What are the skills gaps in companies backed by private equity? Marketing regularly falls to the bottom of priorities, especially because it is difficult to measure the impact of brand building activities right away – through sales opportunities, for instance. For ‘young’ companies, raising brand awareness is often in advance of commercial results – to then create a conducive environment for future sales
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Marketing and communications is an essential pillar of any growth strategy. Systematic marketing brings a company’s value proposition to the total available target audience, unrestricted by limitations in the direct sales effort.
When there are successes, the company’s successes should be broadcast as widely as possible, direct, through social media, through the press, at industry events, and so on.
But it’s not just about the successes. It’s also interesting is to learn how a company is working through a challenge or what the founders perceive to be blockers in the industry. This is what thought leadership especially is all about.
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Running a start-up is hard, and that means founders and everyone involved learn a lot on the way. Harnessing this collective knowledge to create content helps a company to punch above its weight, creating (meaningful) noise that gets heard by investors and target audiences.
For instance, how can the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) remove blockers to innovative solutions and products? Many FemTech founders will have an opinion. Intelligent contributions to industry publications on this issue, for example, provide value to relevant professionals and decision-makers, sparking conversation. But these contributions also serve to raise the profile of their authors.
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Yesterday, I was delighted to attend a lunch in London organised by Capucine Cogné of Understand Your Cycle and Hannah Wrathall of Wrapp Consulting, and attended by a group of lovely ladies working in and interested in FemTech.
A common theme was the difficulty of accessing the NHS (see above) for FemTech start-ups. In this challenging environment, brand awareness is even more important, allowing companies to get their message out there – bypassing hierarchical layers and potential censorship.
One attendee at the lunch mentioned how her breastfeeding support solution is often subject to censorship on social channels. Yes, really. Here too, PR and media coverage is one solution, allowing companies to comfortably discuss the health issue that their products or services address.
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And finally, I’d like to wish you all a relaxing and uplifting break away from your desk (or at your desk if that’s what your heart desires).
Thank you for reading this newsletter. Please do share your any feedback or thoughts – in the comments or privately.
Until the new year!
