5 Things Startup Founders Should Know About Marketing

In 2023, Lana wrote a guest blog post with some basics about marketing startup founders should know.

Read the full blog.

EXCERPT TO THE BLOG

"Your first five years [of your startup] will probably be 5% product, 25% marketing, 70% sales to customers, investors, hires." Alan Jones, Startup Mentor & Investor 

We all know that marketing and sales is a huge part of a startup's success - both the short and long term. No question about it. Founders start businesses to sell something and selling that product requires a dedication to sales and marketing. 

Marketing is a lot like a startup itself. It’s all about the long term game and making consistent plays.

Sure, quick wins and rapid growth are great. But if you’re not thinking about the long-term, then you'll only get wins in the short term.

Marketing is all about creating a clear focus or clear campaign to sell something. Marketing involves a combo of owned, earned and paid media, and there’s a difference between focusing on a specific idea with campaign marketing vs always-on marketing. Across all of the channels, you've got to communicate clearly about what you offer. Founders need to not only attract the right potential customers, but they need to communicate with those customers so well that they will part with their money and become a part of your community. And that’s the whole reason why we all get into business in the first place. To make money in exchange for something that makes a difference to a person’s life - and ideally this is done in a smooth, clear and simple way. 

It can be hard to figure out what to do with your marketing. Talking about what you sell can be hard. So, here are some tips and what founders should know about marketing to make all your sales and marketing operations go a bit smoother.

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Five things startup founders should know about marketing:

1. Find what works for you.

2. Be open to testing and learning. Constantly. 

3. Make the most of your partners.

4. Answer FAQs, talk about your users and repurpose your content.

5. Understand your metrics.