Marketing isn’t the final step. It’s the first decision.
Why the old way of marketing no longer works
Marketing isn’t the gloss you slap on a product after it’s been built. It’s the fundamental considerations and trade-offs built into successful businesses from the beginning.
If no thought was given to marketing before the product was created, the odds are that the product won’t actually meet the needs of a meaningful number of people, or it will be nearly impossible to build the traction needed for results before money runs out and burnout sets in.
Marketing is what builds a business from day one.
It’s the first decision, not the final step, and the order in which we do things matters.
Typically, we have been programmed to create the product → launch it → post about it → run ads → hope for traction. But that assumes marketing is about content and an audience ready to buy.
And, let’s face it, no one is ready to buy from you because they don’t know or trust you.
What marketing actually is
Marketing is, in fact, all about recognition and resonance.
Striking a chord with the people most receptive to the product we’re selling, getting their attention by creating an emotional reaction and then persuading them to buy. Creating demand easily and strategically.
We’re trying to ensure that the product we’ve created matters as much to our ideal customer as it does to us.
We can only do that if we understand them deeply first, then position our brand and product to attract them.
The marketing that actually works attracts only the right audience of people, repels those who are not ideal for our brand, and prevents us from chasing and wasting our time burrowing in rabbit holes of guesswork.
This means we make the decisions that will shape demand as early as possible, not after we’ve created the product and are ready to launch.
The new model: positioning → recognition → demand → traction
Creating a product and building a business and brand therefore requires making trade-offs early, choosing positioning, shaping recognition and creating demand early. Then, launching into momentum and traction.
Creating recognition before launch means the ideal (and most profitable) audience recognises itself in content and interactions with the brand.
They are waiting, anticipating and expecting your brand.
When people part with their email address and wait for you to launch, that’s them saying I need this, and I’ll buy this.
That’s the moment you know you never have to chase. You’ve already been invited in.
It also allows you to test messaging, build a bank of repeatable organic content and reduce overwhelm when launch happens because sales are a done deal.
People buy what they recognise is for them.
In short, we follow the pattern of positioning → recognition → demand → traction.
What founders should do differently from day one
In an overwhelmingly noisy and oversaturated world, pre-selling, creating demand before launch is the only way to accelerate or confirm results.
Marketing isn’t what you do at the end. It’s what will determine whether you succeed or not. So make suer to build it in now.
Are you a founder who wants to use marketing to build a successful brand and your dream life?
Here’s how I can help..
Hi, I’m Claire,
If you’re an ambitious founder ready to use marketing to build your business and stop second-guessing, you're in the right place.
I help female founders confidently grow their brands so they can build their dream business and life. I've been in marketing for 20 years, growing and launching the world’s biggest brands, built my own start-up and now help women use strategic marketing to build their business for results from Day 1.
Are you ready to build a strategically positioned brand for competitive advantage?
Get in touch.
Claire.