One of the biggest challenges faced by young companies in growing and marketing their businesses is the lack of capital to experiment with different strategies – outdoor advertising, native ads, or content marketing. Established companies typically allocate one to 10 percent of their sales revenue to marketing, while companies that have been in operation for one to five years allocate 12 to 20 percent of their projected revenue for the year or gross revenue to marketing.
Startups, on the other hand, need to spend much more because they have to create buzz, capture their market share, and establish industry connections. The following are some of the things that every startup company should include in their marketing strategy, together with the estimated costs.
- Branding
This is the first impression that the public gets of your business, so you need to make it count. You can spend between $4,000 and $5,000 to hire a small design agency to help you create the designs, though you can spend less or more depending on the products that you intend to start with, like business cards, letterheads, pamphlets, brochures, menus, outdoor signs, etc. - Website
If you have web-savvy staff, you can significantly reduce the cost of setting up a website by doing it in-house. But since you want your website to match the rest of your branding, it is better to seek professional help. An all-inclusive website solution comprising a responsive website design, positioning, messaging, content, SEO, and maintenance may cost you $3,500 – $50,000, depending on what your web company offers. Ensure you’re working with a company who understands your brand and works within your budget. - Social media
There are so many social networks today, including niche networks, but you don’t have to create a profile on every single platform. Social media is one of the easiest ways for small business to grow a community around their brand/product/services, so you need to identify the best platforms to reach your audience, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and a niche social network. - Advertising
You need to think about both online and offline marketing. For online marketing, you need to provide consistently high-quality content that is informative, engaging, and valuable to attract traffic. You also need to think about search engine optimisation, keywords, ranking, and paid ads.
Just as importantly is the budget you have to allocate for your offline advertising. Avenues like Wildposting®, guerilla marketing, and other large-scale campaigns that will instantly draw attention to your brand. Getting your message out there in a loud way is the first step to creating a memorable first impression for your brand. - Events
It is more cost-effective to network by attending other companies’ events, but you may need to organise some events yourself, depending on your industry. For example, a wedding photographer can do easy networking at a bridal expo, but mechanics will have a harder time finding similar exposure, as most industry events for the automotive field are private. In this instance, they’d have to consider throwing their own event.
Although these are the essential costs for most new businesses, the amounts can vary depending on the business goals, budget, staff, and industry. Talk to our experts today to see what kind of advertising would best suit your startup needs!
