Being a B2B start-up is incredibly challenging, especially, in today’s volatile business climate filled with uncertainties. 

Budget allocation to support growth is a high-priority issue for B2B startups, and marketing is often the first place most businesses reactively cut back when the economy slows down. However, this is a misguided mistake. Any cut in spending will likely only impact short-term nominal savings while putting brands at a disadvantage heading into the bounce-back period (which will happen eventually). 

So how should B2B startups weather the storm of slashed marketing budgets and downsizing marketing departments and still maintain growth in the long run?

The Importance of Marketing for B2B Startups during a recession – 

To flourish as a B2B Startup, you must advertise your company by increasing brand recognition, generating leads, and driving sales. Otherwise, your business will quickly cease to exist – before anyone had a chance to care you existed in the first place. This holds true during a recession as well, although strategy and focus might shift to achieve growth.

Marketing is the growth engine of your Startup. And when you are fighting an uphill battle, you don’t turn off your engine. 

Somebody famous

Research repeatedly shows that during a recession, those who maintain or even increase their marketing expenses come out of the crisis faster and on top stronger. 

Here’s why:

• Stand out: By continuing to market their products and services, B2B startups can differentiate themselves from competitors who may be cutting back on marketing.
• Save on media costs: with competitors cutting back, the demand for paid marketing goes down. Good news for those still in the game who’ll benefit from negotiating fees with vendors and attaining lower media costs.
• Reach new customers: Marketing can help B2B startups reach new customers who may be looking for solutions to the challenges posed by the recession.
• Strengthen brand: By advertising and promoting their brand precisely during this time will significantly increase their chances of retaining potential customers’ attention and maintaining their strong brand identity.
• Maintain relationships: Not only will this help them with their existing customers, but also with those who might not need their product or service now, but will need it in the future, and will remember the brand when that time comes.
• Clean house: The slowdown is a chance to invest in improving existing marketing infrastructure. This could be anything from a website’s ‘face-lift’ in appearance, a slew of new engaging content, or “back of the house” improvements to the marketing tech stack such as Hubspot workflow automation improvement, deeper lead nurturing sequences, and more. 

Therefore, investing in marketing during a recession can be crucial for the survival and long-term success of B2B startups. The key is not to slash but to balance and optimize for reach, efficiency, and frequency considering short-term and long-term goals together, and your current position –

Cost-effective marketing for B2B startups during a recession 

Some cost-effective marketing strategies that can help your business maintain visibility while also attracting customers without breaking the bank:

• Utilize social media: Social media is a cost-effective way to reach a large audience. Use platforms like Facebook LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to share updates, promotions, and engaging content. This will help build your brand and connect with potential customers and provide them with valuable information about how your product or service can solve their problems.
• Email marketing: Email marketing is an affordable way to reach your existing customers and keep them informed about your latest products, services, and promotions. You can also use email to provide valuable content that can help build trust and loyalty.
• Referral programs: Offer referral programs to your existing customers to encourage them to refer their friends and family to your business. You can offer discounts or other incentives to those who refer new customers.
• Partnerships and collaborations: Partner with other businesses that have a similar target audience to your own. Collaborating on marketing campaigns, events or other activities can help you reach new audiences and build your brand.
• SEO: Invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to improve your website’s visibility on search engines. This can help drive more traffic to your site and increase the chances of converting visitors into customers.
• Content marketing: As previously mentioned, a content marketing strategy that includes blog posts, videos, infographics, and other types of content can help educate your audience about your products and services, build brand awareness, and position your business as a thought leader in your industry.

Full stack marketing for B2B startups during a recession 

Beyond budgets, all of the above-mentioned strategies still require experience and skill upon execution in order to be truly worthwhile. For many B2B startups, this becomes the next big challenge – who will create all this wonderful brand awareness on a budget?

Many startups find the answer lies outside their company by using outsourced marketing services. There are several benefits of hiring an external full-stack marketing service if you are a B2B startup under financial strain:

Expertise: A full-stack marketing service has a team of experts with a wealth of experience in various industries. They can provide insights and recommendations on the best marketing strategies to help your B2B startup weather the recession and stand out from the competition.

