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Startup

7 Expert Tips To Allocate A Marketing Budget For A New Startup Business!

According to a report in the Times of India, “India is home to 81 unicorns as of now, with a total valuation of $274 billion.” With so many startups joining the league of Unicorns, it has become essential for the existing ones to focus on their branding and marketing game.

Branding and marketing are those two pillars in an organization that help a business to reach out to its potential customers. But as there are so many marketing avenues, small startup businesses often face the challenge to determine where they should invest their limited marketing resources.

Startups often lack clarity at early stages on how much time, money, and effort they should spend on their advertising, public relations, branding, social media planning, and content strategy at the outset.

So, if you have a startup business made from your dreams, passion, and determination, here is a list of some of the most effective strategies to help entrepreneurs and founders to develop first-time marketing budgets to optimize their investments and achieve maximum results:

1. Master One Method First

Just like when we learn driving, we want to do everything at once. But, as the primary rule, we learn to control the steering wheel. Similarly, as an entrepreneur, you should pick one thing and do it well. Once you have mastered it you can start focusing on building out the other options as you begin to get more business. Focus all your efforts, time, and money on a single method and use that as your power to get more business and break through the noise.

2. Pick Measurable Outcomes

When looking out for the best marketing choices, it is best to find out what you want for your measurable outcomes to be. For instance, if you want to sell 200 products in your first month, with an average value of INR 500 per customer, you should provide this to a marketing company to receive quotes on actions, and not just marketing services. It will help them to filter out the options deemed best for your business on actual budget samples.

3. Allot a Budget to a Few Targeted Areas

It will be unrealistic for any business to allot a budget without considering their revenue. A new startup must need to consider its targeted areas and how much budget should be allocated. It is best to focus on one target area and then grow into others as traction is gained. You can also take an online business course for entrepreneurs to learn more about marketing and advertisement.

4. Find Out How Each Strategy Will Impact Your Business

While budget allocation initially is a smart decision, understanding how each strategy is going to impact your business is paramount. Dedicating between 10 to 20 percent of gross revenue is a good starting point to invest in marketing and advertisement. Basics such as collaterals should not go beyond 5% of your gross revenue unless a brand strategy calls for it. PRs, advertising, communications are all similar. But to determine what will help your business to grow and attract your potential customers is essential. Focus on what is going to help you succeed.

5. Build a Scalable & Multi-Year Strategy

In the first year, you need a logo, a website, and some basic branding elements. But one most essential thing is content. You need great content for any marketing strategy to work. And as your company grows, you can spend more on advertising and promotions. When your company begins to scale, you can increase your budget.

6. Know Your Customer Journey

One of the most crucial things that every startup must do is that they should have a solid understanding of their customer journey. Run test ads on social media platforms and Google to find out how much you will have to spend to acquire a customer. You can also take an online course for entrepreneurs for marketing.

Investing in PR and branding can help you to lower your ad expenditure, only if done right. It will also increase your conversions, and give you a better idea of how much you must invest and in which medium of marketing.

7. Begin with Organic Marketing

There is no magic formula or shortcut to marketing your brand and advertising your products to increase your revenue. Startups should always begin with organic efforts, such as content marketing, PR, SEO, before diving into big ad spending. Why? It offers three benefits:

a).  It reduces your budget

b). It lets you find out what works by trial and error before investing in advertising.

c). Delivers ROI

Every single penny plays an essential role in a startup budget. Hence, it is important to allocate the budget carefully for marketing and advertising. Hope the above-mentioned techniques will help you to seek out choices that will give you the best results for your startup business.

Having a compelling marketing idea is great. But you know what is even better? Personal guidance to increase your brand presence consistently to facilitate sales, engage your customers and close leads. Our Problem Solving Courses can help you to overcome marketing and advertising challenges.

Categories
Strategy

4 Effective Ways To Communicate Your Brand To Consumers For Better Recall Value!

Do you have a startup that nobody knows about? Or are you struggling with low customer reach? If any of these questions resonate with your current business crisis, then maybe you are not able to create a value for your brand that connects your target customer with it.

