Why Marketing Your Startup Business Matters

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve started a business, or maybe you’ve been a small business owner for the last couple years. And you know better than anyone that starting, much less marketing your startup business, is no easy task. You can’t just perform one simple task. Owning a business means wearing a lot of hats, juggling a lot of balls, and maybe coming up with a better metaphor to express the challenges a small business owner faces.

Sometimes the to-do list of a startup business owner is so long, marketing might not seem all that important. With everything else you’re supposed to manage, could marketing your startup really make that much of a difference?

At Paragon Marketing Group, we’re passionate about marketing, so of course we could share many reasons why we believe marketing is a key ingredient to your startup’s success. But don’t take our word for it – the numbers speak for themselves.

Millions of Small Businesses Are Vying for Consumers’ Attention

As of 2020, there were 31.7 million small businesses in the United States (Over 1 million were startups between 2019 and 2020 alone!) And guess what? Every one of those 31.7 million businesses want a slice of the customer pie. If you don’t want your startup business to get lost in the shuffle of 30 million other businesses, there’s something key you can do to build your brand and reach those potential customers with whom you want to share your message, service, or product. Come on, you know where we’re going with this. Let’s say it together: “Marketing!”

Number of Startup Businesses Started, 1997-2017
Marketing your startup business can be challenging in today’s incredibly competitive market with millions of new businesses starting every year.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy

Digital Marketing Is the Primary Mode of Communication between Small Businesses and Their Customers

In a survey of over 1,000 small business owners, results clearly indicated the top two modes of communication between businesses and their customers were email at 71.8% and Facebook at 60.8%. What does that mean? If you want to communicate with your customers, utilizing digital marketing channels could significantly boost the number of potential customers your business could reach. If you’re just getting started, now is the perfect time to start marketing for your startup!

Email and Facebook marketing lead the way for marketing channels employed by small businesses.
Employing digital marketing channels, such as email and Facebook marketing, could help with marketing your startup.

Source: Campaign Monitor

Marketing Your Startup Business Creates Authenticity in a Increasingly Distrusting World

According to a Havas Group report in 2021, almost 70% of consumers do not trust advertisements they see. Even worse? Those same consumers distrust 71% of brands. So where does authenticity fit in? Businesses without an established brand, say little or no social media profiles, lack of a website, minimal or no advertising, no testimonials – nothing to point to your business’s legitimacy means that your business is hard to trust. In other words, how can customers believe your startup business can solve their problem or provide a solution when your marketing is nonexistent? The short answer: building trust with consumers starts with marketing.

Marketing helps create authenticity in today's world.
Marketing your startup can provide authenticity in an increasingly distrustful world.

Sources: Entrepreneur, MarketingDive, Havas Group

Okay, if you didn’t know before, we’re certain you understand now: marketing is essential for your startup. But let’s face it, it’s really hard to not get overwhelmed by the long marketing to-do lists. There’s web design, and print marketing, and social media, and graphic design, and PPC, and SEO, and wait, what do all these acronyms mean, and how do you learn and execute all these marketing channels AND run your business . . . ?

That’s where we come in. As a small business, we understand the challenges that small business owners face, especially when you’re first starting out. Whether you’re trying to stand out in a crowded market, unsure of how to connect with your target customers, or want to establish a trusted brand, we’d love to answer your questions about taking your startup marketing to the next level.

Marketing Phobia: It’s A Real Thing!

Marketing Phobia: it's a real thing!

When you run a business, you have to market yourself. Period! But many businesses do not do this continually. Why? Marketing Phobia! Some may say that it’s not a real thing but it is actually true. Throughout the course of every year, we run into people all the time that are scared to market their organization. It may sound silly, however there are some important reasons for it.

1. The business owner just doesn’t know where to start.

Getting started can be overwhelming. A well constructed marketing plan can relieve this anxiety and put your business on a clear path for success. Some first steps: Define where you want to go with your business, identify who your target audience is, and determine a proper budget for your business. This is critical knowledge for you to have as you decide on how to construct your plan.

2. Misconception on cost.

Business owners create in their own minds some pretty grandiose price tags when it comes to marketing. When in reality, they may be way off. This happens many times because they hear what X person is spending or what Y company spent. But that’s not you or your business. The cost of what your company would need to spend to reach your goals could be a fraction of what someone else paid. Marketing towards your goals and your desired results can paint an accurate picture of what your true costs will be and not a figure from someone else’s experience.

3. Fear of success.

Yes, that’s right, the fear of success. Many business owners actually do not market their business because they fear they may gain too much business. Understandably, this one can keep a business owner up at night. However, you have to put your name out there and keep it foremost in people’s minds, so they know you exist and can call upon you whenever they need you. It can definitely bring in more business, but if you have a well constructed plan on how to handle the growth without sacrificing your quality and customer service, you can face this fear!

