How to Create a Marketing Plan for Startups

How to create a marketing plan for startups

When you’re starting a business, expenses can feel overwhelming. However, an excellent startup marketing plan doesn’t have to break the bank. Here are 14 marketing tips that can help you establish a solid framework. 

1. Define your end goal.

Just as you wouldn’t embark on a road trip without knowing your destination, you must define your marketing and business goals before you can achieve them. To reach your target audience and successfully convert leads, you need a well-defined approach with specific objectives. When creating your startup marketing plan, you must determine your short- and long-term goals and consider how you’ll achieve them.

For example, in the shorter term (the next six months), you may want to use social media marketing to increase followers by 1,000 per month and find ways to generate website traffic. Your longer-term goals (two to five years) may include expanding your reach, increasing sales, opening a new business location and growing your team.

“Most startups don’t have a day or a dollar to waste, so coming out of the gate, it’s important to be realistic in terms of what you can do and what you can expect from that,” said Josh Stutt, head of marketing at The49. “There is no magic ‘go viral’ button for your social posts, SEO [search engine optimization] is a long-term effort with no instant payback, and a Super Bowl ad is not in the budget. Dreaming big is great, but acting grounded is how you can build something that lasts.”

When you have clear end goals, you can use key metrics to gauge your marketing strategy’s success or failure.

2. Determine your target market.

No matter how excellent your marketing plan, product or service is, customers are crucial to your business’s success. But who are these customers?

“At the beginning, it’s more important to focus on who your perfect customer is than trying to tackle the entire market,” Stutt said. “Zero in on your ideal customer and allocate your limited resources [to] building a base of them instead of chasing the much wider market of potential customers.”

You must identify your target audience so you can structure your marketing strategy to meet their needs. Here are three ideas to help you pinpoint your ideal customer:

• Identify your target prospects’ essential demographics, such as their age and location.
• Analyze your target market’s personalities and behaviors to build customer personas that inform your marketing efforts. 
• Use your research insights to establish your brand’s message.

Your product or service must satisfy your target customers, and your marketing messages should convince them that your offerings are essential.

3. Conduct keyword research.

Keyword research is a crucial element of any digital marketing strategy. You must determine the keywords that best define your business and the keywords your target audience searches for online. Keywords are essential to your startup’s marketing strategy; you’ll use them on your website, blogs, social media channels and advertisements.

4. Develop KPIs and metrics.

To gauge your marketing campaign’s success, you must determine your key performance indicators (KPIs) and core metrics. Recording baseline metrics early on will allow you to measure future growth or declines.

Ensure that your metrics and KPIs are specific and measurable. For example, instead of saying you want to grow your social media following, aim to gain 1,000 new followers every month. Or, instead of promising to build an email marketing list, say you want an average email click-through rate (CTR) of 4 percent.

Your business’s precise metrics for success will be unique. However, you must establish these metrics early and assess your results continually. As your business grows and becomes more successful, consider reevaluating which KPIs and metrics are most relevant.

5. Establish a marketing budget.

Before you can develop a marketing strategy, you must determine how much money you can dedicate to it. If you’re in the startup phase, there’s a good chance your budget is slim, so you’ll need to use it wisely. If you’re a small business owner, a business budget template can help you get started. Once you’ve determined how much money you have for marketing, you must divide it among the best marketing strategies for your business. 

For example, if your target market is younger and interacts with your product only on social media, consider allotting a significant chunk of your budget to your social media campaigns. If you notice that your blog is your most powerful marketing tool, you may want to dedicate more resources to hiring expert writers.

“When it comes to the marketing budget, we set these [at] 1.5 percent of projected annual revenue for our consulting startups, with 100 percent of spending focused on achieving the strategic objectives and metrics in the plan,” said Amy Kenly, vice president of marketing at The Launch Box. 

Kenly advised startups to assemble a dedicated finance team to track expenses and ensure the marketing budget isn’t overextended. “Since startup revenue can be volatile, we stay in constant communication with finance teams to make sure revenue goals are on track and adjust our investment plans accordingly,” Kenly noted. 

6. Create a website and a blog.

It’s crucial to increase brand awareness online. While your industry and target market will help determine the extent of your online presence, a website and a blog are likely excellent tools for establishing your startup as a credible organization. Depending on your budget and skill set, you can build and manage your website yourself or use one of the best website builders and design services.

But it’s not enough to create a website and a blog; you or a team member must continually update them and offer fresh content. For example, your blog should have a consistent posting schedule and produce valuable content. 

Kenly emphasized the importance of developing an SEO strategy and monitoring your website’s performance to maximize the reach of your online resources. “Right from the start, we focus on website SEO and establish baseline metrics for organic visitors, bounce rates, session duration and returning users,” Kenly explained.

