I’m Tired of Seeing B2B Startups Make This Mistake
It honestly pains me to write this article, but I know it’s necessary.
It pains me because I have to recount an unsettling experience I had. But B2B startups need to learn this.
1 year ago, I joined a small team at a B2B fintech startup.
Based on my observations, they weren’t doing badly. They had a few customers here and there, but they struggled to scale that number.
They had a small, excellent, and efficient team, but I guess the pressure to perform got to them.
So they started implementing several marketing strategies at the same time — SEO, broad PPC campaigns, scattered email marketing, social media ADs, disjointed blogs, you name it.
I’ve seen companies implement different marketing strategies at the same time. And that’s pretty normal, but would the same strategy work for you?
Again, I’m writing from the POV of startups. What works for established companies might not work for a startup. Remember that you’re working with a tight budget, so you can’t afford to waste it.
How To Choose The Right Strategy For Your B2B Startup
There are a few things I like to do when choosing a strategy for B2B startups:
Research the Competition
After I came on board, I took some time to research the fintech industry and my client’s competition. I highlighted the strategies they were using and made projections as to how well they worked. (I don’t work there, so all I can do is guess.)
Assess The Company’s Goal
Our company’s goal was to generate more revenue by acquiring new customers in a month. So that’s 10 customers in 4 weeks.
After my research, I realized it wasn’t possible based on our then standpoint.
The team and stakeholders had to have a sit-down conversation to assess the goals and the timeline together. After a lot of back and forth, we decided to be more realistic with our goal — 4 clients in 4 weeks.
Using the Right Strategy
Every marketing strategy is great. Nobody would talk about it if it didn’t work.
But is it the right strategy for your B2B startup? Does it align with the goals you’re trying to achieve at a certain time?
We had a month to bring in 4 paying customers. So, implementing an SEO strategy wasn’t effective. We scrapped that immediately because it was taking up the time and resources we needed for other strategies.
We also cut back on broad PPC efforts and narrowed them down to targeting accounts that own the decision within small to mid-sized financial institutions and tech firms.
Next, we launched a PLG and ABM strategy. Then, we also interviewed many targeted customers who gave feedback and their pain points. Using this feedback, we launched some more features and were able to convert them into annual contracts.
The Results
This directed approach resulted in a 42% rise in revenue over the first year. Using a few tactics to retain these customers, we consistently increased revenue for my client.
Here’s my word of advice to all B2B startups out there — please hire marketers who are experienced.
Hire marketers who have worked with startups even before they had funding. Money and funding are very important, but sometimes you can scale even without a marketing budget.
If your marketing team isn’t getting the results you desire, can we talk about it? Send me a text, so we can run an audit and see what the problem is.