Cost-effective: Hiring an external marketing service can be more cost-effective than hiring a full-time in-house marketing team, especially for a startup with limited resources. A marketing service can also provide access to specialized tools and resources that may be too expensive for a startup to invest in.

Flexibility: A marketing service can provide a range of services that can be tailored to your startup’s needs. This flexibility allows your startup to focus on its core competencies while leaving the marketing efforts to the service.

Faster Results: Marketing service hubs have the experience and resources to execute marketing campaigns quickly, which can help your startup see results faster.

Measurable Results: A marketing service can help you track and measure the results of your marketing efforts. This data can help you make informed decisions about future marketing strategies and investments.

Overall, hiring a full-stack marketing service can help your B2B startup navigate the challenges of a recession and emerge stronger on the other side.

So, what’s your battle plan?

Ma'ayan

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BY BEN

The great David Ogilvy is known to have said, “Within every brand is a product, but not every product is a brand.”

A brand is not a logo or a catchy slogan, as many people often think. A brand is a story. And just like good stories, it’s the way they resonate with the audience that creates the magic.

Your brand is the entire identity of your company, and although branding has always been a vital part of any successful business, in today’s cacophonic environment, you need to work much harder in order to stand out. Any B2B company that doesn’t have cohesive branding isn’t going to stay in someone’s mind for very long. 

Jerome Bruner, one of the most influential psychologists of the 21st century, found that we are 20 times more likely to remember a fact when it has been wrapped in a story, simply because a story triggers our emotions, helps us relate, and infuses an emotional connection. This is simply the way our brains work. 

Storytelling is hardly a new phenomenon. It is an integral part of the human existence. From early cave drawings to oral stories passed down from one generation to the other, to the formation of language and print, stories have always been a central core of the human experience. Hardly surprising then, that storytelling has always been the central pivot of good marketing. From print ads to TV commercials, every brand has a unique story to tell, and the way brands choose to communicate their vision and values shapes the way they are perceived.  

Yet too many B2B companies underestimate the power of storytelling in their B2B marketing strategies. Whether in cybersecurity, fintech or data analytics, more often than not, we see chewed up jargon wrapped in too many facts and data instead of creative, engaging stories. As Dave Harland notes, this commonly overused terminology does nothing for your marketing efforts. 

Recognize yourself in any of these “famous five”? 

• Our automated/AI/ smart/agile/ technology
  (oh, as opposed to everyone else who is still drawing on cave walls. Phew!) 
• We are experts/leaders/best in class/revolutionary platform 
  (good thing to differentiate yourself from all the others who are obviously amateurs…) 
• The platform/solution/business you can trust 
  (now, think about who always says: “you can trust me” in movies. Yep, it’s the bad guy) 
• We provide outstanding/groundbreaking/innovative service 
  (self-love is great, but let others be the judge) 
• We are passionate about cybersecurity/big data/IT solutions 
  (Umm…maybe it’s time for a better life work balance? Be passionate about your partner, lover, or both. Your soccer team, your politics. Well… you get it)

Any B2B startup’s marketing efforts should first and foremost appeal to people’s emotions. That can only be achieved through the art of storytelling. Incorporating creative storytelling in B2B marketing gives your company a human feel, making it much more attractive, relatable, and memorable in customers’ minds. It serves to build a long-term relationship with your audience and turn them into loyal customers.

The irresistible power of storytelling is a strategic business tool, notes Harrison Monarth, a leading global marketeer and New York Times bestselling author. This is not to say that facts and figures are not important, but they alone will not create an emotional bond with your audience. Instead of hard selling through self-boasting tactics, B2B startups need to focus on the tremendous value that creative storytelling brings to their service or product, and how it will serve to build their brand.  Think of storytelling as the sum of all parts which will serve to:  

• Communicate your values, engage, and forge an emotional connection.
• Help your clients better understand your offering. 
• Provide a competitive advantage that drives growth. 
• Build a memorable brand. 

