Commentary Box

Recently, I have been doing a lot of work with some start-up businesses. The common theme among these start-ups is that they have a really great product or service and have been taken a little bit by surprise at how quickly they have taken off. It is only after they've had a bit of success that they decide they need to look at ways to improve their marketing to take their business to the next level. This is because up until this stage it has been their great product/service that has been driving sales, not marketing. Now, however, they need to spread the message of their product/service to attract new customers.

This is when we get the phone call. It goes something like this:

Joe Blogs: Hi there, I have started making these fantastic little widgets and they have been selling pretty well to my local market and now I want to sell them everywhere.

Me: Great, congratulations. Who are your target markets?

Joe: Um, I don't really know.

Me: Do your customers share any similar demographic, sociographic, psychographic or ethnographic traits?

Joe: I don't really know, I've never really thought about it. I just started making these widgets becasue I thought they were cool.

Me: They obviously are cool, people have been buying them. Do you have any promotional material yet? 

Joe: Yeah, a mate of a mate did a logo, business cards and a website up for me real cheap.

Me: Do they reflect the values of the brand you are trying to establish and connect emotionally with your target markets?

Joe: I don't know.

You get the point, they hadn't really planned on their success. Now they are showing signs they might be on the right track with their product they need to start thinking about where they are headed next. Unfortunately, after analysing most businesses at this stage we find that their logo and website etc. don't really align themselves with the core values needed by the new brand or their target markets. It's all been hit and miss and needs to be done all over again.

Now, I understand that new businesses have to be extremely cautious with their cashflow and have limits on how much they can afford for their initial marketing. Cash is king, we all get that. But nothing hurts cashflow more than wasted money, and even though the initial marketing material was done "real cheap", it is still a waste of money. It is much more economical to get it done right the first time!

If you are planning on starting a business, or find yourself in the above situation, start planning on becoming a success and give us a call to discuss how we might be able to help you with your marketing, advertising and branding.