3 Best Practices For Founder-Led Marketing (with Examples).

Why Should I Even Start?

Hey there, fellow founder! I know what you're thinking: 'Ugh, not another marketing article. I've got a million other things to do in 2023.' Trust me, I feel your pain. As a founder, you've got a million responsibilities, and marketing can often feel like just one more thing on the never-ending to-do list.

But the truth is, effective marketing is brutally crucial to the success of your startup nowadays. And as the founder, you've got unique insights and expertise that can make all the difference in your marketing efforts. So, before you click away and go back to coding or customer service or whatever else you've got going on, hear me out.

What’s In For Me, If I do All You Say in Founder-Led Marketing, Nik?

Getting selfish? (good sign!) These best practices for founder-led marketing might just save you time, money, and stress in the long run.

You know your company better than anyone.

You've probably got a pretty good handle on your target audience, your unique selling proposition, and your brand voice. So don't be afraid to take the lead and get creative! Leverage that knowledge to create marketing campaigns that really speak to your customers and differentiate you from the competition.

You can make quick and decisive marketing decisions.

As the founder, you're used to making tough calls and adapting to change. When it comes to marketing, this agility can be a huge advantage. You don't have to go through endless rounds of approval or wait for someone else to make a decision. Just gather the data you need, weigh the pros and cons, and go with your gut.

You're accountable for the outcomes.

As the founder, you're the one who's ultimately responsible for the success or failure of your startup. So it only makes sense that you'd want to take an active role in shaping your marketing strategy. When you lead the charge, you're in a much better position to course-correct if things aren't going as planned.

You might save some cash.

Let's be real, every startup is on a tight budget. Hiring a dedicated marketing team or agency can be expensive, especially in the early stages. By leading the marketing efforts, yourself, you can save on those costs and allocate your resources elsewhere.

You Know What, Nik, I’m In, Tell Me The 3 Best Practices for Founder-Led Marketing

Understood, loud and clear. Here we go:

Setting marketing goals: Not any goals, but SMART goals.

Yeah, I will show you the smarter way of doing things, the SMART goal in Nik’s founder-led marketing.

(S) Be specific.

Vague goals like 'increase brand awareness' or 'generate more leads' aren't going to cut it. Get specific about what you want to achieve, and how you'll measure it. For example, 'increase website traffic by 20% over the next quarter through search engine optimization and social media marketing.' You know what, 20% seems overstretched? Cool! Let’s do it at 10%.

(M) Make it measurable.

You can't improve what you can't measure. Make sure you have a clear way to track your progress and determine whether you're hitting your goals. For example, using Google Analytics to track website traffic or setting up conversion tracking in your email marketing tool. Don’t set it yourself, hire someone from Fiverr for just $5.

(A) Aim for achievable.

Don't set yourself up for failure by setting unrealistic goals. Make sure your goals are challenging, but also achievable given your resources and constraints. Aiming for overnight success, go to Shark Tank!

(R) Keep it relevant.

Your marketing goals should be aligned with your overall business objectives. Don't waste time and money on tactics or channels that aren't going to move the needle for your company. The speedometer has a higher limit, doesn’t mean anyone can reach it safely.

(T) Give yourself a timeline.

Deadlines can be a great motivator, and they also help you stay focused and prioritize your efforts. Make sure you set a specific time frame for achieving your goals and break it down into smaller, achievable milestones if necessary. What are you doing today, I’m asking.

Examples of SMART marketing goals:

1. As the founder of a B2C health and wellness company, you might set a goal of increasing your Instagram followers by 20% over the next quarter by sharing daily updates, using relevant hashtags and collaborating with influencers.

How to track it?

You could use tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule and track your Instagram posts and engagement, and measure the impact on your follower count.

1. As the founder of a B2B consulting firm, you might set a goal of generating 50 qualified leads within the next six months through a speaking tour or webinar series.

How to track it?

You could use tools like Calendly or Zoom to schedule and host your events, and use a CRM tool like Salesforce to track and qualify leads.

Allocating Resources: Maximising The Impact

Prioritize high-impact tactics.

