Generally speaking, all startups are characterized by two factors.

– They want to grow fast
– They have a very tight budget

And considering the second factor alone, achieving the first seems inconceivable, or is it?

Today, we hear phrases like “9 out of every ten businesses will fail due to a lack of insufficient funds” or “no matter how unique your business idea is, it will fail unless you have enough money to kick-start it.”

But despite this, around us are testimonies of companies that started from very little and today have grown to become brands recognized the world over – think Subway, which began with an investment of $1000. 

This isn’t to suggest that money does not have its place in business growth, I mean, money does make the world go round after all, but even without having thousands of dollars stashed up in a secret safe somewhere, your startup can still scale up pretty quickly.

However, this is where innovation and creativity come in. 

A startup looking to level up fast without drying up its bank account or taking more loans needs to go big on creativity and out-of-the-box kind of thinking. 

I am talking REAL BIG.

In light of this, I will be telling you about 15 unpopular marketing strategies for startups you can apply today. 

What is a startup?

A startup is a company founded by one or a group of entrepreneurs and personally financed by those entrepreneurs or by investment from family and friends during its early years. 

While it is easy to mistake a startup for a small business and vice versa, startups typically focus on innovation and bringing unique ideas to life to meet needs believed to be in high demand by a market.

15 Marketing Strategies for Startups

Startups looking to become popular among their target market and level up in no time despite having limited marketing funds can employ the following unique marketing strategies.

1. Use referral marketing

Ever tried out a product from an unknown brand because a friend swears that it is hands down the best thing since pizza?

That is referral marketing at work.

Referral marketing means promoting your products or services to your target market via your current customers. 

It is a program whereby existing customers are offered some incentive to promote your brand to their families and loved ones.

Suppose you are wondering why referral marketing is number one on my list of unpopular marketing strategies for startups. How about because 92% of people are quick to believe personal product recommendations of someone they know over and above any other form of promotion?

Or because referral marketing breeds customer loyalty?

Or that it aids customer retention?

Or that it is cost-effective?

Or that it lets a target market perceive your brand positively because it was endorsed by someone they trust? 

I could go on, but the point is, applied adequately, referral marketing will help you save money you would have spent on general advertising while promoting interest in your product/service.

2. Start a challenge around your product/service

Ever heard the marketing phrase: sell the solution your products offer, not the product itself?

Creating ads that are popular with the public and draw attention to your startup is necessary, but more important is getting people to understand the specific need your business solves and how it betters their lives. 

One way to do this effectively is by pinpointing your startup’s particular need and starting a challenge that urges your market to solve that need using your product/service. 

For instance, at the start of 2012, Codecademy challenged people to make learning coding for free a part of their new year resolution.

Because the website offered a seamless coding experience, it garnered over 200,000 more subscribers from this challenge. 

Asides from attracting your target market, creating a challenge around your startup products/services help it stay longer in people’s minds, boost word-of-mouth marketing, and ultimately enhance business growth.

3. Launch a Beta version to get your first customers

Humans want what they cannot have, so launching a Beta version of your brand is one of the effective albeit unpopular marketing strategies for startups.

There is something about using a product that is scarce or not readily available to others.

It instills a sense of exclusivity and pride, like you are getting in on a good deal other do not know about or cannot access.

By creating a Beta version first, you surround your startup with an aura of scarcity and exclusion, something available to only a select few, ultimately increasing its perceived value among your market and inducing people to pay attention to your brand and sign up. 

4. Build a good reputation

Building a good reputation that precedes your brand is another one of several unpopular marketing strategies for startups.

With a good reputation, gaining the trust of your market becomes easy. 

Here are three ways to build your reputation as a startup:

– Partner with the big brands for increased visibility  
– Take part in major events 
– Be featured in popular shows or publications etc.

5. Attend trade shows

Attending trade shows and other similar events are effective marketing strategies for startups on a tight budget.

Because events like trade fairs provide ample opportunity to connect with top influencers in your line of work, build a good reputation, and attain visibility.

If you are wondering what trade shows are, they are events where companies in a particular line of work come together to showcase the products or services they offer to the attendees. 

It is an opportunity for brands to show off their latest inventions, connect with like-minded people in the same field, discuss industry topics with experts, and spread awareness about their company and what it offers.

As a startup looking to become a popular name in your market and attract customers quickly, attending trade shows is one way to spread the word about your business and get people talking about your services/products.

6. Employ cause marketing 

Cause marketing is a marketing strategy used by brands to spread awareness and show their support for a public cause or announce that they are raising funds to donate to a social issue. 

In the process, such companies promote their products/services, gain new customers who are ardent supporters of the cause, and induce brand loyalty among the old clients.

A good example is when Starbucks announced a 5-cent donation for every cup of coffee it sells to support World Aids day.

