Everyday we receive emails from newly found startup (and in some cases,ideas) claiming themselves to be either first or largest (in their category).
Few startups call a feature as first of its kind (Yay! You can send messages in Marathi in our matrimony portal. This is first of its kind!)
To me, these are the most abusive statements one can ever use while promoting his/her venture – especially to a site like us (though I think it surely works for media, at least Ankit Fadia has proved it).
If you claim yourself to be first, you probably haven’t done enough of market research, you surely haven’t spent enough time researching your business category.
If you claim yourself to be largest, you simply do not know the size of your competition.
Having said above, I am not suggesting startups to go less aggressive in marketing – but know whom you are talking to. Few startups, in their business plan add ‘India’s First <XYZ>’ , assuming investors overlook such ass-umptions.
Don’t do that, instead try some Guerrilla Marketing tips for Startups.
What’s important to understand here is what works for certain audience/communities – Media loves made-up stories (we loathe it). We love product stories. US bloggers love global stories. US media loves Indian stories with BoP/Rural touch.
Customize your marketing strategy according to the target group. A bit of honesty works, though smart messaging increases your chance of getting noticed. There will be a time in the life of your company when you have grown to such a size (in terms of market cap) that these “abusive” statements (i.e. Largest, Biggest and First) will come naturally to your marketing department and no one will question you on that.
But that’s in future.
If you are a startup who has revisited the marketing strategy (especially when largest/biggest didn’t work), do share your comments/experience.
Recommended Read: Effective Marketing Tips for Startups & Small Businesses | How to Write a Press Release that *actually* gets noticed
