NPR reports that there are currently around 484 unicorns, or startups that have been valued at $1 billion. That’s a tiny, but growing, fraction of the millions of companies classified as startups worldwide. We’ve previously written about the process of getting your startup off of the ground, including an article on ‘How to Create Your Startup’s Budget’. Today, we’re going to talk about something else that can help bring your company ever closer to that billion-dollar valuation. That something is marketing. Below are a few of the many digital marketing techniques that you can use to eventually scale up your company quickly and effectively.

Geofencing

While people may look at startups as fully digital companies, there are actually a ton of advantages to having physical stores. Physical stores allow customers to check out your products and services in the flesh, as well as speak with trained customer service representatives. A store also shows that you have legitimacy, putting a face to the name of your company, so to speak. If you do have a physical store, it can play a passive yet important role in your digital marketing. Marketing specialists Triadex Services suggest using geofencing to pull in customers right as they’re about to make a purchase decision. Geofencing enables you to use a physical location or area— either your store or a competitor’s— to send targeted advertisements to mobile devices entering that space. This allows you to maximize your digital ads, sending them at the exact right place and time.

Customer Service Programs

One of the best marketing techniques for any company, startup or otherwise, is excellent customer service. Happy customers are more likely to recommend your product or service, and for businesses that are just starting out, those leads can be crucial in determining future successes. Small Biz Daily has a list of seven strategies for startups who want to beef up their customer support. Included in these strategies is building the right kind of support team, one whose members are well-trained to address customer concerns and provide quick, effective solutions in case of crises. Another is to use customer support software, such as online help desks or chatbots. Using these methods will ensure that your startup builds a solid reputation as customer-friendly and highly responsive.

Voice Search

By now, you’ve probably heard about the importance of search engine optimization (SEO), and how it can push your online marketing to greater heights. While SEO is an essential part of any company’s digital marketing strategy, startups should be able to innovate and adapt to new trends in marketing. One of these new trends is, of course, voice search. Smart Marketing for the Lean Startup endorses a variety of different methods for adapting your on-page content to voice search. Long-tail keywords, conversational language, and sentence or question form are all key strategies for optimizing for voice search. Encourage your customers to leave reviews so you can climb to the top of business listings on search engines. Staying ahead of the game is key to startup marketing, and voice search is one way to get you there.

Content Marketing

In the modern day world, content is king. Content marketing helps you populate your pages and helps you establish your startup as an expert in the field. Many big startups have used blogging and guest blogging to highlight their expertise, pulling in more customers and adding value to their brands. Among the startups that have used content marketing to great advantage include top companies like Buffer, HubSpot, and Mint. Content marketing is one of the top low-cost marketing tools, and can cost up to 62% less than traditional marketing but pull in three times the leads. If your goal is to scale up as quickly and effectively as possible, then content marketing is certainly worth the investment.