Having worked in #b2bmarketing for the past 8 years, I’ve seen a thing or two and learned a thing or two along the way. For any early-stage B2B company out there right now looking to build their marketing program, here’s some advice:
1. Define your company goals and then your marketing goals
Without clearly defined company goals, your marketing will be, at best underserved, and more than likely sporadic with no defined goals.
2. Lean into being lean
If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that things can change in an instant—especially for start-ups who have limited runway. Don’t rush out and hire a full-on, in-house marketing team—instead look for marketers who have multiple skill sets that can help you achieve your company/marketing goals.
3. Do the research
Use research always but especially for two purposes early on:
1. Validate that your customers are who you think they are
2. Find out where they consume information
4. Prove it!
Prove what your research has uncovered. Launch campaigns targeted at your ICP and use the channels where you found they consume information. Have simple metrics set up to be able to track the success of these early campaigns and start slow—don’t get lost in 20 different KPIs—pick 2-3 and optimize for those. These should also align with the overall company goals stated in Step 1.
5. Cut the crap and scale what works
Early-stage companies usually spend way too long waiting for something to work just because they think it should. If I’ve learned anything over my time as a marketer, it's that you need to let go and move on when something isn’t working. Decisiveness is a trait that will serve you well as you grow your business in the early days.
6. Leave some room (and budget) for experimentation
One of the best parts of working at a start-up is your ability to test ideas relatively quickly and cheaply. While I would suggest that the majority of your early marketing should focus on the basic marketing tactics that you know will work, leave some space for moonshots. I like to operate with the 80/20 mindset, being that 80% of your marketing and budget should be predictable, back to the basics, type marketing and 20% of time and budget can be reserved for those unique, original ideas that just might take off.
7. Don’t compare yourself to mature, billion-dollar companies
One of the things that so often gets in the way of forward progress is comparisons. And often, not even comparing apples to apples. In fact, don't worry about what Apple is doing at all because you don't have the budget, the brand name, or the team to do what they are doing from a marketing standpoint. So rather than get caught up in what others are doing, just do you—authenticity is rare and thus a differentiator as well as a connector.
8. Be customer-obsessed
This might seem obvious or even cliche but it’s the truth. Being customer-obsessed means that you are building the entire customer journey with empathy and longevity in mind.