Today, customers lack trust in brands, so making your brand authentic and giving it a voice that gives out a clear message is a challenge that many entrepreneurs face in the market world. But, keeping your brand on the top is also essential to create a recall value.

If you have an excellent market sense, you can learn creative ways to hone your skills by taking a business coaching program.

Also, if you think you are doing everything right, but still falling short to make an impact on your customers, you can take help from the best motivational speaker in India. A great coach will help you to point at the loopholes of the marketing strategies.

How you choose to communicate with your niche audience can have an impact on your brand. It also determines if a customer recognizes your corporate message or chooses to ignore it.

So how can you communicate your brand message effectively with your customers? Here are 5 ways in which you can create a brand value that your customers will always remember:

1. Give Experiential Marketing a Try!

Externally or internally, experiential marketing is great for a startup business. However, it is crucial to stay consistent, especially during the rebranding. Use the same color combination, logos, and a consistent brand voice throughout, as it helps to maintain consistency. Keep it simple with contact info, and try not to incorporate too much information.

2. Make your Brand Real

Many customers in today`s world do not trust brands, they prefer to trust real customers who have got the hands-on experience on a specific product. “Word-of-mouth” has taken a digital avatar and now people take reviews more seriously before purchasing a product.

If your business also deals online, you can showcase real customers using or wearing your products through videos, photo displays, or live streaming social feeds whether at work or having a vacation. The real-world view gives an immediate answer to the most common question of customers- “where they can use the product?” To excel in this crucial step, you can also take any business coaching program in which branding is explained in detail.

3. Make Your Brand Irresistible

Catching your customer`s attention is crucial if you want to create a strong presence for your brand. To build a powerful presence, you can use a digital medium such as tablets, to showcase your logo or marketing collateral.

You can also use billboards to display your business in high-traffic areas. You can also put your staff in jerseys or t-shirts which are well-branded with your logo and brand colors. You can also provide your team as well as customers with branded mugs and water bottles.

4. Show Your Company Culture

Your company`s culture matters more than you can ever anticipate. Since consumers want more authenticity it is essential to showcase the beliefs and values of the organization and employees. You can take a picture of your organization participating in something charitable. Showing a strong culture can have a powerful influence on the entire vibe of your brand.

Don`t tell a brand`s story. Rather show your customers and make them experience it. Take your brand`s DNA and bring it to life by simply showcasing the story behind your brand values. You can use the above-mentioned tips to establish your brand`s authority in the market.

You can learn effective marketing tips by taking a business coaching program. To know more about it, visit www.badabusiness.com

Categories
Marketing

5 Marketing Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Can Damage Business

Entrepreneurship is not easy, especially when it comes to making a marketing strategy for your startup business. Entrepreneurs learn new things by analyzing the market trend and what works for their brand. Despite, all the analysis and statistics, they tend to make mistakes.

Many mistakes most of the time that looks massive, end up being temporary setbacks. However, some mistakes may prove fatal for a startup business plan. These mistakes arise only when entrepreneurs exhibit a fundamental misunderstanding of best marketing practices. So if you are an entrepreneur and looking to avoid marketing mistakes that you must avoid, here is a list:

1. IGNORING THE BRAND

Your brand serves as the foundation of your business identity. It acts as a connecting link between your small startup business and your customers. Hence, if you try to market your business without a brand, you might have to taste the dust.

When people see your logo, your tagline, or pick up on your brand`s tone, they will form an opinion about your brand. This is the connection that is necessary for a business to thrive. Without it, your business is just floating in free space without any recognition and association.

So never market your business without brand building. The more connections you build the more familiar your customers will become with your brand.

2. MARKETING TO EVERYONE

One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs can make is not being aware of their target customers. For instance, not everyone loves Apple IPhones and there could be multiple reasons like budget, operating system, interface, or restrictions.

Hence, it is very important to choose your market niche carefully and not market your product to everybody. Many entrepreneurs think that “everybody” is the largest possible audience, and so it offers the largest possible return. But the truth is far from this notion. A generic brand message has the least recall value.

