5 Key Steps for a Startup Marketing Plan

steps startup marketing plan

One of the brutal realities of the startup world is that you can have the best business idea in the world, but that won't be enough to guarantee success.

The vast majority of startups fail within five years, often because those companies were unable to reach their target audience.

Now more so than ever, a comprehensive, long-term, and targeted marketing planning process is needed if you want to succeed.

Whether you're wanting to make yourself known to your target audience or are preparing to launch a hot new product, here are the five essential steps towards a rock-solid startup marketing plan. 


Step 1: Assess the Situation

The crucial first step for your business launch is to identify exactly what is missing, and how a marketing strategy can fill the gaps.

Conduct an audit and determine where your company is falling behind in terms of sales, reach, leads, etc. 

Do your research to find out what your competitors are doing better than you, and consider exactly what is needed for you to reach your growth goals. 


Step 2: Goals, Gameplans, Budgets 

The next step of the launch marketing process is the most difficult. You will need to work with your team to determine exactly what your marketing goals are and develop a realistic timeframe for realizing them.

Do you want to expand your social media reach? Boost your SEO rankings? Run a nationwide advertising campaign?

Consider the end-goal of your marketing objectives and think about whether they will boost sales. Once you have your goals, you can begin delegating tasks and constructing a reasonable budget.


Step 3: Choose Your Tactics

Once you know what you want to achieve with your product marketing plan, it's time to decide exactly how you want to go about it.

Remember, the most effective course of action may well depend largely on your industry and target audience.

For example, you may want to run a viral Twitter video campaign, but this is unlikely to do you much good if your company is a B2B industrial supplier.

Do comprehensive research to ensure that whichever marketing tactics you choose are tailored to the people you want to reach with your product or business. 


Step 4: Acquire Resources 

Next up, you will need to ensure you actually have the resources to realize your goal. If you are looking to massively expand your visibility in a single marketing campaign, you will not be able to do so entirely in-house.

You may need to hire a freelance copywriter to polish your website and created SEO-formatted content for you. You may need to hire a marketing consultant who can help you understand key demographics.

You may need to pay for services such as Google Ads. Effective marketing nearly always requires additional resources, so make to budget for that. 


Step 5: Measure Progress 

Finally, you will need to make sure you are measuring your marketing plan every step of the way and tweaking your strategy as needed.

Collect data on everything, including KPIs, leads, clicks, impressions, reviews, and revenues.

Use this to assess where your strategy is going wrong and where things are working. Tools such as Google Analytics, Search Console, Facebook Ads, AHRefs, Moz, SEMrush, and Salesforce can ensure that your marketing data is accessible and useable.

Never shy away from the numbers when creating and adapting your startup marketing plan. 


Enhance Your Startup Marketing Plan Today 

If this startup marketing plan inspired you, then it's time to learn more. Make sure to consult our comprehensive Digital Marketing Guides to learn exactly how to get an edge on your competition with your startup marketing plan online. 

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