7. Find the right social channels for your startup.

Many startups recognize the power of affordable social media marketing. However, only a few understand the importance of using the right channels. Each social media platform serves different personalities and audiences who interact with each channel differently. You must determine which platforms work best for your startup. Here are a few popular examples:

• Facebook: Facebook is a social media powerhouse. You’ll find disparate audience types, but you must seek out your target customers and use appropriate Facebook marketing strategies to connect with them.
• Instagram: Instagram is an excellent marketing and advertising platform. Its algorithm is optimized for valuable content, so your strategy must include consistently helpful, high-quality Instagram posts.
• X (formerly Twitter): Consistency is also paramount when you’re using this social media site as a marketing channel. The ultimate goal is to provide relevant content for your audience.

Here’s some advice for getting your business started on social media: 

• Engage with your target audience. Stutt’s business enjoyed success when connecting with potential buyers via social media. “When we built our home maintenance app, we spent a good deal of time commenting on Instagram and [X] posts where people were announcing their new houses,” Stutt recalled. “We congratulated and followed them, and made sure to provide helpful info when they posted with problems and questions. This cost us nothing [but] allowed us to connect with exactly the type of people we built the app for and build a reputation as a knowledgeable and helpful source.”
• Test potential platforms for suitability. Evaluate and test various social media platforms to find where your brand resonates the best. For example, business-to-business (B2B) companies can benefit from a LinkedIn business profile, home services companies can generate referrals from Nextdoor, and Pinterest can boost e-commerce product sales. 
• Consider paid social media ad campaigns. Stutt noted that although engagement with your audience on social media is free, many platforms allow you to purchase ads and conduct paid campaigns, including pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. “We combined [customer outreach] with a paid social campaign on Facebook and YouTube focused on new home buyers,” Stutt explained. “By focusing on a smaller slice of the market, we could have an outsized effect with a key cohort.”
• Stay professional and true to your brand voice. Always use social platforms thoughtfully to avoid cringey brand fails that can harm your business and customer relationships. 

8. Cultivate relationships with influencers.

Social media influencers can be an enormous boon for brand awareness. Getting influencers to market your product can build brand trust, offer social proof and boost sales. 

Evaluate influencers based on their audiences and personalities. Ensure that their audience includes your target customers. Contact them to see if they’re interested in cross-promotional efforts in exchange for free products and services. An authentic, organic influencer relationship can raise brand awareness and transform your startup into a credible force. 

9. Build a subscriber list for email marketing. 

Email marketing campaigns can be incredibly cost-effective. Stutt advised startups to begin building an email marketing list as soon as possible. “Way too many startups put way too little effort into collecting email addresses from every visitor, follower and even customer,” Stutt said. “Email is still the best ROI [return on investment] you will (most likely) see from a marketing channel.”

With a robust subscriber list, you can build strong relationships with prospects and customers via offers, email newsletters, company news and more. “If you’re going to spend the money and the time to get someone to your website, it makes no sense [not to] make a little more effort to get a way to keep communications open with them,” Stutt said. “It costs virtually nothing to send emails.” 

However, your communications must be relevant and engaging, or else your recipients will unsubscribe. “Don’t just leave an email field in your footer and cross your fingers,” Stutt said. “Make a real ask [and] provide a benefit, be it 10 percent off your first order, a free trial of your SaaS solution, etc.”

10. Create ads that appeal to people’s emotions.

When you build an emotional connection with customers, you develop brand intimacy. Consider how the following emotions can influence customer relationships:

• Happiness: Positive posts with smiling, laughing and happy customers can increase user engagement. Coca-Cola is an example of a brand that has leveraged this kind of emotional content to reach consumers. Its ads feature photos of happy people and taglines such as “open happiness” and “taste the feeling.”
• Fear: Fear is an instinct that triggers reactions to threats and boosts our chances of survival. It creates a sense of urgency that prompts us to act or effect change. For example, public service announcements often employ fear tactics to prevent cigarette smoking and drunk driving. However, use this strategy with caution to avoid upsetting and turning off potential customers.
• Anger: Although anger is a negative emotion, it can spur people to act. You may want to create ads that prompt your target audience to ask important questions, and sometimes, anger is a necessary part of this. Again, aim for this reaction sparingly and responsibly.

11. Build a referral network.

Word-of-mouth advertising is a powerful marketing strategy that helps build brand advocacy. Because people make purchases based on trust and credibility, you can leverage their networks to get referrals.

Getting a referral is a two-step process. First, you must deliver top-quality results to clients. In addition to offering a stellar product or service, you must communicate openly and often with customers.

The second step is to ask for customer feedback — both good and bad. To build customer trust, lead with transparency when you handle mistakes. Asking for feedback is a great way to understand your clients’ personalities and find out how satisfied they are. You can then use their feedback to improve your service.