4. You may have had bad experiences with marketing companies in the past.

This one is big, whether it was a personal experience or one you heard from a third party. Unfortunately, the reality is, there are some marketing firms out there that are less than stellar. We’ve seen, however, there are a lot more that are really good at what they do and are worth every penny invested. The key to overcoming this issue is to do your homework as an owner. Get references, talk with the team who will be working with you, understand what they can do for you, and look for a team who holds transparency and accountability at the center of your relationship.

Anyone can overcome marketing phobia. It takes having that satisfying relationship with the right marketing company to help you get past your fears. If you find a marketing company that will partner with you throughout your journey of growth, we promise you’ll be glad you made the investment.

Benefits Of Email Marketing For Small Businesses

email marketing for small businesses.

Email is a tool most people use everyday. Email marketing is a cost effective solution to directly communicate with your customers, especially for small businesses. Whether it be a monthly newsletter, “Happy Birthday” message or seasonal specials, sending emails to your clients or prospects can be a great way to increase brand awareness and help drive sales. Here are five benefits of email marketing for small businesses:

  1. Increased Awareness

    Email marketing is an easy way to stay in front of your target audience. Send them messages to stay on top of their mind. Be consistent for the best results. If your email marketing schedule is inconsistent, people might not remember your business and will be less likely to open the message. Keep your messages fun and relevant for best results.

  2. Consistent Communication

    Like mentioned above, it’s important to send out your messages consistently. Whether it’s once or twice a month or quarterly, make sure you have a plan. You don’t want to send too many emails and appear annoying but you also want to stay in front of them. Sending out an email once or twice a year is not going to be an effective solution for your marketing plan.

  3. Increased Website Traffic

    It’s important to have strong call to actions in your emails. Often times, an important call to action would be sending recipients to your website. This needs to be done strategically. You can’t just send them to your home page. Which page is going to have the most relevant information? It could be a service page, a product page, or the contact page. Send them to a page where they would be expecting to go based off the information in the email and a page that will give them necessary information to increase conversions.

  4. Build Credibility

    People are more likely to open a message from a sender they know. Make sure subject lines are relevant so the recipients can see who you are and how you can help them. You don’t want your messages to look like spam. Know your readers and make sure your content is relevant to the people receiving the message. All of these things build credibility for your business and can help increase sales through your email marketing. Get people to trust your business.

  5. Cost Effective Option

    The benefits of email marketing can be more cost effective than other marketing efforts. For an even more cost effective solution, collect emails from your customers and potential customers to build an email list so you don’t need to purchase a list. This will lead to best results and ROI as you’ve already established credibility and a relationship with these recipients.

Why Marketing Your Startup Business Matters

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve started a business, or maybe you’ve been a small business owner for the last couple years. And you know better than anyone that starting, much less marketing your startup business, is no easy task. You can’t just perform one simple task. Owning a business means wearing a lot of hats, juggling a lot of balls, and maybe coming up with a better metaphor to express the challenges a small business owner faces.

Sometimes the to-do list of a startup business owner is so long, marketing might not seem all that important. With everything else you’re supposed to manage, could marketing your startup really make that much of a difference?

Millions of Small Businesses Are Vying for Consumers’ Attention

As of 2020, there were 31.7 million small businesses in the United States (Over 1 million were startups between 2019 and 2020 alone!) And guess what? Every one of those 31.7 million businesses want a slice of the customer pie. If you don’t want your startup business to get lost in the shuffle of 30 million other businesses, there’s something key you can do to build your brand and reach those potential customers with whom you want to share your message, service, or product. Come on, you know where we’re going with this. Let’s say it together: “Marketing!”

Number of Startup Businesses Started, 1997-2017
Marketing your startup business can be challenging in today’s incredibly competitive market with millions of new businesses starting every year.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy

Digital Marketing Is the Primary Mode of Communication between Small Businesses and Their Customers

In a survey of over 1,000 small business owners, results clearly indicated the top two modes of communication between businesses and their customers were email at 71.8% and Facebook at 60.8%. What does that mean? If you want to communicate with your customers, utilizing digital marketing channels could significantly boost the number of potential customers your business could reach. If you’re just getting started, now is the perfect time to start marketing for your startup!

Email and Facebook marketing lead the way for marketing channels employed by small businesses.
Employing digital marketing channels, such as email and Facebook marketing, could help with marketing your startup.