Not all low-impact tactics like banner ads or directory listings. Instead, focus on tactics that are likely to drive the biggest results for your company. This might include paid advertising, content marketing, influencer marketing, or email marketing.

Use data to inform your decisions.

Don't just go with your gut or follow the latest marketing fad. Use data and analytics to determine what's working and what's not. This might include A/B testing different versions of your website or emails, analyzing the performance of your social media posts, or tracking the ROI of your paid advertising campaigns.

Outsource or partner as needed.

As a founder, you can't be an expert in everything. Don't be afraid to bring in outside help when you need it. Whether it's a freelance designer, a copywriter, or a full-blown marketing agency, the right partner can help you get better results in less time. Just be sure to do your homework and choose a partner that aligns with your values and goals.

Examples of effective resource allocation strategies:

1. As the founder of a B2C fashion company, you might allocate a larger portion of your marketing budget to sponsored content or influencer partnerships, since you know that your target audience is highly engaged with fashion bloggers and social media influencers. You could use tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule and track your influencer outreach and partnerships, and measure the impact on your social media engagement and website traffic.
2. As the founder of a B2B software company, you might invest in data and analytics tools to inform your marketing decisions and optimize your performance. For example, you might use tools like Google Analytics or Mixpanel to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates, and use the data to identify areas for improvement or opportunities to test new marketing tactics.

Prioritizing tasks: When To Do Things?

It's time to learn about the Eisenhower Matrix, also known as the 'Urgent-Important Matrix,' and how it can help you prioritize your tasks and get stuff done. So grab your pen and paper (or your favorite task-management app) and let's get started!"

Use a task management tool.

There are a million things vying for your attention as a founder. A task management tool can help you prioritize, track your progress, and stay organized. Whether it's Trello, Asana, or a good old-fashioned notebook, find a system that works for you and stick with it.

Set aside dedicated time for marketing.

It's easy to get sidetracked by the urgent (but not necessarily important) tasks of the day. Make sure you set aside dedicated time for your marketing efforts, and try to stick to a schedule as much as possible. This might mean blocking off an hour or two every morning for marketing tasks or setting aside a full day once a week.

Delegate or outsource as needed.

As a founder, you can't do everything yourself. Don't be afraid to delegate tasks or outsource to a team member or a freelancer. This will free up your time for the tasks that only you can do, and it will also help build capacity and expertise within your team.

Examples of task prioritization strategies:

• As the founder of a B2C e-commerce company, you might use the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize your marketing tasks as urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, or neither urgent nor important and tackle them in that order. For example, responding to customer service inquiries or fixing a broken website link would be considered "urgent and important," while creating a content calendar or conducting market research might be considered "important but not urgent."

• As the founder of a B2B software company, you might prioritize tasks that have the greatest potential impact or return on investment (ROI) over those that are merely urgent or easy to accomplish. For example, you might prioritize creating a demo video or case study over updating your social media profiles, since the former is likely to have a bigger impact on your sales and marketing efforts.

Conclusion:

You made it, my fellow founders! To sum it up:

• As founders, you've got unique insights and expertise that can make all the difference in your marketing efforts. By setting SMART marketing goals, allocating resources effectively, and prioritizing tasks, you can maximize the impact of your marketing budget and efforts.
• Don't be afraid to take an active role in your company's marketing efforts and strive for continuous improvement. Whether you're just starting out or you've been in business for a while, there's always more to learn and new tactics to try.

If you're looking for further learning or resources, there are a ton of great books, courses, and industry experts to follow. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Books: "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries, "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini, "Contagious: Why Things Catch On" by Jonah Berger (My personal Fav)
• Courses: "Startup Marketing Bootcamp" by Coursera, "Marketing Strategy" by edX, "Growth Hacking for Startups" by Udemy
• Industry experts: Neil Patel, Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin

And if you're feeling like you could use a little extra help or guidance, don't hesitate to reach out to me, Nik L, a content-turned-product marketer with a passion for helping founders succeed. I'm always happy to chat and see how I can support your marketing efforts.

Until next time, happy marketing!