Marketing in Startups: Why is it So Complex?

Before the boom of digital marketing and the explosion of tech startups, marketing plans were made for 3 years, sometimes even 5 years. Over time, those periods shortened, and we started talking about 3-year plans with annual modifications, setting specific objectives each year.

With the massive rise of the startup movement and the rapid evolution of tech products, that speed also translated into the marketing world. The speed of digital marketing, where you can change a campaign in half an hour and see the results almost immediately, has made everything in digital marketing adjustable and measurable quickly.

Speed is key. And that is the first problem with marketing in startups: the velocity.

Problem Number 1: Speed and Immediacy

The CEO, product manager, or even the CFO (yes, this happens) wakes up with an idea and asks Marketing to pivot all campaigns around that idea. Along with this procedure, we incorporate structures like the misnamed marketing mix modeling (it should be called Promotion Modeling), which allows us to analyze how different marketing mix variables—such as advertising, promotions, and distribution—impact sales performance and other key metrics, including ROI (return on investment).

In short, we can change everything quickly, whenever we want. Or rather, whenever the numbers dictate. If an ad campaign A generates a higher ROI, we'll use it again because the numbers say so. Ad platform algorithms suggest attention-grabbing messages, and with AI, we hardly have to do anything because it's all pre-made.

What Problems Arise from this Numerical Process Speed?

Apart from the fact that nobody knows exactly what's happening, I'd add:

• We stop applying strategy and only make changes based on results.

• All companies do the same, losing creativity and originality. Potential customers see the same messages everywhere.

• Speed takes precedence over other important factors like campaign objectives or social impact.

• No one controls or leads anything; the algorithm does everything.

Additionally, this becomes boring and far removed from true marketing. And our team ends up demotivated:

(And then HR will ask what to do to retain talent... Answer and super tip: strategy and processes)

Problem Number 2: Lack of Marketing Strategy

The first complex problem for marketing in general and the second for startups: there is no strategy, just random ideas tested quickly. Nobody knows what is done or why. The only existing strategy: we test and see! I invite you to read this post titled Slow Marketing.

Startups are the first to follow these methods. Everything is so fast that there isn't even time to see the impact of actions, for example, in branding.

Problem Number 3: Skipping Branding

A startup starts from scratch with a product X and wants results from the first year. Okay, maybe not the first year, but we do Branding, which is the first thing to do.

What is Branding and Why is it So Important for a Startup?

People buy your product mainly because:

• They know you.

• They’ve been recommended to you.

• You have a reputation.

• They’ve used it before.

It’s a reality that Samsung sells more than an unknown brand just because of its name, right?

Branding is brand recognition. For that, you need a marketing strategy aimed at being recognized.

However, many startups skip this step and want to sell their wonderful product that needs nothing more than to be and exist (I'll explain below). Then a hundred competitors come with the same product. What then? What do we do?

Here are the direct answers from a CEO of a software startup when I asked why they don't do branding:

• "We don't have time."

• "We don't have resources."

• "People already know us" (who? Friends & Family?)

• And the most common excuse in the startup environment: "Our product has no competition because it does something no one else does."

Problem Number 4: Productolatry, or the Overwhelming Love for One's Product

As if that were a reason for everyone to buy it. I call this “productolatry,” a word I've coined to describe the belief that a product is unique andwill sell. This is the third marketing problem: promoting a product because it's unique.

What will happen when a hundred competitors emerge (which they will)? Who will people buy from? Those who have done branding. See?

My conclusion: these 4 problems cause the marketing team to work on demand, without knowing why they do it and without being involved in decision-making. And why the business doesn't take off.

We will continue in the next post. Thank you for reading!