LL Brandlab, together with MindShare Learning Technology, organized a webinar titled “Build and Grow Your Brand with $0 Budget.” The event was attended by entrepreneurs, marketing industry professionals and the general public who are following the topic of how to build a brand. Our Founder & CEO Li Lu shared with the audience her insights of the biggest challenges startups face in marketing and outlined specific operational strategies to build a successful brand at the lowest cost.
The event focused on three major questions in the minds of many consumer business owners today:
What are the biggest challenges startups face in marketing?
How do you get consumers to pay for your product or service?
How does one build a successful brand at the lowest cost?
Below is a summary of the questions and knowledge exchanged in the session.
What the biggest marketing challenge faced by startup founders?
Many competitors, some being larger companies with more resources
Too many options for marketing tools, and don’t know which one is the best for me
Limited marketing budget (big or small)
Too many choices. Do I launch webinars? Online community? Reddit? Social Media? Search ads?
Don’t know how to find good remote resources/freelancers and work with them effectively
We lack a CMO to provide direction for the above
How do you get consumers to pay for your product or service?
The age-old marketing challenge stands: convince consumers that the value they get from buying the product or service is far greater than what they are paying for it.
How to build a successful brand at the lowest cost?
Use your personal network.
Introduce your brand to everyone you know through social media like LinkedIn, forums, webinars, your industry associations, etc. Make everyone you know aware of what you are doing, people will start referring business to you. One thing to keep in mind: Be different and bold!
Find free PR channels.
HARO is a highly recommended free source to get some media mentions.
Use paid ads to test messages and audiences.
Spend < $50 dollars per test
Target impression only
Track and compare CTR
Don’t target conversion
Go to where your customers are
Add QR codes on all product packaging and advertising.
My favorite QR code generator: https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/
Using Influencer & Social Media Right.
Generates high ROI when done right
Results in a strong trust in the brand
Especially hard to manage within the company, hence the dearth of social agencies everywhere
Consider delivering a new retail experience.
Using new technology to impress and inform, such as, Augmented Reality
Improving the in-store experience by following up on the social interactions
Increasing online orders & fulfillment
SEO Monitoring.
Are you an entrepreneur with a brand to grow? What other challenges have you faced in maintaining your brand sales and image in these unprecedented times? Let us know in the comments below.