Why marketing should be business critical for startups
For too many startups, marketing is an afterthought, which Employment Hero’s Cat Prestipino says is a mammoth mistake.
Last week #StartupAus released its StartUp Talent Gap Report. In the report, it identified a number of professions which have critical skill gaps right now including startup focused sales roles (like business development and account manager). It surprised me that a lack of sales talent in startups was highlighted without any mention of marketing.
The report also highlighted the shortage of data scientists and product managers, stating that startups need people who understand the customer and can work with the coders to develop market fit. Skills I consider key for marketers, but again, marketing was not mentioned.
The pervasive thought that marketing does not create a big impact on businesses, especially in startups, has been reflected in my own experience. I’ve made my career working with brands who are ready to scale up, however, this has usually meant that I was hire #10 or #15 after a full sales and account management team was in place.
I founded a start-up (and exited) as well as have helped US companies get started in Australia and Asia Pacific. I have recruited sales and marketing talent (junior and senior) for both early stage and as well as when we were scaling, and there is a distinct difference I always saw.
Remember, this report is about the talent gap. In recruiting, it is very hard to find salespeople that want to work for a start-up or are the right fit. Contrast this to my experience with marketing- an ad on LinkedIn would receive 100+ responses (versus typically less than 10-20 for sales). It’s not that marketing is not important, it’s just that start-ups don’t see the talent gap that they see in other positions. They might not invest in it, but they know if they want to, the talent will be there.