At Sage Marketing, we specialize in creative storytelling for startups in the fast lane. From creating brand names to developing your brand strategy and formulating captivating brand messaging, we do it all. 

Every great brand was once just an idea. What sets the best apart from the rest is not how good their story is, but how they choose to tell it. 

Tell us your story, and we’ll spread the word around.

Sharon

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BY BEN

As a business owner, you know that public relations is essential. But that’s easier said than done, right? After all, how exactly do you run a successful Public relations (PR) campaign for your startup?  

If you’re just starting, this guide to startup PR strategies has all the information you need to get started and essential tips to increase your chances of gaining media coverage.

PR can be a powerful tool for raising awareness of your company and its products or services, but keep in mind that it’s not something that will happen overnight. After all, PR is more than just press releases. It’s about establishing relationships with the right people who can help you spread the word about your brand and build strong relationships over time.

Marketing and PR – What’s the Difference?

There’s a lot of confusion about what marketing and PR are, and the two terms have been used interchangeably so much that it’s become almost impossible to tell them apart.

But what does marketing mean? And how does PR differ from marketing?

I like to think about Marketing vs. PR this way.

Marketing provides a holistic view of the company from different angles and through dozens of mediums. It helps you create a cohesive message for your brand by creating content that resonates with your audience at every stage of their journey. Marketing can be communicated through your brand identity, social media strategy, paid and organic ads, or dozens of other mediums.

PR, on the other hand, helps you communicate with your target audience through objective, third-party (and therefore trustworthy) sources like news outlets, blogs, or other content creators.

As Sarit Lamerovich, CEO and founder of Sage Marketing, says, “When a journalist writes about a company, it helps to shape image, build a reputation and is considered trustworthy. It builds brand validation, endorsement, and credibility. Your reputation is a sum of everything you do plus everything is said or written about you.”

So how does PR work? The obvious answer is writing press releases, securing interviews, and speaking engagements. But it’s not just about getting your name in the news (although that’s part of it); it’s also about telling the world who you are and what you stand for.

So how does PR work? There are press releases, interviews, and speaking engagements. But it’s not just about getting your name in the news (although that’s part of it); it’s also about telling the world who you are and what you stand for.

You can use a variety of mediums to achieve this goal: online media sites, industry groups, newspapers, magazines, YouTube, podcasts, and the list goes on! But no matter where you put yourself out there—whether through an interview or by sending out press releases—you need to have some sort of strategy in place before you start talking with anyone. 

1. Define your goals

A successful first step in your startup PR strategyis identifying what you want to achieve. After all, how will you know if it’s successful without a clear objective? Here are some questions below to help you define your goals.

• Are you looking to increase brand awareness? 
• Do you need to grow your share of voice (SOV)?
• Do you want to get the attention of investors? 
• Are you seeking exposure to your work environment?
• Maybe you need to build trust by being featured on a leading content source. 

Whatever your reason for engaging in a PR campaign, those goals must align with all other aspects of the campaign. Ultimately, how you define success and your goals will impact the story you tell. The key is to define those goals before you begin to accurately determine how well the campaign meets them once it is completed. 

2. Know your audience

To start a successful PR campaign, you must define your audience, better known as your target market. This group of people will benefit most from your product, service or newsworthy item.

To find out your target audience, ask yourself questions like: What do these users care about? What motivates them? Who do they look up to in society? What media do they consume regularly, and where do they consume it?

Once you’ve figured out these answers, try getting to know them better by following their favorite Twitter accounts or Instagram influencers—anything that will help you understand their interests and desires will be valuable information for planning PR campaigns.

3. Make time for relationships! 

PR is so much more than just sending press releases or pitching stories, it’s about building relationships with journalists.t. You can start off by sending weekly updates on your company’s activities to journalists who cover relevant topics so they can use them in their stories.

