We’re all guest posts all the time now on New Venture Mentor so here’s today’s post from Henri Hazougi about the fundamentals of marketing your startup:

Marketing is crucial when entering a competitive business scene. A proactive approach is not just nice to have to ensure a competitive advantage — it’s an absolute necessity. There are countless strategies for marketing that startups can employ, from traditional methods to trendy online marketing tactics.

It can be quite overwhelming to try to determine which marketing strategies would be most effective for brand growth and securing a positive user experience. For this, business setup consultants advise focusing on today’s marketing fundamentals. By establishing these, determining the tactics to incorporate into a powerful marketing campaign will be no trouble at all.

So, what are the marketing fundamentals for startups?

Allocate a minimum of 3% of your total income for advertising.

For conservative startups, this percentage is considered workable. However, for those that want to make a powerful entry into the industry and increase the chances of quick growth, advertising budget can go up to 10 percent.

Study the best medium for targeting the identified audience.

Don’t take a shortcut with this one. Conduct surveys and studies to see which marketing platforms and strategies can reach the audience that the business is trying to reach.

According to marketing experts, if your business is targeting young people, radio ads have been proven to be more impactful than print. As for middle-aged people, newspaper ads are the more powerful medium. For really young children, television ads are definitely worth using.

Create a website.

No competitive business should be without an official presence in the digital realm. It’s essential to have online real estate that potential clients can visit for relevant information they require from the business, or to carry out a transaction.

Make sure, however, that the website has a smart design and is responsive (accessible to all devices). Google reported that digital consumption is greater on mobile devices than traditional PCs, so a responsive site is a must. Hire a website designer and developer for this.

Tap into the power of social media.

It’s not enough to have a website for the business; it should always be supported by official and relevant social media accounts. People spend a significant amount of time on social media sites. Studies reveal that teens spend a total of nine hours a day on social platforms. Meanwhile, adults spend around two hours a day on these networks. Be sure to conduct an analysis of where your audience is when developing communication strategies though – you don’t want to waste resources talking to the wrong audience by making assumptions that they’re using a specific channel of social media.

Don’t do without SEO.

Search engine optimization is going to make your online efforts weightier. It will ensure visibility for your online assets. Additionally, it will allow your business to form connections that will establish you as an industry expert.

It’s worth mentioning too that SEO will provide you more useful data for your business. Data from analytics will allow you to further fine-tune your marketing campaign.

Lastly, SEO tactics will bring more use out of both online and offline marketing materials.

Offer training and free services.

It’s best to design programs that will not only provide good value to your target audience but also enhance your marketing strategy. Training and free services are perfect for increasing awareness about your business within your locality. They will also help you build beneficial connections. These provisions will establish your business’s image as an industry authority.

Participate in events that allow your business to reach more people.

Festivals, job fairs, summits, expos and others will bring your enterprise closer to people. You can create conversations for significant information dissemination and establish the value offered by you business. Through these events, your business can also demonstrate its original products and set itself apart from similar enterprises.

Create technology specifically for your business.

An app is the best for this strategy as it will help your target audience easily execute various activities. There’s a side benefit to creating an app for your business — it can serve as an additional income generator. Make it as useful as possible for customers and they’ll have no issue paying for the multiple services accessible through the app.

Being the new kid on the block can be greatly challenging. Big players can overshadow your efforts and competition is often quite fierce. But if you have a strong setup for your new enterprise, going head to head with the big players is not going to be a problem.

In today’s business scene, a startup’s marketing game and their ability to deliver competitive services and products can ensure their success. So, if your business is new, these are examples of what you need to focus on as components of your setup.

Serial Entrepreneur and Business Strategist Henri Hazougi is the managing Director/Partner of Business Setup Consultants DMCC. The company offers a broad range of expertise in corporate services assisting companies and entrepreneurs in setting up and expanding their business in the UAE.