You have your trailblazing business all mapped out, but what’s your startup marketing strategy? Many startups suffer from one big problem – they’re wildly passionate about their product or service, but when it comes to the admin side of things, it’s not so rosy. In this blog, we look at the importance of expert marketing insight.
Make way for the experts
A recent article in Fast Company reported the noticeable migration of doctors into the health tech space.
It’s already pretty common for health tech startups to have medical founders, directors or advisors on their team. Now, the American Medical Association (AMA) is actually building partnerships in Silicon Valley and beyond, with aims of helping doctors "work in tandem on the innovative tech solutions that promise to change healthcare."
So why is there a fast growing trend of doctors advising startups on building healthcare apps? Doctors probably don’t know much about programming, it’s true. However, they do have a practical and hugely valuable insight into the industry in which a healthcare app will be used. As a result, they know what it takes for an app to succeed (or crash and burn).
Getting expert insight
It's all about identifying and tackling the important pain points. Some doctors are concerned that health tech startups may set out to invent the next "Uber for healthcare," but fail to realise the most pressing issues that doctors face. Many startups are developing innovative technology, but first they need to know what the problem is that they’re solving with it.
Every day, doctors may see inefficiencies in the workplace that are hurting patients. They see problems, but also see an opportunity to make a major impact, and can work hand in hand with startups to fix these problems. Doctors can therefore offer health tech startups a valuable consulting service which stimulates discussion, provides advice and relays feedback from the medical profession.
How does this affect your startup marketing strategy?
You don’t need to be in the healthcare sector to understand the benefits of this trend. Expert opinions can help to shape any product or service for the better.
For startup companies, it is especially vital to get this feedback process right. As innovative and trailblazing as products may be, they also need to satisfy clients and attract investors if companies want to survive.
Just as health tech startups can benefit from the expertise of a doctor, just about any startup company can benefit from the support of experienced marketers. A startup marketing budget is likely to be limited, so from the outset, there needs to be a solid growth strategy in place to ensure return on investment.
The key here is efficiency. With knowledge gathered over a number of years through working with various clients, expert marketers may see common problems arising time and time again. When they understand what often limits the success of their clients, marketers are able to quickly and effectively ‘troubleshoot’ similar issues within your startup. Et voila – you have a tried and tested, well-informed startup marketing plan at your fingertips.
What can Grain do for you?
It can be tricky to know where to start when it comes to marketing your startup – after all, this isn’t your area of expertise, and there’s a lot to consider. Expert help from a marketing agency can often be the most cost-effective (and importantly, time-efficient) way to deal with this challenge.
The times are changing, outbound is outdated and in some cases, can be potentially dangerous for your brand financially and in a reputational sense. Big fines are being handed out to serial data offenders. With inbound you can avoid this and get the best from your leads so read our blog “How to create Inbound Strategy Masterclass” for more information.”