So to stand out, you have to be unique when it comes to marketing, just like your startup business idea. Create specifically crafted messages for one segment of your customers at a time.

3. PRESUMPTIONS ABOUT AN AUDIENCE

Making presumptions can be disastrous when it comes to potential customers. There are some marketers who very well understand that every customer is unique and hence, they should craft messages by keeping a specific audience in mind. Still, they don`t do it effectively!

Instead of relying on data and statistics, they rather make broad assumptions about their target audience. This can be detrimental for any business, especially for a startup business that is struggling to enter the market. Every entrepreneur needs to ask this question to themselves. If they are making their market decisions because of the way you think things work, or because of the way things work in practical work?

4. INVESTING LITTLE OR TOO MUCH

Successful investment in marketing is similar to putting salt in a dish- both demand a careful balance! Investing too much money at the beginning of the startup can be a waste of money because you might not know your target audience very well. You don`t know which platforms are more suitable for your business and what works best for your brand.

On the other hand, if you are investing too little, it will not yield desired results and you might not be able to acquire new customers.

5. FAILING TO EXPERIMENT

Innovate or Die- this phrase defines marketing in the best possible way. If you are not experimenting, you can`t improve. And marketing is not a point-and-shoot game. It is a game of setting and resetting expectations, getting closer, but never reaching set parameters.

Watch how NOKIA lost its grip on the market and failed as a mobile giant in this video:

Hence, the only way to craft a perfect marketing strategy for your startup business is to try new things and being bold with your strategies, and see which ones work and which ones fail.

The above marketing strategies should be avoided when trying to establish a brand presence for a startup business. These mistakes are not only damaging for new entrepreneurs, but they are also some of the most common. The good news is that if you catch these mistakes early, you can up your marketing game.

If you want to know how to craft marketing strategies for your business, you can take our business coaching program.

Categories
Startup

5 Smart Tips To Create Successful Moment Marketing For Startups!

We can never forget the moment when during a press conference Cristiano Ronaldo moved aside Coca-Cola bottles. While this one small action resulted in the reduced valuation of the famous brand overnight, many other brands made the most out of this opportune moment to score a creative goal.

A lot of creative memes were captured on the screen followed by several famous brands like Fevicol hijacking the event to connect with their customers. The idea was simple- custom-fit the controversy according to their brand, to market themselves, appeal to their clients, and rope in new ones. This was a moment of marketing that was used by all popular brands across the globe and equally works for small start businesses.

 So what exactly is this concept of Moment Marketing that has become all the rage?

Moment Marketing is an awesome technique that utilizes the ongoing viral event without having to pay for it. Though many people assume that it is a new thing, they are completely mistaken. The Utterly Butterly Amul girl has been hijacking the ongoing events for decades. The creative and witty liners have been received well and enjoyed by the audiences as well.

If you are an entrepreneur, who is looking to hijack a viral moment for your brand presence to reach more audience, here are 5 tips to ace it:

1. Stay Updated with the Trends & Keep Your Product in the Centre

One of the most crucial aspects of Moment Marketing is to stay updated with the viral trends. It helps you to recreate the viral moments and this connectedness helps you to spot trends and stay upgraded with the important news.

While you may be already attuned to the growing trends on social media, you still might have to keep an eye out for those trends that can be utilized as a part of moment marketing for your brand.

Another thing that should be kept in mind while crafting a marketing strategy is to link it smartly back to your product. It will help to create brand awareness and accomplish the ultimate goal of improving sales and customers.

2. Incorporate Humor

Humor is the best way to put across your brand message on the internet and bring a smile to your customer`s face. Irrespective of the trends, brands that manage to capture viral trends with a funny jab on them are usually rewarded with high audience engagement, increased followers, or even paid media mentions.

Brands like Burger King, Amul, Zomato, and IKEA understand the power of humor and hence utilize it to take on current topics. If you are an entrepreneur with a small startup business, you can follow their page to realize that this approach works well for them.

