“Startup environments are inherently fast-paced — how do we keep up?”

-Ludo De Angelis, Digital Marketer and Mentor

Getting your marketing strategy right from the start is not an easy task for any startups. Here’s our Connect Mentor Ludo Angelis sharing his thoughts and advice around the challenge.

What role does the marketing function play in a startup environment?

“Well, it depends.

Marketing traditionally was an afterthought; the department that was tasked with selling the product after development was wrapping up.

Now though, modern marketing is fundamentally intertwined with product development, especially at the early stage. The marketeer must straddle the line between all internal teams while keeping in communication with potential customers and feeding that information back. That way, precious time isn’t wasted developing a product the market doesn’t need and increasing the startups chance of success.”

2. On the importance of mentoring for startups?

“Startup environments are inherently fast-paced and crazy placed to live and work. Depending on what stage the startup is at, you may be wearing multiple hats and being pulled in different directions. It can get a lot, quickly.

Having any kind of mentor, either specific to your function or a general business-minded mentor will help structure your work, your thoughts and may also keep you just that little bit saner.”

3. Why having a mentor is highly beneficial when scoping your company’s marketing strategy.

“The marketing sector moves like white water these days. With the advent of marketing technologies or MarTech, new and improved ways of streamlining your marketing functions are always appearing. Coupled with new marketing channels appearing almost every week and increase saturation in current marketing channels, it’s a lot to take in all at once.

Having someone to help guide your marketing can be crucial as they can offer an impartial view on your current strategies. Just like most things in life, you may be standing too close to see potential holes in your plan and it will take an experienced person to help you see this.”

4. How does the marketeer stay on top?

“By constantly learning. Next question.

I joke. Hopefully, you got into marketing because of your love for the practice and the pace. Modern marketing practice moves so quickly, staying on top of the industry news will be your part-time job in some cases and it will be how you retain your edge. Attending marketing events, conferences and communities will help keep you in the loop. Make sure you familiarise yourself with leading marketing websites and blogs too and sort them into custom RSS feeds to streamline that information for yourself.”

5. What’s the difference between a marketing mentor and a marketing consultant?

“Great question!

A mentor in any walk of life should be there to help you get to your own decision but should have a depth of knowledge in a particular area. They should be there to hold a mirror up to your way of thinking, offer impartial guidance to get you going and challenge you to think outside the box.

On the other hand, a marketing consultant is a hired gun. A company may not have the human or time resources to carry out the marketing function or simply need to get the job done; no need for guidance, just results.”

Head over to www.connectmentors.com and get matched with your mentor today!