A difficult aspect that many startup founders forget to mention is being a legitimate company in the eyes of those in the industry as well as the customer. A lack of name recognition can lead larger companies not to want to partner with a unknown company as they do not want to risk it. This will take time to build up a name but there are ways that this can be expedited. Taking a proactive approach to branding and building up name recognition is imperative. A large company in the industry might not be willing to partner and contract out work as a failure will reflect poorly on them in the eyes of the client. Combining this with the fact that they most likely cannot tell the client they are outsourcing their work makes this even more difficult. The following are tips to help legitimize a business as a startup in the eyes of those in the industry.
The Company Website Should Be Flawless
The website of the company needs to have company goals in mind. If the company needs to drive leads or sell directly from the site this needs to be kept in mind as the design will differ immensely depending on goals set. Small details like that of SVG animation can set a business apart in terms of the website. The most important thing to do is get feedback and do A/B testing on the website to see which formats have the highest closing rates in terms of sales. The company website is usually the first impression many customers/clients get of a business so put emphasis on this incredibly important area of your business.
Start Attending Conferences And Industry Events
Conferences are often the highest concentration of companies and executives with large decision-making power in one city. Being able to attend these events and pitch or create rapport with specific individual is invaluable. Most events have a list of companies that are attending so targeting certain individuals is important. Follow these people on social media for any indication that the company is sending them to the conference or tradeshow. Maximizing time by scheduling meetings in advance can be a perfect tactic especially when wanting to meet with current clients that the company wants to retain.
Implement A Strong Content Marketing Campaign
Content marketing can help a company drive leads through climbing search engine rankings for key terms relevant to the business. An editorial calendar for the company blog is very essential as winging this is just not utilizing the blog to its full capacity. Great blogs with informative topics will result in backlinks from other sites utilizing the post as a resource. Many startups use their blog to create long-form resources in hopes of creating a multitude of backlinks to the company website in the form of a resource hub.
Put Together The Best Quality Sales Materials Possible
The one aspect that can impact the decision whether to buy from a new company or not is quality sales materials. Lack of willingness or budget to create even the simplest of sales materials in print is a negative sign to many larger companies. Hire a designer that can help with these as well as a expert sales copywriter as this can make all of the difference. Do not skimp on this as many companies wait for physical sales materials before they make any final decisions. Online materials are great but giving custom proposals physically is still important in closing sales.
Legitimizing a business in the eyes of others in a B2B or B2C scenario is going to take work. Control what others think of the business through an approach that is detail-oriented with the best interests of the brand in mind.
