Why Most Startups Suck at Marketing (and How to Fix It)
If you’re an early-stage startup founder, you’re probably familiar with the frustrations of marketing. You’re doing everything “by the book” and yet it feels like nothing’s working. Every channel promises something, but very few deliver as expected. SEO takes forever to kick in, influencer marketing generates spikes but no lasting results, and PR feels like an expensive lottery ticket. Yet, these are the same tactics everyone talks about. So, what’s really going on? Why do most startups struggle with marketing, and what can they do to fix it? Let’s dive into the current challenges startups face and how they can take a different approach to grow successfully.
Traditional Marketing Challenges
When you're running a startup, you're inevitably faced with one big question: How the heck do I market this thing? The truth is, there's no magic marketing formula. And the harsh truth we’re facing: the once-powerful marketing strategies of yesterday aren’t yielding the same results today. Startups often start with what they know – familiar, traditional channels. But these channels, such as SEO, paid ads, influencer marketing, and email campaigns, are becoming less effective for several reasons:
1. Saturated Channels
The big marketing channels that worked well in the past are now overcrowded. Take SEO, for instance. It's harder than ever to rank for relevant keywords because you're competing against listicles, forums, and an endless stream of content. Paid ads? They’re becoming more expensive, with diminishing returns. When companies flood the same platforms, consumer attention wanes, making it harder for startups to stand out.
2. Increasing Costs
As marketing channels mature, their costs rise. Bigger companies with bigger budgets have dominated these channels, driving up prices. As a result, startups are often priced out of effective advertising and forced to settle for low-performing options that don’t provide a return on investment.
3. Consumer Fatigue
Consumers are tired of being bombarded with generic ads, influencer posts, and email marketing. Traditional channels, once novel and effective, have become too familiar, causing engagement to drop. As consumers grow desensitized, the marketing tactics that worked for established businesses stop being effective for startups.
These channels are no longer yielding the results they once did, and startups need a new approach.
Innovation Adoption Curve
Are you familiar with the Innovation Adoption Curve? This framework is essential for understanding how different customer segments engage with new products at different stages of their development. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s worth diving into. The curve (see the image below) consists of five stages:
Innovators: These are the early risers, the ones who are first in line for new products, even if they’re a little rough around the edges. They’re excited to test, explore, and provide you with valuable feedback.
Early Adopters: A little more cautious, but still willing to embrace new technology. They’re influential, and when they like your product, they’ll help spread the word to a larger audience.
Early Majority: This group is more skeptical and needs proof before they commit. They’re looking for a product that’s already established, has user reviews, and is a trusted choice.
Late Majority: The mainstream audience, who will only adopt the product once it’s no longer “new” and it’s widely accepted.
Laggards: The last group to adopt your product, typically driven by necessity rather than enthusiasm.
Why does this matter? Because your marketing strategy should evolve as your startup moves through these stages. In the early days, you should be focusing on Innovators and Early Adopters. They’re your key to building momentum and refining your product. These are the customers who are willing to take a risk on a new product before it’s gone mainstream. Early adopters aren’t just valuable customers – they are also critical validators for your product.
The Importance of Early Adopters
Feedback: Innovators and early adopters will help you validate and refine your product. Take advantage of their feedback. This iterative approach ensures that your offering truly resonates with your target audience, making it much easier to scale later on. If they love it, it gives you the confidence to move forward with scaling.
Word of Mouth: Early adopters are often the first to spread the word about your product. Their enthusiasm can help generate buzz, which can bring in the next wave of users.
How to Attract Early Adopters
To effectively market to early adopters, you need to think differently:
Create Novelty: Early adopters love new, exciting products that offer something different. Highlight your product's unique value proposition and how it solves a problem in a way that others haven’t thought of.
Use Smaller, Focused Channels: Skip the big ad platforms for now and focus on smaller, more personal channels. Reach out to your network on social media, send direct emails, or engage in niche forums where your target audience hangs out. These channels allow you to have direct, meaningful conversations.
Build a Community: Early adopters thrive in niche communities. Whether it’s through a Facebook group, Slack channel, or an online forum, creating a space for them to interact with your brand (and each other) can increase engagement and loyalty.
