the biases present in the unconscious which affect their decisions. These biases come due to the lack of structure in the thought process or planning. Hence it is important that we keep in mind the step by step process of building a marketing communication strategy for startups.
STEPS FOR DEVELOPING MARKETING COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR STARTUPS:
- Define Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
- Define marketing goals which we intend to achieve — Long Term and Short Term
- Communication messages
- Media planning
1. DEFINE SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING
The initial part of the marketing communication strategy is defining the segmentation, targeting and positioning. This is very important for any business in general, but it holds immense value for startups as for them this is the foundation, which should be as strong as possible. Also, there is a budget constraint with the startups and defining the STP will reduce wastage and hence improve the results of any activity. Although optimization of any kind will come later, at the initial level reduction of basic wastage will be helpful. Peter Theil in his book Zero to One mentions that we must start by targeting the niche. Only after attaining monopoly in this niche we must think about expansion.
2. DEFINE MARKETING GOALS WHICH WE INTEND TO ACHIEVE — LONG TERM AND SHORT TERM
Next step is defining the goals we want to achieve — the short term and long term goals.
The short term goals can be, the launch of the product/ service or the results we want to achieve when we launch in any region. Depending on the product (for example if the product has the potential to bring disruption or it can go viral) we can include achievable results in the short-term goals. Another example can be, if we want to generate leads for selling the product, then we must keep a short-term goal for that also.
Long-term goals can include, the way we want our product/ service to be perceived by the customers and the industry. It can include goals based on the expansion plans of the business and the timelines for the same.
Based on the long-term goals we must keep making or revising short term goals which can be goals like increasing website traffic by 7% this month or increasing sales in general by 10% this quarter or reaching out to a set of new customers.
3. COMMUNICATION MESSAGES
After this, we come to the communication messages. This is a big process, but we must minimize it for any startup. If we focusing on ten different messages (like Brand name, tag lines, product USPs, Brand Ambassador, etc.) for communication, then it leads to confusion for the customer. We must always focus on 1 or 2 points and keep pressing on them as much as possible. This will help us in creating an impression in the mind of the consumer. The target customers and their ability to grasp should be kept in mind while choosing the communication points.
4. MEDIA PLANNING
The procedure for charting a media plan for any established company is a top-down approach. A budget is decided, usually as a percentage of sales. Then the breakup is planned for various media platforms depending on the presence the company wants and the eyeballs it plans to gather.
But when we talk about startups, this procedure should be the opposite. The first step is to decide the media, based on the effectiveness (for example the eyeballs it can gather for each rupee spent). Then if possible we must find ways to be creative or different with that media. By adding some creativity or differentiation factor we can multiply the attention we get and hence the results. Then we should see if we are getting expected or required results by the money spent. Cost per reach must be one of the most important factors in determining whether to go for any activity or media buying. This way we can make a media plan which will give us the best results in the minimum budget.
CONCLUSION
A step by step procedure is very important while making the marketing communication strategy for startups. Strategies have the power to make or break a business. We can also prepare a campaign brief, like the one we generally make for briefing the advertising agencies about our product, target segment, etc. We can keep this brief as a ready reference for any decision we make regarding marketing. Create a campaign brief on a broad level, then break it down for each media platform or communication. This can be a helpful way of creating a marketing communication strategy for any startup.
To include Loyalty Marketing in your strategy, click here to read my next blog.