1. A lower Marcom budget does not equal lower results

Startups are famous for not having big marketing and communications (Marcom) budgets. This is true if we compare them to large companies. The situation is, of course, different per country or region. I would argue that startups are much more cautious with their marketing budgets. So, when creating a budget ask yourselves: Is this really needed? Can we use the resources we already have to implement this campaign? It’s not about cutting costs, but about investing wisely and always with a well-defined goal. Do consider investing some budget though, as people have more time to consume content and check out new products today.

2. Innovation is not handed to you

Innovation is not the title of your next meeting. Innovation cannot take the shape of a corporate responsibility program or PR stunt to get media attention or disrupt the competition. Innovation needs to be like a grassroots movement, it needs to come from your teams. What could you do to make it happen? Think of ways you could put together a team of innovators and have them and their chosen teams solve legacy problems for example.

3. Measure everything

Show your colleagues how you and your team are driving growth. Perhaps your company is using different tools to measure impact and drive growth. How can you better showcase the results of your team? Make sure you have the right tools and that those tools do not measure the same things differently. I’ve seen a lot of global brands using different tools for the same success metrics. It only creates confusion and misunderstandings between teams. Moreover, make sure these tools are used correctly: how was the data sourced, is it unbiased, is the level of magnitude of certain results appropriate (e.g. tens versus thousands of people) and so on.

Source Credit: EU-Startups