The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs:
The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs concept (why marketing channels decay over time). First proposed by Andrew Chen, this law states that all marketing strategies eventually lead to poor engagement. As soon as a channel becomes effective, everyone jumps on it, leading to competition and diminishing returns. The novelty wears off, and consumers stop paying attention. Marketing costs go up, and engagement goes down. This is true for big marketing channels. As they age, they become oversaturated, and the returns decline. So, what to do?
Big Channels vs Little Channels
Here’s the thing: Big Channels are dominated by big companies with massive budgets. They can afford the high customer acquisition costs (CAC) and the saturated markets. As a new startup, you don’t have that luxury. But that’s where Little Channels come in.
What are Little Channels? Think of them as smaller, more niche marketing strategies that you can use to engage early adopters before you scale. These could include:
Mini-events with cool speakers;
Facebook Groups centered around a specific niche;
Targeting a single college, company, or town;
Reaching out personally to your network (friends, ex-colleagues, etc.).
These early-stage tactics won’t cost you much, but they can build momentum by targeting highly engaged, smaller audiences. You’ll also see higher response rates because you're doing everything manually. Like Paul Graham says: “Do things that don't scale.” These niche marketing tactics provide high engagement with lower competition. Little channels might not scale quickly, but they can build strong, dedicated communities and create real momentum from the ground up.
Why Little Channels Work
Lower Competition: With little channels, you’re not fighting big companies with massive ad budgets. You can engage with consumers directly and personally, which leads to higher response rates.
Flexibility: Little channels offer the flexibility to experiment with new tactics. You can test different approaches on a smaller scale, see what resonates, and double down on what works.
Targeted Impact: Instead of trying to reach everyone, you can focus on a specific audience, those who will truly care about your product.
The goal isn’t to scale right away but to gain traction. A few hundred loyal users are better than thousands of unengaged ones. Once you’ve gained some initial traction with little channels, you can gradually expand to bigger channels as your product and budget grow.
So, What to Do?
So, what does this mean for your marketing strategy? As a startup, you don’t have the resources for big, flashy campaigns, but you do have flexibility. You can do things your competitors can't. Here are three key actions to take:
Innovate in Your Marketing Strategy
While your product is the most important factor in your startup’s success, your marketing strategy is also crucial. But innovation in marketing is just as important as innovation in the product itself. With new technologies like AI, AR/VR, and interactive experiences, startups now have the tools to create marketing campaigns that stand out. For example, AI can help you personalize content on a large scale or create interactive experiences that engage users in ways traditional ads cannot. By using the latest tech, startups can deliver fresh, engaging content that captures the attention of their audience.
Take Risks with Your Brand
As a startup, you have more freedom to take risks with your brand. Large, established companies have to be cautious, but startups can afford to be bold and polarizing. Don’t be afraid to challenge competitors, say something unconventional, or market your product aggressively. This can help you grab attention and differentiate your startup from the crowd. A startup that takes a bland, play-it-safe approach might not offend anyone, but it won’t excite anyone either – it’ll just be forgettable. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. It is better to be loved by some and disliked by others than to be mildly tolerated by everyone.
The Power of Product
No matter how innovative your marketing, none of it matters if your product isn’t good. Early adopters will only stick around if your product lives up to their expectations. Your product should solve a real problem in a way that is unique and valuable. No marketing strategy will save a bad product. The best marketing comes from having a product that people love. When your product is exceptional, your users will spread the word for you. The marketing will follow naturally. Product is King, but Marketing is the Multiplier.
Conclusion
So, what’s the takeaway? Most startups fail at marketing because they try to replicate the strategies of big companies that already have brand recognition and massive marketing budgets. Instead, startups should focus on little channels, early adopters, and innovative marketing strategies. By engaging early adopters and building a loyal user base from the ground up, startups can gain the momentum they need to scale.
By thinking creatively, using niche marketing channels, and focusing on innovation, your startup can stand out in the market and avoid the mistakes that most new businesses make. Embrace the power of little channels and early adopters, and you’ll be well on your way to success.
At molfar.io, we specialize in helping startups navigate these challenges. Whether you’re looking to design an MVP, build an innovative marketing strategy that actually works for startups, or need guidance on your growth path, we’re here to help. Reach out to us and let's build something extraordinary together!