To shed light on the pivotal moments that should trigger a startup to start using paid marketing, we’ve gathered insights from seven industry professionals, including CEOs and marketing managers. Their perspectives range from gaining initial insights from testing to keeping up with your competition. Dive into these expert opinions to help your startup navigate the complex world of paid marketing.

Want to get quoted in MarketerInterview.com content just like this? Apply to become a contributor today!

Contents

1 Start Using Paid Marketing to Gain Initial Insights From Testing
2 Discover the Target Audience
3 Refine Sales and Delivery Processes
4 Manage CAC Before Scaling Marketing
5 Receive Positive Feedback and Demand
6 Secure the First Out-of-Network Sale
7 Keep Up With Your Competition

Start Using Paid Marketing to Gain Initial Insights From Testing

In the journey of a startup, paid marketing can serve dual purposes. Initially, before achieving a clear product-market fit, startups can start using paid marketing as an experimental tool to test different target audiences, value propositions, and messaging strategies. It can provide invaluable insights into customer preferences and needs.

However, once a startup feels confident that they’re onto something with potential traction, that’s a second, crucial juncture to ramp up paid marketing efforts. At this stage, it’s less about discovery and more about scaling the product or service to reach a broader audience.

Jing Lin Lee, Co-founder, Kopi Date

Discover the Target Audience

From my point of view, a big step that should make a company think about paid marketing is when they’ve gotten early customer feedback on their product or service and have a clear idea of who their target audience is.

Once we found a good match between our product and the market and saw a steady demand for it, it made sense for our company to put money into paid marketing. We could start using paid marketing to reach more people, get more leads, and get more attention because we had a simple marketing plan and used our resources well.

With this personalized approach, we could reach a wider audience, increase sales, and build a loyal customer base, all of which led to our continued growth and success.

Startups to Start Using Paid Marketing With Carl Panepinto

Carl Panepinto, Marketing Manager, Easy Allied Health

Refine Sales and Delivery Processes

I believe once you have the budget and have refined your sales and delivery processes, it’s best to start using paid marketing immediately. Delaying this step means missing out on potential business opportunities, which can hinder your startup’s growth trajectory.

Startups to Start Using Paid Marketing With Chris Stott

Chris Stott, Director, Seven Marketing

Manage CAC Before Scaling Marketing

A primary challenge for start-ups to start using paid marketing is the time to achieve a manageable Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). Companies should wait until they’ve reduced their cost of goods sufficiently before scaling up their paid marketing efforts. This is a milestone I would recommend for most businesses.

Startups to Start Using Paid Marketing With Jason Vaught

Jason Vaught, Director of Content, SmashBrand

Receive Positive Feedback and Demand

Once you’re seeing consistent demand and positive feedback, that’s a solid sign you’re onto something good. People are genuinely interested in what you’re offering and you’re solving a problem or fulfilling a need they have.

Now, why is this the trigger for paid marketing? Because when you have product-market fit, you’re not just throwing your money into the vast sea of advertising without a clue if it’ll work. You’ve got a better chance of converting those paid leads into actual customers.

Your product has proven its value, and you have a clearer understanding of your ideal customers, their preferences, and where they hang out online. If you start using Paid marketing it can help you scale things up faster. It’s like adding fuel to a well-built fire. You’re not just hoping that your product will resonate with people—you know it already does.

Startups to Start Using Paid Marketing With Harsh Verma

Harsh Verma, SEO Head, CodeDesign

Secure the First Out-of-Network Sale

A key moment for startups to use paid marketing is after securing their first sale from someone outside their personal network. This initial sale validates your product’s appeal and provides valuable insights into marketing strategies.

Avoid getting caught up in perfecting details—prioritize launching and experimentation. Paid advertising is a practical way to reach your target audience and gather data early on.

Take this opportunity to connect with customers, show appreciation, ask for feedback, and potentially gather testimonials to fuel your startup’s growth.

Startups to Start Using Paid Marketing With Matias Rodsevich

Matias Rodsevich, CEO, PRLab

Keep Up With Your Competition

One milestone that should trigger a startup to start using paid marketing is when competitors in the industry utilize paid marketing effectively.

By monitoring and reacting to competitors’ actions, startups can ensure they don’t fall behind in terms of visibility and customer acquisition, ultimately staying competitive in the market.

For example, if a startup notices a competitor is gaining significant traction and customer acquisition through paid marketing, it may consider implementing similar strategies to level the playing field and secure its market share.