By attaching your startup to a relevant social issue, you will quickly gain the trust and loyalty of your market, spread word about your brand, and level up soon despite being on a low budget.

6. Employ word-of-mouth marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing, or WOM as it is also referred to, is another of the many unpopular marketing strategies for startups on a low budget.

Simply put, WOM is unpaid advertising.

It is spreading the word about your good or service so that others talk about it with their loved ones and friends. 

It involves creating a buzz around your brand and giving people a reason to talk about your products/services with others.

It is the most affordable kind of advertising and, used well, often results in a significant rise in a brand’s conversion and profit rate.

The world’s most widely consumed soft drink brand, Coca-cola, is a master of this marketing technique. 

Examples of WOM marketing techniques it has used to promote its product include the Share a Coke and Happiness machine campaigns.

7. Share stickers

Yes, you did not read that wrong.

Sharing stickers to people for free and pasting them in visible places with a lot of foot traffic is another cost-efficient way to attract your target market in their droves.

Even Alex Ohanian, the co-founder of the popular online community forum Reddit, testifies to this., according to Alex, in an interview on how Reddit grew to be the famous site, it is today. 

The successful young entrepreneur stated that the only marketing investment he and his buddy, Steve Huffman, ever made to promote their company was $500, which was all spent on stickers – I kid you not.

They both traveled around the country, putting up these stickers in visible places and giving them out for free. 

Today, Reddit is the sixth most-visited site in the US and the ninth most-visited site globally.

9. Segment your market

Segment your market rather than targeting your market as a whole.

This would involve in-depth research on your market to find out what makes each sub-market group unique. 

What are their attributes, lifestyle, characteristics, and pain points?

Why will they buy your product or patronize your startup?

This information will help you craft compelling content targeted to meet the needs of each group and appeal to their unique preferences. (Check out my article on What market segmentation means to know more about segmenting your market.)

10. Become your brand’s most prominent ambassador

Becoming your product’s biggest user, especially in its early stage, is another one of several unpopular marketing strategies for startups.

Every new business seeking to grow exponentially and attract a broad customer following needs to overcome the hurdle or cycle of having a small client base in its early years.

This was the story of Quora, the famous question-and-answer platform.

To break the company out of this cycle, Adam D’Angelo, the founder, became a primary user of the site, answering questions with in-depth, quality answers and thus attracting more and more people.

Today the platform has over 300 million users from countries all over the world.

11. Share free custom t-shirts

Like the stickers strategy, free custom tees are another way to drive brand awareness.

You can either give out these t-shirts to random people for free marketing whenever they wear them or organize a group of people to wear the tees at a particular place and time to create a buzz around your startup or gift them to loyal customers to encourage them to spread the word about your brand to their loved ones.

12. Employ gift with free purchase strategy

Humans love free things.

This is why attaching a gift to any purchase made is another way to increase your sales and level up your business. 

The only caveat to this strategy is to ensure that whatever gift you are giving out for free is not too expensive such that it leads to bankruptcy for your startup or too cheap such that it is perceived as worthless and of no value by your target market.

13. Employ humor in your video ads

This list of unpopular marketing strategies for startups will not be complete if creating hilarious video ads is left out, and this is for two reasons:

• The rate of video consumers continually increases by the day
• Creating humorous ads puts your brand in a positive light 

Humorous ads are effective sale generators because we all love a good laugh. 

If done correctly, these ads will not end as a good joke.

Instead, they will also induce your market to think positively about your brand and share the ad with loved ones and friends, thus spreading the word about your product/service and growing your customer base.

Poo-Pourri and Dollar Shave Club are examples of brands that have effectively applied creativity in promoting their products.

14. Use a flash mob

Using flash mobs to drive awareness is another one of the several unharnessed marketing strategies for startups. 

Just so you know, a flash mob is when a group in a crowd suddenly assembles for some performance, singing or dancing, and immediately disperses once they are done. 

Because it appears spontaneous, although it is not, flash mobs are an easy way to draw onlookers and get them talking about your company.

15. Run a contest

Running a contest around your product/service is another unique way of promoting your startup on a low budget.

YouTube, one of the biggest video platforms in the world, employed this strategy when it offered an iPod Nano for free to loyal users who uploaded videos on the site and invited friends to the platform.

Finally

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

As a startup on a thread-like budget, rather than being deterred because there are no funds to implement conventional marketing strategies, focus on crafting unique, out-of-the-box approaches that are economical yet effective brand promotion approaches.

To get your creative juices flowing, start by combining any of the tried and proven strategies included in this list of unpopular marketing strategies for startups, and achieving business growth, despite being on a shoestring budget, becomes a breeze. 

READ ALSO: The Ultimate Guide To Google Attribution 2022

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