Myths & Truths About Marketing Your Startup

PRESENTED BY:
Myths & Truths - Building a
Product
January 28, 2015
PRESENTED BY:
PRESENTER:
ROBERT WALLACE
EVP MARKETING, TALLWAVE
ROBERT.WALLACE@TALLWAVE.COM

INTRODUCTION
ROBERT WALLACE
Executive Vice President, Marketing
Tallwave LLC
Marketer, entrepreneur and problem
solver.
Helps early stage tech startups take
their products to market and stake a
claim to a winning position in the
marketplace.
In a previous life:
● Affinnova
● Internet Venture Works
● Airwalk
robert.wallace@tallwave.com
WWW.TALLWAVE.COM/MARKETING INFO@TALLWAVE.COM

AGENDA
• Myth 1: You need a PR firm or ad agency to launch your
startup.
• Myth 2: (a) You should focus on product and sales
before thinking about marketing, (b) A great product
alone solves all my marketing problems.
• Myth 3: Investors don’t care about branding and
marketing.
• Myth 4: You need a CMO or VP of Marketing to market
your startup.

THE MYTHS

MYTH #1: YOU NEED A PR FIRM OR AD
AGENCY TO LAUNCH YOUR STARTUP

MISCONCEPTION
Marketing is only about awareness.

REALITY #1
Advertising is not marketing.
Neither is PR.

THE TRUTH: MARKETING IS ABOUT REVENUE
WWW.TALLWAVE.COM/SANDCASTLE INFO@TALLWAVE.COMWWW.TALLWAVE.COM/MARKETING INFO@TALLWAVE.COM

TIPS:
1. Focus = Strength
2. Use cheap marketing tools such as MailChimp, Sprout
Social, Pr.co, JustReachOut, Mixrank, PromoJam
3. Tap into inexpensive resources such as Elance, fiverr, or
oDesk
4. Measure everything, and experiment until you see what
works

MYTH #2a: YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON
PRODUCT AND SALES BEFORE THINKING
ABOUT MARKETING
MYTH #2b: A GREAT PRODUCT ALONE
SOLVES ALL MY MARKETING PROBLEMS

MISCONCEPTION: THESE GUYS DID IT!
“Uber is such a great experience it markets
itself.”

Marketing is hard, non-sexy, work.

THE TRUTH:

TIPS:
1. Focus on how you plan to get to revenue for your
company - forcing product, marketing, and sales to be at
the table.
2. Map the detailed customer journey from the moment
they purchase/use your product backwards.

MYTH #4: INVESTORS DON’T CARE ABOUT
BRANDING AND MARKETING

MISCONCEPTION
Branding is just about logos and colors.
Marketing is just about spending money.

“GREAT BRANDING ISN'T JUST ABOUT THE
PRODUCT YOU'RE SELLING NOW, BUT ABOUT
MAINTAINING THE SALES MOMENTUM INTO THE
PRODUCT YOU'LL BE SELLING TOMORROW.”
BEN MACK, THINK TWO PRODUCTS AHEAD

Investors want to invest in companies that can
win in the marketplace.
Branding and marketing are critical facets to
doing that.

TRUTH:
YOUR FOUNDATION FOR GROWTH
AND RAISING MONEY EXISTS IN YOUR POSITIONING
STATEMENT

Wholesalefund to Shelvspace – Company Rebrand & Reposition

There is no clear solution for brands looking to integrate, optimize and measure
their local, social and mobile marketing & sales efforts in the digital out of home
(DOOH) marketplace.
Clearly Articulate the Problem You’re Solving
Define Your Position, Differentiate Your Solution, Create New Markets
“Company Name” is the social out of home (SOOH) media company.
Unlike traditional and next generation DOOH solutions that deliver impressions
and actions; the “Company Name” media network delivers impressions, creates
consumer engagement and drives leads and sales by integrating local, social
and mobile marketing for brands, agencies and dooh networks via a single
platform.

• STRATEGY: CURRENT COMPETITION

TIP:
THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF A POSITIONING STATEMENT
(AKA YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY)
“Company Name” is the leading type of company
that provides unique benefit to target customers.
Unlike competitors, company does unique
differentiator(s).

MYTH #4: YOU NEED A CMO OR VP OF
MARKETING TO LAUNCH YOUR STARTUP

MISCONCEPTION
“As the founder/CEO, I don’t have time to do
marketing myself.”
“I’m not a marketing person.”

REALITY #2
A startup’s marketing strategy is too
important NOT to be owned by the
founder/CEO.

• Defines your business
• Defines who you are
and who you are not
• Foundation for how
you address the
marketplace
THE TRUTH: Your startup’s brand, positioning, and
messaging matter...a lot.

TIPS:
1. Spend the time and effort to nail your positioning
statement, messaging, and marketing objectives.
2. Understand what marketing metrics are driving your
business.
3. Hire more junior marketers to execute and test different
tactics until you know what’s working and what’s not.

AN INTENSIVE 2-WEEK BRANDING + MESSAGING SPRINT
Articulate a compelling story around your unique value
Stake claim to a differentiated position in the market
Reduce confusion with your target stakeholders
Package your company for sales and fundraising
TALLWAVE.COM/MARKETING INFO@TALLWAVE.COM

Questions?
WWW.TALLWAVE.COM/SANDCASTLE INFO@TALLWAVE.COM

Myths & Truths About Marketing Your Startup

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