Indeed, we would not be in business if we had not studied the market, noticed the gaps and created products and services to meet those demands. And that's just the starting point. Not nailing the messaging It’s not enough to create the right product or service. Everything is content -- the text on the website, the blog posts, the videos, the social media updates. And content speaks to potential customers. What makes you unique? Before they follow a brand, people are more likely to share the blog content. You should know how often you can post when you create the content calendar. How we wish businesses could speak for us, but that just isn’t the case, at least not initially, and not unless you get Mark Cuban to endorse you. For startups on a budget, clever strategies and quality content creation, aided by the right tools, can tip the scales in those startups' favor, and garner the visibility and engagement they absolutely need online.
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As startup owners, we pride ourselves in having a deep understanding of our target markets. Indeed, we would not be in business if we had not studied the market, noticed the gaps and created products and services to meet those demands. Plenty of research goes into launching a business, understanding the market for it and determining how our product meets those customers’ needs.
And that’s just the starting point.
Yet, when we actually start building a customer base for our business (online or offline), what happens next is rarely smooth sailing. Businesses may have a winning product but they often still struggle to get off the ground.
So, what gives?
Marketing blunders are often the culprit. These can be huge setbacks for startups. Here are some of the most common pitfalls you should watch out for.
1. Not nailing the messaging
It’s not enough to create the right product or service. The relevance and usefulness of your product needs to be conveyed to potential users on a large scale. (It pains me to see fantastic products receive no love online because their owners underestimated the importance and power of brand messaging.). How does a business nail this?
Through content. Everything is content — the text on the website, the blog posts, the videos, the social media updates. And content speaks to potential customers. It is therefore imperative to get the message right across those multiple platforms.
A visit to your website should leave a customer with no confusion as to what you do. He or she should not have to read the introductory text more than once to understand the business. The tag line should emphasise the essence as well as the uniqueness of the business in a short punchy manner. (It’s OK to be clever, but not so clever that you begin to sound vague.)
Every subsequent page should further drive this point home. What do you stand for? What services do you offer? What makes you unique? How exactly can you help? Which geographical locations do you serve? Clear and concise messaging will attract the right kind of people to the business and increase conversions.
2. Not capturing visitor details
So, you’ve created a website you’re proud of and invested in content creation and SEO to generate healthy organic traffic to the website. What happens next?…
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