Should tech founders do marketing?
Olena Bomko
94 replies
I think tech founders should do marketing. Please, note: marketing isn't advertising.
And it's great for a tech founder to have a marketing co-founder :)
Replies
Momcilo Stojkovic@mocarg
Absolutely. Our experience proves they can have significant contribution!
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@olenabomko yeah. Our performance marketing results have significantly improved since techies did their magic :)
they can do it but it also take time to learn about alot of things as well
I am tech founder, I want to do marketing but don't know how
@sarvpriy_arya what is your product ?
@yogi_rahul I am launching soon on PH, its a feedback management plateform called OkFeedback, you can create surveys, integrated in-app widgets in your site
@sarvpriy_arya That's great. I would like to see it before answering how you can do marketing in different ways, since you are launching here already so that's also a form of marketing.
@sarvpriy_arya I would suggest starting with email marketing, and if you want to know more, am always happy to share!
Where do your potential customers spend their time? LinkedIn/Twitter? Start adding/interacting with your potential customers there.
I think so, founders should know everything about their users and that includes marketing
Founders main job should be towards sales and marketing. These are the backbones of business. So to be a successful founder, answer is yes, founders should do it.
yes, because they would be one of the biggest voices for their product
@olenabomko What are your biggest takes on how a tech founder must market their product?
I believe tech founders can actively engage in marketing for a certain duration. This allows them to meticulously analyze competitors' strategies, identify the most effective marketing methods for their company's products, SaaS, or services, and uncover existing challenges. With consistent practice, they will gain a better understanding of market conditions and user feedback. Subsequently, tech founders can transition from hands-on marketing to delegating these responsibilities to dedicated professionals.
that is right, but are there specific, well-known strategies that one can learn and apply?
I think as a founder initially you should try do everything to know enough about each area. I have been building digital products for over a decade. In my startup now, I am doing marketing, finance, legal & compliance etc. also. If you dont spend sometime in all necessary functions, you wont know how to hire the right people or an agency or provide good feedback once you hire.
Launching soon!
Mostly where there is relevant overlap.
Maybe some storytelling/personal branding in relevant spaces where other technical folks move around (i.e. Hackernews) or write engineering blogs that go over some of their technical learnings while building their product.
Additionally, that there are a lot of in-product tweaks that are often included in the marketing sphere to some extent: PLG, referral systems, technical affiliate configurations, in-product lifecycle messaging/notifications...
Short answer is "Yes they should!". Giving a longer answer would be:
If you are a solo founder, you do marketing, development, support, SEO, security, architecture... :D
They need to discuss marketing. I'm not sure about "do marketing." Their resource is more important in building.
Launching soon!
Yes. Even if they have a marketing co-founder or a marketing team, I believe tech founders still should do marketing, at least in the early stages.
i think they should but I highly doubt if they are actually personally involved.
In the early stages, when resources are limited, and the founder is wearing many hats, they often need to be involved in marketing. They can build brand awareness, create content, and engage with early adopters. This hands-on experience can also provide valuable insights for later-stage marketing strategies.
I believe marketing is one of the best ways to increase awareness about any product, and the best way is to delegate marketing tasks to make sure that an individuals product gets enough exposure
I think founders (tech or non-tech) should do everything to really understand what works! Saying that, I don't think I will ever do coding, hopefully =)