Source: Campaign Monitor

Marketing Your Startup Business Creates Authenticity in a Increasingly Distrusting World

According to a Havas Group report in 2021, almost 70% of consumers do not trust advertisements they see. Even worse? Those same consumers distrust 71% of brands. So where does authenticity fit in? Businesses without an established brand, say little or no social media profiles, lack of a website, minimal or no advertising, no testimonials – nothing to point to your business’s legitimacy means that your business is hard to trust. In other words, how can customers believe your startup business can solve their problem or provide a solution when your marketing is nonexistent? The short answer: building trust with consumers starts with marketing.

Marketing helps create authenticity in today's world.
Marketing your startup can provide authenticity in an increasingly distrustful world.

Sources: Entrepreneur, MarketingDive, Havas Group

Okay, if you didn’t know before, we’re certain you understand now: marketing is essential for your startup. But let’s face it, it’s really hard to not get overwhelmed by the long marketing to-do lists. There’s web design, and print marketing, and social media, and graphic design, and PPC, and SEO, and wait, what do all these acronyms mean, and how do you learn and execute all these marketing channels AND run your business . . . ?

Whether you’re trying to stand out in a crowded market, unsure of how to connect with your target customers, or want to establish a trusted brand, talk to your local marketing agency about taking your startup marketing to the next level.

Positive Impacts Of Email Marketing

Email marketing.

When you think of marketing in 2020, you probably aren’t thinking of the positive impacts – or any impact – of email marketing. Many believe that email promotions are dead, but a recent study found that there are 3.9 billion daily email users and 73% of millennials prefer communication from businesses via email.

Positive Impacts of Email Marketing

What are some of the positive impacts of email marketing? With email marketing, you can . . .

Increase Communication with Current Customers

Email marketing is a great way to increase loyalty with your current customers. This is because customers must ask to receive emails by manually signing up for your newsletter. This allows you to communicate with your consumers on a broader level but you still control how personalized the contents of the email can be.

Educate your Customers

As stated above, you get to personalize what goes into your emails. This type of marketing is to not only sell a product but to also educate your clients on matters related to your services as well as your company’s values.

Improve Sales

Did you know that 59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI (Return On Investment)? Your email marketing campaigns should include messages to encourage your customers to purchase products. They may be more likely to make a purchase because they actively chose to receive messages like these from you. Email marketing allows the ease of purchasing a product with no more than two clicks. With a catchy tagline, your email can take a customer right to the checkout page of a product on your website.

Increase Your Value

After some trial and error, you’ll be able to discover what communication strategy works best with your customers. Once you do, your customers will pay more attention to the message in each email. In return, you’ll be able to establish the brand of your business and create a closer relationship with your clients.

Reach People from Anywhere Instantly

Email marketing reaches customers faster than a social media post. This is because the email notification shows up on a smartphone as it’s sent out. Rather than having to scroll through Instagram or Facebook to see the post, it’s instant. People are constantly checking their emails: first thing in the morning at work, while at lunch, and even when lounging around.

Learn What Works

Email marketing is another way for you to monitor what’s working and what’s not based on clicks. After sending out a campaign, you can look back and see which links had the most amount of traffic. From there, try incorporating more of that topic into your emails, social media posts, and advertisements.

These are just six of several ways in which email marketing can benefit your business. The best news is, it’s cheap and easy to get started with it! Call or message Paragon Marketing Group today (262) 443-9092.

Positive Impacts Of Email Marketing

Email marketing.

When you think of marketing in 2020, you probably aren’t thinking of the positive impacts – or any impact – of email marketing. Many believe that email promotions are dead, but a recent study found that there are 3.9 billion daily email users and 73% of millennials prefer communication from businesses via email.

Positive Impacts of Email Marketing

What are some of the positive impacts of email marketing? With email marketing, you can . . .

Increase Communication with Current Customers

Email marketing is a great way to increase loyalty with your current customers. This is because customers must ask to receive emails by manually signing up for your newsletter. This allows you to communicate with your consumers on a broader level but you still control how personalized the contents of the email can be.

Educate Your Customers

As stated above, you get to personalize what goes into your emails. This type of marketing is to not only sell a product but to also educate your clients on matters related to your services as well as your company’s values.

Improve Sales

Did you know that 59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI (Return On Investment)? Your email marketing campaigns should include messages to encourage your customers to purchase products. They may be more likely to make a purchase because they actively chose to receive messages like these from you. Email marketing allows the ease of purchasing a product with no more than two clicks. With a catchy tagline, your email can take a customer right to the checkout page of a product on your website.

Increase your Value

After some trial and error, you’ll be able to discover what communication strategy works best with your customers. Once you do, your customers will pay more attention to the message in each email. In return, you’ll be able to establish the brand of your business and create a closer relationship with your clients.

