One consistent takeaway from industry-sweeping surveys of how software companies operate is that faster growing companies spend more money on sales and marketing than slower growing companies. This is something that most founders we talk to at Reify have internalized: they know that in order to make more money, they have to spend more money.
So if the problem isn’t a lack of information, what is it? Most founders would say that it’s even simpler than that — it’s a lack of money. You can’t spend money that you don’t have, or more precisely, you won’t spend money that you don’t want to spend, or to put an even finer point on it you just aren’t going to spend money on marketing because it’s much easier to see the impact of an engineering hire and that’s what you’re used to.
Fortunately, we have a solution for founders, executives, and good storytellers at software companies who want to spend money on marketing but don’t think that they have the money to spend — spend time instead.
The best way to convince yourself to take the function of Marketing seriously in your organization is to get a little bit of a taste for what successful marketing feels like, and the impact that it can have on your bottom line.
Just so we can avoid being accused of thought-lording you into spending more money on Marketing without giving you any constructive ideas, here are three ways you can spend some time and not any money* on marketing to make it way more likely that you’ll spend more money and less time on marketing in the future:
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Send three newsletters to your mailing list in three months: This doesn’t seem very lofty, does it? If you don’t have a mailing list, set one up instead! Mail your customers! Mail your trial users! If you need more ideas, shoot us an email and we’ll give you a free 15 minute consultation to help you brainstorm.
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Write three blog posts in three months: We know you can do it. You probably have some ideas already, don’t you? If you want to get started, here’s a tip: Separate your planning from your writing. Spend one 60 minute session brainstorming 3 topic ideas, and then just commit. Keep them short and sweet, and keep your audience in mind. If you’re not sure what to write about, shoot us an email and we’ll give you a free 15 minute consultation to help you figure it out.
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Get one post published on a partner company’s blog: This will probably take a few months on it’s own. Getting referral traffic from partners or likeminded companies can do wonders for your traffic, can bring you new eyeballs, and get you in the habit of thinking strategically about your market place positioning. Not sure who to contact? Shoot us an email and we’ll give you a free 15 minute consultation to help you find a good partner.
*Yes, we know that your time is money. We’re trying to trick you. We really hope it works.
Isn’t this kind of self-serving of you?
Maybe a little, but isn’t all good marketing? Seriously though, we’ve been beating this drum for a long time — things will get better for everyone if technical problem solvers and business problem solvers cooperate earlier on in the lifecycle of startups. More thinking and spending up front on marketing means less burn out, clearer messaging, and less bullshit.
Besides, we’re not the only ones — the market is telling you to spend more on marketing, sales, and distribution if you want to make a bigger impact with your software company. We’re just here to tell you how, and t to assure you that it’s easier than you think.
Curious to hear more? Shoot us an email and we’ll give you a free 15 minute consultation to answer your questions.