Episode 12: Every Startup - At Every Stage – Needs a Marketing Strategy

Tech Uncensored - An Altitude Accelerator Podcast

We see it time and again. One of the last things companies invest in when they’re starting their company is marketing. The developer is hired before the marketer. The product is designed without consideration of who it’s for. The product is tweaked without talking to a customer. Marketing strategy takes a back seat to product strategy, and this is a fatal flaw.

One of the most common marketing myths? Marketing is the same thing as Promotion. In fact, Promotion, which includes PR and advertising, is ONLY one subset of marketing. But this misunderstanding is the reason why companies dismiss the need for marketing. Perhaps you are not ready to talk publicly about your business or products, but this does not mean that you do not need marketing. This is the groundwork a founder needs to establish in order to determine if they have a viable business. The foundations of revenue and building a sustainable business begin here.

We spoke to seasoned experts, Angela Bourne, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Altitude Accelerator and Kevin Smith, Founder of The Story Architect, and marketing instructor for Altitude’s Incubator Program, who broke down some of these myths and make the case for how a proper marketing strategy will help founders build better companies that will endure.