Startup Marketing: Is It Time To Hire a Marketer?

Startup founders wear many hats, working on tasks like developing products, pitching investors, and managing budgets. On top of all those responsibilities, they also often have to lead marketing efforts and establish a unique and creative brand. 

Marketing is foundational to the success of a startup. But it doesn’t all have to be on the founder’s shoulders. Understanding the role of marketing in a startup can help you know if it’s time to hire a dedicated marketer. 

Startup Marketing Basics

Most startups try to operate as leanly as possible at the beginning, and some see marketing as an extra and unnecessary expense—but that’s simply not the case. Research shows that inadequate marketing accounts for 14% of startup failures. Even from the early days, marketing plays a crucial role in getting a startup off the ground. Early-stage marketing helps establish a strong brand from the beginning, which makes it easier to connect with customers and grow over time. 

Here are just some startup marketing tasks:

• Market research. Central to the success of any startup is knowing your audience. Is there a market for your product or service? Who’s the competition? Who is your target customer? All of these questions fall under the marketing umbrella. Marketing can help paint a better picture of the industry, identify customer personas, and understand customer needs. 

• Brand creation. Companies need a strong brand to stand out in today's competitive market. Marketing takes the lead in creating a cohesive brand, from the logo and color palette to the brand voice and tone. Without a cohesive brand, it’s challenging to set yourself apart.

• Lead generation. Regardless of the product or service you sell, marketing is critical for lead generation. A marketer can create buzz around your product, network with other professionals, talk to potential customers, develop a content calendar and content marketing strategy, and build a pipeline of customers. 

• Digital and community engagement. A marketer can also strengthen your brand to bring in more customers, especially through digital and community engagement. This area covers everything from content and social media marketing to collaborating with other companies and getting involved in the community.

Signs Your Startup Needs a Dedicated Marketer

In most startups, marketing tasks land on the founders, especially when there are only a few employees. However, marketing becomes a full-time responsibility as the company grows and the need for marketing increases (especially as companies go to market and acquire more customers). And when a founder is pulled away from other strategic growth initiatives to lead marketing, it can slow the growth of the company. And that’s not to mention that a dedicated marketer brings expertise and the skills needed to build a solid brand.

Is it time to hire a dedicated marketer? Look for these four signs:

1. Your branding is inconsistent. It’s difficult to bring in customers or gain credibility without a strong, consistent brand. However, non-marketers may not have the eye for all the details that go into the visual and written brand. Consistent branding builds a strong culture, gives employees something to rally around, and makes your company more identifiable and unique to potential customers. 

2. Marketing is pulling time from other business tasks. If the founders or de-facto marketers are feeling burnt out or stretched thin and don’t have time to work on their business areas of expertise, it’s time to bring in a dedicated marketer. Marketing is a full-time role, and without passion or experience, it can be draining. Additionally, it could potentially limit growth opportunities if founders split their attention. 

3. Your current efforts aren’t bringing a return. Most startups work with limited budgets, meaning every marketing effort needs to be strategic and impactful. But if you find you’re putting time and resources into marketing efforts that aren’t moving the needle, it’s time to tap into a professional’s expertise. 

4. You’re ready to scale. If you’ve tapped out your current market and are ready to expand into a new product, geography, or customer base, you need to make marketing a priority. Scaling a startup requires strategic marketing efforts, which are most successful when led by a dedicated marketer.

The Risk and Reward of Getting it Right: Real-Life Startup Marketing Examples

Investing in a dedicated marketer for your startup now can set the stage for future success and accelerate growth opportunities. Many of today’s successful companies found success because they prioritized marketing as startups. 

Dropbox is one example. When the company was founded in 2008, it didn’t have a large marketing budget. It used its limited resources to create a referral program, which invited customers to share the service with other potential customers. Customers who referred new customers earned additional storage space in their Dropbox accounts. Word-of-mouth recommendations helped Dropbox grow quickly and build a dedicated customer base.

Here’s another example. When it first started, Halo Top Creamery prioritized social media marketing and quickly gained attention on Instagram. Its unique, bright brand colors, which were consistent across all content, helped potential customers notice the brand and want to learn more about it.

Looking at these successful brands, it’s the reality that one of the best ways to set your startup up for long-term success is by prioritizing marketing, understanding its impact, and hiring a dedicated marketer to grow your brand.