Oct 16, 2018

Sales Vs Marketing Strategies

In the chaotic and uncertain world of a startup business, there is always a mad rush to getting our product/service complete and to the customers in the shortest possible time.  In many ways this the best approach, getting to the customer as soon as possible and testing in real time with real customers the validity of our offering while making some revenue in the process. 

The greatest challenges, however, come through the act of merely trying to survive financially. It is at this point that startups only see "green", chasing every dollar from anywhere it may come. They in essence really are seeking a way to survive. 

Here, a question for you. Should startups focus on paying the bills, or developing the offering, customer and market? In other words, should startups focus on a sales strategy or a marketing strategy? 

Understanding the dilemma inherent in the question above will give startups a better understanding of the challenge faced in the early stages. Startups will need to make money to survive and keep innovating on their offering through proper experimentation with the customers and market. The issue is that when startup focuses on selling and not marketing they never really build a market base, and not having a market base will hurt startups as they start to grow and they have not developed a customer stronghold through effective marketing. 

In sum, a sales strategy will help startup pay the bills and grow in the interim, the issue is through sales strategies, no market or customer base of the stronghold is developed. On the other hand, with a marketing strategy, startup are able to build a strong market base, but sales in the interim may not be best.  Striking some balance is key, however, startups should opt for building markets over pure sales if they wish to be around a while. 

©Orlando O Spencer I, Inc.

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