... [+]When most entrepreneurs start their company, there is really no budget for anything let alone marketing. There is no money for paid media, events or even a position called marketing. That’s why when selecting co-founders, look for a balance of skills between two or three co-founders. A perfect blend might be a strong salesperson, a product person, and a marketing and/or operations co-founder.
Entrepreneurial marketing is less about a single marketing strategy and more about a marketing spirit that differentiates itself from traditional marketing practices. It eschews many of the fundamental principles of marketing because they are typically designed for large, well-established firms. Entrepreneurial marketing utilizes a toolkit of known and unorthodox marketing practices to help a startup or small business gain a foothold in expanding or crowded markets.
The first thing you need is to center the startup with a solid brand identity and story. The story you tell is key as it’s what attracts early customers who believe in your product or service. Since it’s too early to be a brand at this stage, your product or service is what the customer is buying. The story just supports their decision. Look over the list below and understand while you cannot do everything, you can do almost all of the tactics below with little to no budget.