The Role of Digital Marketing in Start-up Growth and Success
If you are planning to get your start-up off the ground, then it is extremely important for you to understand and appreciate the role of digital marketing in your business. Since it’s a well known fact that start-ups have tight budgets and inadequate workforce to focus on the marketing side, this doesn’t mean you should overlook the option of digital marketing.
What many start-up entrepreneurs assume is that digital marketing is only needed when their business model works or they start getting revenues. But the fact is that it should be the core part of your business plan from the very beginning.
Many startups fail because they are unable to reach their target market or due to poor marketing, even though they have a winning product. According to a survey conducted by CB Insights, 17% of startups fail due to poor marketing. So, as a start-up entrepreneur, it is important for you to break through the noise.
Why? Because digital media moves fast. Consumers will be looking up for your product or service on multiple devices, locations and languages. The evolution of digital marketing will be bound to pose new challenges as well as opportunities for your start-up.
Bewakoof.com, apparels and mobile phone cover seller has become India’s top most socially engaged brand with 1.5 million fan following on Facebook. Recently, they started selling their products using the medium of instant messaging application called Whatsapp and now, they claim that 15% of their total sales are influenced only by Whatsapp – This is the power of digital marketing, which is nothing but the future of marketing.
So, as a start-up entrepreneur, you should be ready and available to your customers at the right place and right time. How can it be possible? Can digital marketing efforts be able to bring awareness and visibility to your startup?
The simple answer is “Yes”. Because the only efficient, effective and possible medium to reach your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, is through digital marketing.
In recent years, it has been proven that digital marketing is a much better and sophisticated way to communicate with target audiences at an affordable cost. It will provide startups the ample opportunity to compete with big players or large businesses in their markets.
However, digital marketing is not just about having a website and social media presence, but it is beyond that. It is an ocean. It’s a big deal. Moreover, it can smoothly integrate with your offline and traditional marketing methods making you reap benefits from every facet of marketing.
Urban Ladder, the poster boy of Indian eCommerce has integrated the digital marketing strategy from the very beginning and invested time as well as money on Facebook. Now, they are getting 17.8% more traffic from Facebook than any other medium.
There are a number of reasons for startup entrepreneurs to embrace digital marketing in their business. Some of them are:
- Cost-Effective & affordable way to reach target audience
- Increases your visibility
- Increases customer engagements
- Creates brand awareness
- Boosts online conversion
- Tracks ROI (Return on investment)
- Increases sales and leads
- Influences purchasing decisions
However, what medium works for some businesses does not guarantee that it will work the same for your business. So, you need to devise a winning digital marketing strategy that will grow your business and help you stay ahead of your competition on any frontier.
Click here to know how to create a winning digital marketing strategy without breaking the bank and wasting valuable time.
So, how could you drive traffic, leads or sales to your website and increase your conversions. There are a number of possible ways to get going. Some of the most effective and result-oriented methods of digital marketing are:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Content Creation & Content Marketing
- Social Media Marketing (SMM)
- Digital Display Advertising
- Retargeting and Remarketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing
- Digital Media Planning and Buying
However, as a startup entrepreneur, it is important for you to focus on the role of digital marketing by implementing different marketing strategies and finding out which works best for your business. Remember! It is an ever-evolving and dynamic medium, so you should be ready to adapt to the changes and reap the benefits.