3. Pop Culture All the Way

Can we ever forget the evergreen superhero movies or memes that have funny references from Gangs of Wasseypur? Pop culture references are the best way to grab your customers` attention. Your brand can create posts that have a feel of an inside joke using your brand`s voice while sharing your brand`s ethos and subtly building affinity without your target audience.

If you have a startup business, you can use this trend to increase your brand awareness on Social Media Platforms.

4. Maintain your Brand`s True Voice Without Being Pushy

Marketing strategies that appear effortless work like a breeze. There is a fine line between effortless moments marketing and marketing that appears to be a desperate attempt by a brand to look cool. Always ensure that your efforts don`t fall into the latter category by keeping your brand`s core values at the forefront of all your moment marketing activities.

5. Choose Trends Wisely

Not every customer is a potential customer. Similarly, not every trend is meant for your brand. Not every incident, or event needs to resonate with your brand`s personality. Neither should you try and insert your brand into every trending topic out there.

When a trend talks about controversial issues like politics, religious sentiments, wars, or any other sensitive issues, it is best to keep a distance as you would not want your brand to be associated with something which is remotely offensive. You can also watch video-based on Moment Marketing, here:

Moment marketing for brands is a fun way to engage with your customers. And while Ronaldo or Zomato may provide the push to set the marketing ball rolling, it is the quick, witty, and collaborative thinking that results in successful moment marketing. Try our helpful tips mentioned above while preparing a solid marketing campaign.

To learn more about marketing, you can take our online Problem Solving Course that is designed for specific business problems.

Categories
Business motivation

5 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Shall have a Powerful Personal Brand!

Every startup business must have a brand value and every entrepreneur must focus on creating an impactful personal brand. If you have been in the market for years and still do not have a visible and powerful brand, you are doing at a great disadvantage to yourself in professional, business, and personal life.

What is personal branding?

From individual to popular brand, everyone has a unique personal brand. Personal branding is the art of marketing yourself and your business as brands, just like Dr. Vivek Bindra. Today, if anyone thinks about the best motivational speaker in India, Dr. Vivek Bindra, and his organization Bada Business is the first thing that comes to mind. That`s how much popular as a personal brand Dr. Vivek Bindra is in the business world.

Though personal branding is an ongoing process, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, or small business owners should strive for a powerful, attractive, and visible personal brand.

Wondering how can you achieve that?

Always stay true and display your authentic self by showcasing the engaging aspects of your professional and personal activities and interests.

Still, thinking, why do you need personal branding at all?

Here are five major reasons to have a top-notch personal brand if you want to be successful in the long run:

1. Attracts Big Opportunities

Opportunities will knock at your door only when you are being VISIBLE. When your brand or you as an entrepreneur are performing great in your professional work, customers, clients, vendors, and even companies will approach you and reach out to you. This will not only help you to make more customers but will also boost your revenue.

Want to know how you can create a brilliant personal brand? You can take online business courses for entrepreneurs with Bada Business where you can learn in-depth knowledge of personal branding.

2. Networking- Online & Offline

When you turn yourself into a brand that is recognizable and quite popular among people, everyone finds you desirable and attractive. This can help you build great professional connections as you can share distinct aspects of your business and brand with them. This variation will compel people to connect with you and do business as well.

3. Build your Business

A personal brand can yield much success to a business because from clients to customers and vendors, everyone would prefer to do business with a company whose leader has a killer personal brand. Best examples are Elon Musk, Ratan Tata, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates. The entire concept of personal branding is also known as brand equity in the business world.

Watch this compelling video on brand equity, here.

4. Boosts Confidence

Developing your brand requires you to unleash the inner leader inside you. You will have to find your authentic voice. When you find your voice, you will become much more capable to connect with your potential customers. Your audiences will start responding more positively that builds self-confidence and self-esteem. A powerful, visible, and attractive brand is the key. It helps you to create credibility and the reputation of your business in the long run.

