Last week I was fortunate to have presented to XCellR8, part of the Connecticut Growth Network, an eclectic mix of technology start-ups, academia, reps from the state, VCers and consultants. After a shaky start, literally . . . (I stupidly skipped breakfast and wore shoes that crunched a broken left toe, sparking nausea and a blood sugar drop that almost landed me on the floor - I wish I were kidding) . . . my very patient, considerate crowd and I tackled a few topics on brand synergy and top online and offline marketing channels for pocket-friendly budgets.

If I could redo the hour, I would’ve focused it more on the area of high-return marketing channels. Brand synergy is important stuff, particularly for companies looking to build loyalty and find a competitive voice, but this group needs more “what can I do right now that won’t kill my budget” options. So, here are three areas that I believe hatchling start-ups should contemplate, keeping in mind that each business requires unique strategies:

Strategize, Don’t Agonize

During the discussion, the group expressed a few pain points that need further discussion. In particular:

“My business is not ready for marketing.”

RESPONSE A: If you’ve got a website and/or clients, you’re already marketing. The trick is focusing those energies to ensure the right message gets to the right markets and leads to more clients.

RESPONSE B: Remember that commercial that showed a start-up company’s excitement turn to panic as they launched their website and then watched purchase orders pile up into the millions? Never happens. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have your infrastructure in place before you reach out to the world, but avoiding marketing because you think you’ll be bombarded with clients that you have to turn away is causing you to miss opportunities. Building a product (or service or organization) and marketing it are joined at the hip. While you are building, you should be marketing. This doesn’t mean printing flyers or hiring a PR guy. It does mean engaging your market on the groundfloor to grow your audience, learn from them and then reach out to places where there are more of them. More tips on what marketing to tackle first are coming up.

“My clients don’t live online.”

RESPONSE: Are you sure? Call them and find out. Spend a few hours to reach out personally to clients and ask them questions about their challenges, the benefits you’ve been able to provide, how you can make it better, where they spend their time, publications they read, what types of programs they’d participate in and how they prefer to interact with you (email, print, etc.). When you have this information, compile it into a spreadsheet and compare notes among the clients based on their industry, purchase history and other defining features. This knowledge will help you finetune the channels you use to reach out, what you say and how often. By calling, you have also just made yourself top-of-mind with a client who was thinking about solving a production line problem or how they could improve efficiency. You never know where conversations can lead.

“My background is tech-based and I can’t afford to hire out for marketing or I only want to spend XXX, where do I invest?”

RESPONSE: Consider setting a budget, even if it’s only $500 and pick one or two initiatives. Based on what you know about your current clientele, target efforts that make sense for your business and what your audience is willing to do. Some ideas include: starting a referral program with clients or building a “beta or advisory group” of select clients where they give you feedback on your product/service in exchange for giving them something they can use (access to you, discounts, etc.). If you’re going to spend your money in online advertising, first find out how your current clients found you. Get the keywords they used, who mentioned you or, if cold calling, what sold it on the phone. Google Adwords (and the like) are cheap but worthless if you don’t use them wisely and keep an eagle on eye on their return. I believe, for start-ups, you’ll get more leverage out of building unique content and generating PR buzz.

Every business is different and requires a unique, tactical approach that aligns with your business strategy. If you’re starting out, focus marketing efforts on areas that get you noticed, provide the biggest return and allow you to be agile. You are testing the waters of what works, how to best market yourself and where to find your audience. Where you spend your time and money now will become building blocks for your brand’s unique value and will set the stage for bigger marketing initiatives.

Become A Resource

These days, out of sight ensures out of mind. Depending on where your audience lives, online or offline, reach out with unique content or activities that sparks more interaction with you and adds value to their day. Here are some ideas:

1) One Paragraph Tips. Spend an hour and write out 5-6 different paragraphs on using your product/service, business ideas, ways other clients have been successful and dos and don’ts. Use this content to post on your homepage (and in your blog if you have one) and email to clients in a quick “Tip of the Week” type email, always linking back to your site for them to read the archived tips. When you run low, sit down for another hour and write out 5-6 more.

COSTS: If you can easily post items on your website and can manage email campaigns, this will cost you 3-5% of your time per week. If you need to pay your web developer to do this for you (yuck - that will add up!), it will cost you a few hours of their time per week.

2) Get Out There. Conferences and seminars always need speakers. Find outlets where your audience is future clients, not just colleagues. The key here is to use the opportunity as networking and leveraging. Before your talk, announce your appearance to clients and encourage them to join you. Maybe a client you’re very close with will want to help you present and give their view from the in-industry side? Be sure to follow-up with clients after the event with a recounting of the experience that includes what you learned at the conference and trends to watch.

COSTS: Again, your time is required on all aspects: putting the presentation together, participating in the event and reaching out to clients and prospects. Make sure the investment is worth it by ensuring the audience is within your target market and that buzz you create around the event will engage your current clientele.

3) Pitch It. I realize that not everyone is comfortable with talking to the media or don’t even know how to go about it. Getting major PR does require connections and a savvy PR guy or gal who can make it happen. However, media is always scrambling for fresh stories. Especially in these days of constant content when they have paper and/or a website to fill and a narrower audience base to reach. When you reach out to a publication, have a game plan. Give them a story idea that fits their audience and makes their publication look like they’re on the cutting edge. Maybe you and a client are working on an unusual project or maybe you see a trend in your industry that no one else is catching on to. The goal is to a) get published for visibility and b) use that publicity as a conversation starter with clients and prospects.

COSTS: This requires more time with gathering a list of media outlets, writing press releases and/or pitches. Consider contacting me for a free needs assessment. If you’ve got a budget for this, I can work with it. If you have a zero budget, I can give you more ideas of things you can do yourself - just be prepared to invest time that may take you away from your core business. How do you like how I did that – I pitched myself in a post on pitching. See how easy it is?!