Marketing is hard. Whether you’re an established company or a nimble startup, it’s easy to get bogged down by all the marketing trends, tools, and tactics you could add to your business plan.
MAGNET’s Iterator helps startups look at progress in a unique way by making guesses, testing assumptions, and continually iterating on your idea. Don’t get caught up in making something perfect; make it, test it, and adjust it based on the results.
With this strategy in mind, I recommend reading this article by Sean Hirsch of the digital marketing agency Tenlo (an AMG company). It’s a valuable read for anyone refining their marketing strategy.
Sean started a company (sometimes referred to as a “side hustle”) and came away with this insight:
“What I didn’t expect was for my new startup to teach me new lessons in marketing.”
Here are the startup marketing lessons that stuck out to me.
Value Customer Feedback
Getting customer feedback is the best way to iterate on your product, be it about the product itself or surrounding elements like price, shipping, availability, etc. Not only will they tell you what to fix in the next iteration, but as Sean highlights, you can build customer loyalty by valuing that feedback.
“Listen and provide honest answers to your customers to boost the trustworthiness of your brand.”
Don’t Make Assumptions
“Don’t throw away money advertising products to people based on your personal perceptions. This is where data comes into play” (emphasis mine). When making assumptions, make them based on data— market research, customer feedback, web search trends, and whatever else you can compile. Sean suggests using these data points to tailor your marketing campaigns to attain the most pertinent customer feedback.
There’s No Silver Bullet
This goes back to not getting stuck on “perfect"— be it a perfect marketing tool, perfect ad campaign, perfect landing page, or anything else.
“The most cost-effective marketing strategy is a test-and-learn approach. Small scale A/B testing will ensure that you get the most for your investment.”
I couldn’t agree more.
While you may not consider your startup company a “side hustle,” check out the full article for tips on how to hone your marketing tactics.
Read “5 Marketing Insights Learned from a Side Hustle” by Sean Hirsch of Tenlo.