It’s also important to remember that journalists are people like everyone else. They have interests, they have questions, and they have lives outside of work. If you want your pitch to be taken seriously, you need to show them that you understand their world as well as your own—and that means being human when you’re communicating with them!

4. Craft your message

Once you have your goals and target audience firmly in mind, it’s time to craft your story. To establish a successful PR campaign, you need to know exactly what message you’re trying to send. 

If your company is launching a new product or service and you have access to the right people in the media, it’s relatively straightforward. All you need to do is share the latest exclusive news so they can post it to their readers.But if this isn’t your situation (or even if it is), chances are that crafting messages for public consumption will require some hefty work.

A good place to start is by considering why this message might be helpful to your audience: 

How does it relate to their needs?

• Does it provide information about something relevant in their lives?
• Does it inspire them with an idea or two?
• Will it impact their business in positive or more efficient ways?

Compelling messages build on the core elements presented above: they are relevant to your audience, specific and clear, easy to read and understand, and (most importantly) actionable. Overall, a successful message will help get your point across. 

5. Choose a target media sources

Now that you’ve done your research, it’s time to decide which publication is right for you. Remember, the goal isn’t just getting views on your story; it’s getting the views from the people who matter to your business. Choosing the target publications with the right audience is crucial.

Media relations professionals might consider local over national audiences, print over broadcast or trade over general media. Defining your media for your story can make or break your success.

For example, if you’re in retail, don’t pitch your story to a publication (digital or print) specializing in technology just because they have more readers than the fashion magazine down the street. It won’t help you reach your target audience and may even hurt your reputation as an expert in retail.

Also, keep in mind the kind of tone and style of writing used by this publication. If their articles are humorous or sarcastic, you might not be wise to approach them with an overly earnest pitch (unless that’s how your business operates).

Don’t neglect Podcasts –  Many of today’s mainstream podcasts are fresh enough to be accessible and interested in interviewing startup founders. That makes podcasts one of the best places to invest in PR efforts. We recently published a post titled – The best startup podcastsin 2022. Give them a listen!

6. Pitch your story 

If you have a great opportunity to pitch to an editor, the first thing to remember is that they don’t know you. They don’t know your company or your product. You need to give them a reason to care!

• Use a PR pitch checklist (or template)
• Be concise
• Be clear and direct in your writing style
• Personalize the pitch by including relevant facts about the publication and its audience—if possible. If not, don’t sweat it! Just make sure you’re clear and focused on each point so they’re not left wondering what’s happening with this weird email from someone they’ve never heard from before… Also, try being interesting/creative if possible! Two birds with one stone!

This leads me to the next point…

7. Follow up

Follow up with editors who have opened up dialogue with you about your story. How will you know if they’re interested in sharing your news if you don’t follow up?

Make sure to send a follow-up email if the editor hasn’t responded within 24 hours since you first reached out. In this email, recap the details of your initial pitch and ask if they have any questions or concerns. Most importantly, remind them of why you’re reaching out in the first place: to share your news.

8. Celebrate your wins! 

When running a PR strategy, it can be tempting to think that every press release should be a major story. But the truth is, not every press release needs to be a major story. When something goes well for your company, celebrate it! Spread the word about what went right so other people will want to work with/buy from/partner with you too!

In our experience, one of the best ways to do this is by writing an employee spotlight blog post about the employee who made the success happen. This type of blog post can be written in any style you like—you don’t have to follow any particular format—but we’ve found that highlighting employee achievements helps build up your brand and makes employees feel appreciated.

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you better understand the PR process. Put these strategies into practice for your business, or reach out to us to manage your campaign; we’re always here to help take your brand to the next level.

If you want to learn more about how we can help you with your public relations needs, reach out to us anytime!

Dekel

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BY BEN

Whether or not you’ve noticed, it has happened to you before.