12. Maintain a consistent brand and message.

Brand consistency is crucial for businesses of all sizes. Although your startup will undergo some changes over time, it’s vital for your brand image and communication to remain consistent because it reinforces your credibility and builds customers’ confidence in your service.

13. Measure your results.

The only way to gauge success or failure is to consistently measure your digital marketing ROI. How does your audience interact with your brand online? Do you have high conversion rates and low bounce rates? Are your Instagram posts driving more engagement than your Facebook posts? Assess your strategy’s performance to identify areas for improvement.

“Track how much it costs to acquire each client (CAC) and how much they are worth over time (CLV) by means of quantifiable goals,” advised Georgi Todorov, founder of Create & Grow. “Concentrate on one to two platforms where your readers spend time, and build a basic website or blog to distribute useful information.”

You might need to check some metrics daily, such as website visits, total number of leads, and leads and visits per channel. In contrast, other metrics — such as new versus returning visitors, click-through rates, and cost per acquisition — can be measured weekly or monthly.

After you measure your results, don’t hesitate to modify your marketing plan if needed. Your marketing strategy should evolve with your business.

14. Assemble the right team.

Individual talents and skills are essential for business success. However, teamwork and employee collaboration can take your business to the next level. Whether you hire full-time employees or use a marketing agency, consider these factors:

• Identify the roles you need to fill to achieve your goals.
• Determine whether you need individuals to work on a contract or full-time basis.
• Interview each candidate for their strengths, skills and experience.
• Conduct regular assessments to evaluate team members.

How your marketing plan relates to the sales funnel

When creating your marketing plan and its associated budget, you must include marketing initiatives and strategies to address every aspect of the sales funnel. This ensures that your business has a steady stream of potential customers and that you continually nurture prospects with relevant and engaging content to encourage them to purchase. 

“Marketing should follow the sales funnel: utilize SEO or social advertisements to get people’s attention (awareness), give free resources like e-books to keep them engaged (interest), and use email or remarketing ads to inspire them to buy (intent/purchase),” Todorov explained. “Stay in contact with useful updates to foster loyalty following purchases. The secret is to keep things basic, monitor your development, and concentrate on what works.”

Here are some marketing strategies for every step of the sales funnel.

Awareness

Building awareness is at the top of the sales funnel. Potential customers likely haven’t heard of you yet, so you must do something disruptive to get their attention. This is called push marketing; it usually involves paid advertising paired with content, although it can also incorporate SEO. 

At this stage, you must collect prospects’ contact information, such as their email addresses, so you can continue to reach them for your down-funnel initiatives. For example, you might run Google ads or Facebook ads and drive prospects to a landing page or website where they can enter their contact information in exchange for a free e-book.

Interest and evaluation

Now that your prospects know about your brand, you must provide them with information over time that demonstrates the following:

• How your product can solve their problem
• Why it’s a better solution than competitive or substitute products
• Why it’s a good value

An email nurture campaign is an ideal way to deliver this type of content consistently, either in the body of the email or through links to your blog posts, videos, case studies, infographics or webinars.

Social media marketing is also an excellent strategy at this stage of the sales funnel because it allows you to distribute content to your followers while developing a relationship with them. 

Intent

In this stage, prospects are getting closer to purchasing. It’s time to provide information that addresses their objections. During the intent phase, consider one-on-one interactions with a salesperson or customer service rep who can answer specific questions and objections personally. 

For instance, if your product is expensive, explain that its high quality means it will last longer than competitors’ products, thereby saving customers money in the long run. Share testimonials, highlight good customer reviews, and display followers’ comments as credible social proof to dispel objections.

This is also a good time to answer prospects’ questions via FAQ pages that proactively address common questions and concerns. For example, a B2B company could explain payment and financing terms and walk prospects through the purchase process and lead time.

Purchase

When a customer decides to buy your product, your work isn’t finished. You must ensure that your purchase-and-payment process is easy and seamless to present a smooth experience for customers. Removing friction from the purchasing process will reduce abandoned purchases.

To eliminate friction from the purchasing process, consider the following tips: 

• Evaluate your checkout pages, and ensure that they work perfectly.
• Examine your sales process to see if it can be streamlined.
• Create post-purchase text or email notifications that thank customers and share shipping and tracking information. 
• After successful product delivery, send emails to request reviews and feedback and provide any additional instructions. 
• Set up an email series with upselling and cross-selling opportunities and customer service follow-ups.

Loyalty

Now that a purchase has been made, you have a new customer. But remember, existing customers are more valuable than new ones, so it pays to take steps to retain them. In addition to providing excellent customer service, strengthen your customer relationships by offering valuable content, interacting via social media, and implementing customer loyalty programs. Devoting resources to keeping your customers engaged and happy will pay off by increasing their customer lifetime value.

Amanda Clark contributed to this article.