Some people have great ideas that never come to fruition. Others have great ideas that grow into dreams, which grow into companies, which—every once in a while—grow into the world’s most influential enterprises. Every day, new startups emerge, changing our lives as we know them. However, that initial dream doesn’t always include branded content marketing. When building a company from the ground up, there are numerous moving parts to consider—research and development, customer service, human resources, and the list goes on. Content marketing for startups is easy to forget about, but essential to remember, because it’s an efficient and well-rounded way to approach marketing goals.
Survive the initial evaluation of vendors
If a company writes a request for proposal for a product or service that you provide, branded content marketing could make the difference between being a considered vendor and being the vendor chosen to sign on the dotted line. The paradox of business today is that companies need to strike the balance between being customizable to the needs of individual clients and differentiated enough to stand out from the competition. Content marketing is the most straightforward way to demonstrate a plethora of use-cases and positive testimonials from unique customers while simultaneously building the throughline of a singular brand message.
During the initial process of evaluating vendors, companies will often analyze what their competitors are using for the same or similar solutions. Partnering with current customers to create content is a tremendous way to not only market to prospective customers that your product or service is applicable for their specific needs, but it also shows that you are a trusted best-of-breed or best-of-suite vendor in the marketplace. If companies see that a solution is working for their peers, they will have confidence in its ability to work for them as well—but they also don’t want their competition to be leveraging a tool that they don’t have themselves.
Continue pitching after you make the sale
The startup sphere is nothing if not dynamic, which means that securing an initial contract isn’t a perpetual promise of job security. Even if your product is a perfect fit for a customer’s needs, most companies will reevaluate all of their vendor contracts every two to five years. Branded content marketing can protect your startup from becoming an outdated legacy solution and form it into a solution with a legacy.
In a world where most of our connections are made online, a larger digital footprint directly correlates to an increased sense of credibility. Creating content from the initial stages helps your startup down the line by providing tangible evidence of your track record. It can display your brand’s development over time, your ability to design a product roadmap, and competency to achieve that potential.
Startups are innovative. Convincing potential customers to take a chance on a leading-edge idea might not be the most difficult part of the journey, but when it comes to that contract renewal, companies need to be certain that you’re a brand with longevity and expertise. For startups, partnering with a digital content marketing agency early on is a sharp investment. Outsourcing content marketing services to an agency with expertise in the area ensures that you’re thinking proactively about your marketing needs as you scale without exhausting valuable resources to build that initiative internally.