You’ve come across an interesting article, or an eye-catching LinkedIn post, or a friend mentioned a new company to you. Following your instinct, you clicked on the link, or the company’s profile, or searched the company on Google – and that tiny inkling of curiosity vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Why? Because you landed on an outdated profile, or a company homepage that looks like it hasn’t been updated in 10 years, or started reading an article and noticed two grammatical errors in the first sentence. 

People are perceptive, and in order to function in a world where we are constantly inundated with profiles, articles, and websites, we have developed extremely efficient filters to hone in on the best of the best (and toss aside the rest). 

Luckily, I’m here to tell you how to survive the harsh judgment by telling you the 5 must-haves in B2B startup marketing, so you can be sure to set yourself up for success.

1. Updated Website

Where to begin other than the pinnacle of a company’s presence on the world wide web? Their website. 

A website is where someone goes to find out more information about a company; when they were founded, what their mission is, what they sell, the list goes on. 

On a technological level, websites are an incredibly important marketing tool for lead generation. So, the information you display on your website and how you display it is vital. 

If your SaaS startup marketing plan doesn’t include a website with impeccable UI/UX design and call-to-action (CTA) buttons in all the right places, you’re missing out on the opportunity to begin the process of nurturing your site visitors and converting them into customers.

And, despite what some people say, looks DO matter. 

Landing on an outdated website (you know, the ones that look like they came straight out of the early 2000’s) is a major deterrent.

So when creating your website, be sure to invest in excellent UI/UX

2. Social Proof

Another marketing mistake startups often make is lacking social proof across their website and social media channels.

Testimonials and case studies of satisfied customers may seem like a take-it-or-leave-it option, but in reality, these are extremely powerful tools to persuade customers to try your product.

It takes a special type of consumer to purchase a product if it has no reviews. Why would someone take the risk of paying for a subpar product or service when they can find the same exact item with plenty of raving reviews? 

They probably wouldn’t. Which is why you must invest time and energy into gathering testimonials and conducting case studies on pre-existing customers that are satisfied with your product and are willing to vouch for your startup’s reliability and product quality. 

Plus, testimonials and case studies can also be used as engaging content to distribute through your various channels (social media, startup marketing campaigns, newsletters, etc.), making it a win-win.

3. Use Your Competition

So – you’ll make sure that your B2B startup marketing strategy includes an extremely user-friendly, updated website with a plethora of CTA’s and incredible social proof. What next? 

As discussed in a different blog, startups are usually swimming in an extremely fierce ocean of competition. 

And yet, working at a B2B startup marketing agency, I don’t have enough fingers on both hands to count how many times my clients have insisted that they are way better than their competitors and brushed them aside.

This right here is mistake #3. 

It’s great that your product or service outperforms your competition, but that doesn’t mean you can pretend that they don’t exist. 

If you underestimate your competition, you remain ignorant to the options your potential customers are comparing to your product. And while ignorance is bliss, this kind of bliss doesn’t make money.

Use your competition to your advantage – study what works for them, what doesn’t, and use it to inform your B2B startup marketing strategy.

4. Consistent Branding

Another marketing mistake startups often make is having inconsistent branding, or no branding at all.

Creating a brand is no simple process, sure, but it is one that is well worth the time and money. Why? 

Because a company’s brand is a company’s story; their why. And in order to stand out amongst the competition, your startup must tell a compelling story that draws in your audience and sparks their interest.

Without this captivating story being told consistently across all marketing materials and platforms, you risk losing and even confusing current and potential customers.

5. Social Media

The fifth most common tech startup marketing mistake is underutilizing social media.

Similar to a website, social media has become one of the predominant marketing tools in the B2B world.  

From LinkedIn outreach to sponsored ads to good old organic content, social media has become a serious lead generation instrument in the orchestra of a marketing plan.

Even if you don’t have the bandwidth to utilize social media to its fullest potential, you should be sure to at least upload a post here and there to let customers know that your startup is alive and well. 

Better yet – hire an agency with expertise in SaaS startup marketing that can cover all your marketing bases for you, social media included.

Check out our website to learn more about what services SAGE offers to the leading B2B tech startups.

Sharon

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BY BEN