5. A Lively Personal Life

A strong personal brand will not only help you in your business as an entrepreneur but also help you to have an enriched personal life. When you are interesting, people notice you and connect with you. Many times, you can become the best of friends with people who contacted you through your LinkedIn or Facebook profile.

Not only it is important you have a brand presence of your business, but also as an entrepreneur personal branding is equally important. If you want to learn more, you can take online business courses in India.

You can also take our premium course Entrepreneurship course’ to find personal guidance to increase your brand presence consistently to facilitate sales, engage your customers and close leads.

Categories
Business motivation

3 Effective Marketing Tips To Make Your Brand Viral At No Extra Cost!

If you are an entrepreneur and have just provided your dream idea a platform of reality, you know that social media marketing is the best way to increase your brand awareness. Being an entrepreneur is not easy and when it comes to marketing, budget is always a constraint.

However, there are plenty of ways today like Social Media Marketing which is perfect for branding as it is affordable and effective.

Social Media Marketing has a low barrier to entry. There is no need to hire an expensive ad agency for brand promotion on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

The power of digital marketing was felt long back. However, with the changing trends, almost 83% of marketers have already started using it to establish their brand presence, increase revenue, boost sales and interact with their potential and existing customers.

In the world of digitalization the adage “you have to spend money to make money” does not always fit well. If you have a product that can resolve the problems consumers are facing and the product is in great demand, you do not need to burn a hole in your marketing budget.

Now, even when you are planning to create a brand strategy for social media, you must understand that not every strategy will work. However, there are few ways to that will establish your brand, not to mention without spending a single penny. You can watch them here:

 

Here are some of the best low marketing ways through which you can make your brand Viral without shelling out much money:

  1. Incorporate an Emotional Touch into your brand

We all still remember the TV commercial by ‘DHARA’ in which a small kid decided to leave his home. But as soon as he realizes that his mother has cooked ‘Jalebi’, he comes back. The twinkle in his eye and the smile on his face, says it all.

An ad or a TV commercial becomes immortalize in the audience`s memory only if it has touched their hearts or evoked a memory that was lurking behind thousands of other memories. Emotions combined with brilliant brand strategy can yield fruitful results.

Customers today are bombarded with advertisements that only sell, sell and sell. They are tired of meaningless blabbering and information that only talks about the company`s products or services. They are more interested to know what value they will receive if they spend their hard-earned money on your product or service.

Hence, think about creative ways to inform and educate your customers. Try to give a personal touch to your branding, so that your customers can connect with them.

  1. Socially Responsible Emotional Story

The easiest way to make your brand viral is to create a hook in your brand message that sends out a clear and crisp social message to society.

Creating a brand message that is loud enough to send a social message represents your brand`s value and boosts your credibility. The customers feel connected with your brand and share the content with maximum people.

A human brain gets more influenced by emotions rather than logic. Hence, at no extra expense, you can create brand promotion messages that support social causes and enhance credibility amongst the audience.

  1. Create a Captivating Hook

When Apple decided to advertise for its latest iPhone 6 in the Indian market, they came out with a concept that showcases how difficult it is to get your hands on your favorite gadget via wedding. Apple, for the first time, launched an EMI concept for its buyers and made an advertisement that stole millions of hearts.

It was a great branding technique to viral their product that too on EMI to reach the pool of customers who wanted to purchase an iPhone, but couldn`t due to their budget constraints.

Most people often switch channels in the first 20 seconds, if they do not like the ad or a post. So whether you are creating a post for social media, a YouTube video, or a TV commercial, unless the ad has the hook that would keep the viewers glued to their seats, it will fall flat on its face.

If you have put the finger on the right pulse, you may witness the boost in your sales and increase in your revenue. So give that hook to your customers and win their loyalty forever.

If you are an entrepreneur and want to learn brand strategy to viral your brand at no extra cost, you must stop relying on the barefaced bribery of a referral program and should rather try the above-mentioned super powerful marketing tips that will make your customer swoon.

You can also learn the business dynamics from the masters of the industries by taking our “Everything about Entrepreneurship” course. In this course, you will gain in-depth knowledge about taking your business to new heights.