Reach People from Anywhere Instantly

Email marketing reaches customers faster than a social media post. This is because the email notification shows up on a smartphone as it’s sent out. Rather than having to scroll through Instagram or Facebook to see the post, it’s instant. People are constantly checking their emails: first thing in the morning at work, while at lunch, and even when lounging around.

Learn What Works

Email marketing is another way for you to monitor what’s working and what’s not based on clicks. After sending out a campaign, you can look back and see which links had the most amount of traffic. From there, try incorporating more of that topic into your emails, social media posts, and advertisements.

These are just six of several positive impacts of email marketing. The best news is, it’s cheap and easy to get started with it! Call or message Paragon Marketing Group today (262) 443-9092.

Benefits of Email Marketing For Small Businesses

email marketing for small businesses.

Email is a tool most people use everyday. Email marketing is a cost effective solution to directly communicate with your customers, especially for small businesses. Whether it be a monthly newsletter, “Happy Birthday” message or seasonal specials, sending emails to your clients can be a great way to increase brand awareness and help drive sales. Here are five benefits of email marketing for small businesses:

  1. Increased Awareness

    Email marketing is an easy way to stay in front of your target audience. Send them messages to stay on top of their mind. Be consistent for the best results. If your email marketing schedule is inconsistent, people might not remember your business and will be less likely to open the message. Keep your messages fun and relevant for best results.

  2. Consistent Communication

    Like mentioned in the above point, it’s important to send out your messages consistently. Whether it’s once or twice a month or quarterly, make sure you have a plan. You don’t want to bombard people with emails all the time but you also want to stay in front of them. Sending out an email once a year is not going to be an effective solution for your marketing plan.

  3. Increased Website Traffic

    It’s important to have strong call to actions in your emails. Often times, an important call to action would be sending recipients to your website. This needs to be done strategically. You can’t always send them to your home page. Which page is going to have the most relevant information? It could be a service page, a product page, or the contact page. Send them to a page where they would be expecting to go based off the information in the email and a page that will give them necessary information to increase conversions.

  4. Build Credibility

    People are more likely to open a message from a sender they know. Make sure subject lines are relevant so the recipients can see who you are and how you can help them. You don’t want your messages to look like spam. Know your readers and make sure your content is relevant to the people receiving the message. All of these things build credibility for your business and can help increase sales through your email marketing. Get people to trust your business.

  5. Cost Effective Option

    Email marketing offers more cost-effective benefits than direct mail, making this a great strategy for small businesses. With email marketing being a digital platform, you don’t need to worry about printing costs or postage. For an even more cost effective solution, collect emails from your customers and potential customers to build an email list so you don’t need to purchase a list. This will lead to best results and ROI as you’ve already established credibility and a relationship with these recipients.

Does Your Wifi Bring Customers In The Door?

restaurant marketing.

Zenreach is the relationship engine that helps you know what your customers do in the real world, so you can keep them rushing back for more.

  • Boosted Contact List
    Zenreach turns your WiFi network into an automated contact collection tool—effortlessly growing your customer list 5x faster than before.
  • Automated Marketing
    It’s time to truly understand your customers—send messages that are automatically triggered by your guests’ unique visit behavior.
  • Transparent ROI
    Don’t rely on open rates and social media to guess the effectiveness of your online marketing—Zenreach shows you which messages bring customers through your door.

What other tech out there shows you exactly how many customers return after receiving an email? It’s inarguable ROI.
—DogHaus, Las Vegas

  1. It all starts with WiFi
    5 minute setup–Just plug in your access point and customers will get instant access to free, fast, and secure WiFi. Customers can use their own routers or purchase a plug-and-play Zenreach AP.
  2. Custom-branded portal
    No more fishbowls on your counter and manually logging outdated guest contact info. Zenreach automatically builds your contact list over WiFi through a customized portal complete with demographic and visit behavior.
  3. Collect contacts 5x faster
    Send the right message at the right time with our automated campaign tools – personalize messages to each individual customer based on behavior, demographics, and more.
  4. See your Walk-Through-Rate™
    Success your clients can see—We show you and your clients exactly how well their marketing is working by calculating the Walk-Through-Rate™. This is how many customers respond to messages by physically walking through the business doors.
  5. Build Your Reputation
    Get direct feedback and take control of your reputation. You can tell satisfied customers which popular review sites matter most (so they can leave their reviews there) while interacting personally with any unhappy customers before they post bad reviews.

“65% of customers are happy to share their information in exchange for more targeted marketing.”
—Big Commerce, 2015

 

Article Courtesy Of Zenreach