A great marketer can be invaluable for your start-up from the get-go

The general belief about marketing in start-ups seems to be that it’s a “later thing”. But I disagree. A marketer, particularly a marketing generalist able to juggle multiple marketing disciplines and thrive in a start-up, is unique.

The right marketer can help grow your business exponentially right from the get-go.

Earlier this year when I was talking to a group of entrepreneurs looking to expand their footprint, they saw marketing as an investment for 12 to 18 months’ time, after they had a sales team on the ground.

Here are my top three reasons why you should prioritise marketing in your business:

Brand is Life

Apple popularised the notion that great marketing is about values and it’s doubly true today as consumers demonstrate a preference for companies that stand for something.

Brand is the public representation of your values.

It is hard to explain because it is intangible and difficult to measure.

But a great marketer can capture values, dreams and potential, and create a desirable brand.

What’s more, a great marketer can coach your team and interactions so your values come through in every brand touch point.

If you can do this, your brand will become the reason people buy your product/service and are loyal consumers fuelling word-ofmouth marketing.

They will help you keep and understand your customer

Because marketing handles all tools to engage with consumers, it has resulted in the discipline owning the vast majority of customer data and communication channels and, as a result, marketing has become one of the most powerful business functions in understanding and communicating with customers.

A good generalist marketer can analyse the data and identify trends, and through this help your brand truly understand its consumers, not just in relation to what they want from your product or service, but what tribes they run with, their life goals and expectations and how they want to engage with your brand.

What’s more, marketing is able to use those communications channels to foster a community around your customer base.

When 80% of business decisions rely directly on peer influence, that is a big opportunity.

Marketing helps sales become efficient

While marketing can never replace the value a skilled sales rep can offer, marketers can make them incredibly efficient.

A sales rep can only make a certain number of calls and send a certain number of e-mails a day (not allowing for research).

Ad-tech can source thousands of leads a day and mar-tech can nurture those leads until they’re ready for the close.

Marketers develop and run these campaigns, as well as provide sales with the right information to make personalised pitches.

Imagine how efficient your business would be if the only time a person ever spoke to a sales person was when they were ready to sign on the line?

While not all marketing generalists are as strong in all these areas (brand marketing and performance marketing skill sets are rarely found in the same person), a good marketing generalist will know how to bring the right people or agencies in and how to manage them to get the best results for your start-up.

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Andrew MacKenzie is managing director of Boomtown