Most businesses know the importance of getting their business out in the public and getting potential customers talking about a brand. Unfortunately, many startups, especially smaller ones, don’t think about developing a marketing strategy or earmarking money to start and maintain one.
A lack of marketing strategy can stop a tech support company before it starts. To keep a healthy, successful tech support merchant account, which allows your business to accept and process credit card payments successfully, you must make marketing a priority. Check out these three ways to market your business on the path to success.
1. Know Your Audience
Startups often are the brainchildren of people who are passionate about a specific product or service. Many times, a certain type of tech support or app is created out of necessity. The creator or someone close to the creator dealt with a specific problem and the person couldn’t find a way to solve it. With that being said, remember these people when you are building your tech startup. The people you are helping are your audience. Focus on them and figure out how important your startup is to these people before trying to attract the attention of the most-coveted media outlets. If you don’t flesh out these details and focus on your audience, you run the risk of putting the cart before the horse. This basically means that the public will find all of the flaws in your business and the work that you do.
2. Build Quality Relationships
Tech startups often feel they can build their customer bases quickly and easily through growth hacking, which looks for the best way to grow a business through rapid experimentation via multiple channels. While this is a way to reach customers, it is not a way to build a loyal customer base. In the beginning (and mostly just at the start), quality customers are more important than quantity. Early in the tech support phase, you want to reach customers that will advocate and refer your brand. Your marketing strategy should focusing on a small, unique group of followers who really believe in your type of business and services. Though this will take time, it is the best way to sustain a strong group of followers. These followers will stay with you, talk about you, and share what you do with others. All of these things are paramount to succeeding as a tech startup.
3. Reach Your Audience Where They Are
Instead of chasing every social media opportunity available, stand back and do your homework. Find out where your audience is congregating, and put your efforts there. Smart tech startups will notice early that every person isn’t a potential customer. If you focus on high-quality channels that are catered to your audience, you will get the best results. Otherwise, you are wasting your time, effort, and best content in areas where you potential fan base won’t even take a second look.
The Final Say
Building a successful marketing strategy is an integral key to any successful business, including a tech startup or one in the early stages. By knowing your audience, where they read and share content, and by nurturing those relationships, you are putting your tech startup in the best possible scenario for success.
Figuring out your marketing approach also will help you get and maintain a tech support merchant account. Startups and tech support businesses are considered “high risk” by banks and traditional lenders. Therefore, you should anticipate higher rates and fees and some other restrictions and conditions.
When it’s time to select a merchant services provider, look for a high-risk payment solutions provider. eMerchantBroker.com (EMB) specializes in payment solutions for high-risk merchants. EMB offers a simple, streamlined online tech support merchant account application process, which allows you to apply today.