Startups and early-stage companies usually exhibit an impressive scrappiness. This ethos is built up from a small group of passionate people in the same foxhole on a mission to do big things. And this can-do mindset can be a big part of their early successes and help progress the team on to the next stage.
But scrappiness can backfire when it comes to your marketing – with potentially negative strategic and communication implications.
First, scrappiness can lead to a very transactional, “good enough” mindset. Without a more purposeful approach to strategy and execution, tactics and actions take precedence, and intentionality moves to the background. And without the right intention and rigor, those actions and tactics may not take the young company in the direction they want to go.
In addition, you may not realize how much “scrappy” marketing can communicate beyond its intended message. Unless being scrappy is a conscious differentiator for you, there’s a good chance that it will actually fight your message. Especially for a B2B company, where credibility, authority, and trust are likely to be important drivers of interest and choice.
This is why it’s important for startups to approach marketing more purposefully – even in early days with small teams. To demand the appropriate rigor be put into strategy development and communication. And ensure you head in the direction you want to go.
Michael Baer's Stratecution Stories 