Startups in India are booming. Unfortunately, most of the marketers in these startups aren’t fully aware of what it takes to craft a marketing strategy that will allow these startups to stand out from the crowd. This is because most marketers are not taught the right frameworks or rules and principles of effective marketing. Marketing might seem complicated, but it isn’t as hard if your startup is located in India. There are specific guidelines and tools which help you with marketing. Certain tools can give a startup a vital edge over its competitors simply because they are not aware of the tools’ existence.
The first few months of a startup are about establishing the brand and marketing it to the right audience. To do this, you need to be aware of India’s most powerful marketing channels and how you can use them to your advantage. Here are some top marketing tips for startups in India:
Leverage Powerful Social Media Platforms
Social media is an essential channel for startups as it allows them to build their brand by creating awareness about their company and product. It’s also a great way to interact with customers directly and get feedback on what they like or dislike about your products or services.
The most common social media platforms used by startups are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, many other platforms can help you reach out to more people and grow your customer base. For example, Instagram has over 300 million users worldwide who share photos and videos daily. The other platform making waves is Tiktok, as it has an average of a billion users monthly. Other popular venues include Snapchat, Pinterest, and YouTube, which are also used by many businesses today.
Paid Advertisements
Paid advertisements can be expensive, but it’s worth it if your product or service is unique enough that people will buy it just because they saw it online or in print somewhere else. Paid advertisements are also suitable for getting your name out there initially because they allow you to target specific demographics with a message explicitly tailored toward them. There are many paid advertisements available online, including:
- Facebook Ads
- Google AdWords
- Twitter Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- Pinterest Ads
- YouTube Ads
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The other step in marketing is to make your business visible to your target audience. SEO is a great way to do this. It refers to strategies used by web admins and content creators that help them rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Think of SEO as ensuring that your website is at the top of search engine results when potential customers search for products or services like yours. For example, if you are an eCommerce store selling women’s clothing, you should ensure that your site appears on the first search results page when people search for “women’s clothing.” This means optimizing your site for keywords related to women’s clothing. The more keywords you can rank for, the higher you will appear on Google and other major search engines like Yahoo! and Bing.
For comprehensive website SEO optimization, you can use special SEO tools. One such tool is Sitechecker. This tool will help to perform a website SEO audit. For example, the Link Extractor function finds all internal and external links on your website and analyzes them. In this way, you can find all broken links and fix this problem. Therefore, you will improve website optimization and increase its ranking in search engines.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are great tools for increasing customer engagement with your brand and encouraging repeat purchases by offering rewards based on purchase frequency or spending levels. A loyalty program rewards customers for making purchases and engaging with the brand. It helps build long-term relationships with customers by incentivizing them for their loyalty to your brand. Loyalty programs also help retain existing customers and drive sales through referrals from current ones. Many companies offer loyalty cards that allow customers to collect points every time they purchase at their store or online store. Once they reach a certain number of points, they can redeem them for discounts or free products from the company’s inventory. This helps brands stay top-of-mind with their customers even after making a purchase — which means less effort spent getting new customers.
Build a Responsive Website
A website is one of the essential tools for any business. It helps customers discover your business and what services/products you offer them. It also allows them to make purchases online if they wish to do so. Ensure that your website is responsive and looks good on all devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This way, more customers will be able to view your site easily no matter what device they use!
Build your Email List
Email list building is one of the most critical aspects of digital marketing, and it’s something that all brands should keep in mind while building their business. Email marketing works well because people want information they can trust, and they’re more likely to trust it when it comes from someone they know. And don’t worry about being too pushy – subscribers have given you permission to contact them with updates and offers, so send out emails whenever something relevant happens that you think will interest them.
You can build your email list by offering something valuable to your target audience in exchange for their contact details. For example, if you are selling health supplements and want to build an email list of health-conscious people, then offer a free report on how to improve your health. You can also give them access to a free guide about what supplements they should take based on their health conditions and lifestyle choices. Once they sign up for these offers, you will have all their contact details. You can use them later for marketing purposes, such as sending out emails about new products or promotions.
Encourage Reviews
It’s no secret that word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to market anything. People love to give their opinions on everything from books and movies to restaurants, hotels, and retail stores. Encourage your customers to share their experiences with you by offering incentives such as discounts or freebies for leaving reviews on sites like Yelp or Google+. If people talk about you, your business will grow faster and with less effort. One of the best ways to encourage reviews is by giving away freebies or coupons for them to use. People love free stuff, so it’s easy for them to take a few minutes out of their day to write a review when they know they’ll get something in return for it. The best part is that once someone has written that review, they’ll be much more likely to leave an honest one because they’re invested in your business now!
Content Marketing
Content marketing is an inbound marketing technique that helps you attract and retain customers by creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content. It’s a way of intentionally communicating the value of the products or services to your customers. Content can be anything from blog posts and infographics to ebooks and whitepapers. The more creative you are with your content creation, the better.
Content marketing aims to attract customers interested in your product or service by providing valuable information about it. The more information they have about it, the more likely they will buy from you. Creating engaging content is crucial for startups because it helps build trust between you and your customers, leading to more sales.
Utilize Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is another excellent strategy for startups because it allows them to reach out to millions of people without spending huge sums on advertising campaigns. In this strategy, you can find influential bloggers and social media users who can share your content with their followers on social media channels like Facebook, Tiktok, and Twitter. The more these influencers share your content, the more traffic it will generate for your website and increase sales conversions!
Set Up a Referral Program
If you have loyal customers who are happy with your product or service, they can be great brand ambassadors for you. A referral program allows them to refer their friends and family members with similar interests and needs. You can offer incentives for every successful referral, such as discounts or free products. To make it easy for people to share your site, create shareable links through email, social media, and other platforms. This way, you can reach out to more people who might be interested in what you have to offer. Depending on the industry or product category, you can set up various referral programs. For example, if you are selling beauty products, you may want to offer discounts on purchases made through referrals. Offering freebies or gift vouchers would be more appropriate if you sell office supplies or business services.
Try Out Affiliate Partnerships
Affiliate marketing is a great way to promote your product or service. In affiliate marketing, the person who sells your product gets paid a commission on every item they sell. This can be a great way to increase sales and get your name there. The best part about affiliate marketing is that it’s free!
Affiliate partnerships are also straightforward to set up and manage. They don’t require any upfront costs, and you don’t need to go through the hassle of hiring an employee or freelancer. Here’s how you can use affiliate partnerships to promote your business:
- Start by researching which companies would be good candidates for an affiliate partnership with your business. You want to find ones that have similar values and target audiences as yours so that they will be receptive to working with you.
- Once you’ve chosen some good candidates, send them an email explaining what you’re looking for in an affiliate partner and information about your business. If they’re interested in working with you, they should respond promptly and get everything set up quickly so that you both benefit from this partnership right away!
Conclusion
When a startup begins selling its service or product, building its customer base and brand will take time. Startups need to be careful with their marketing strategies because the consequences of one wrong step or decision can have long-lasting adverse effects on their business and future growth potential. A good strategy for startups will differ from established companies, so startups need to contemplate their options before jumping into marketing too quickly.