How Small Tech Companies Can Get Noticed

The line between marketing and public relations is getting continually grayer. This makes it difficult for small tech companies, in particular, to strategize these efforts. If you are certain that you have a viable product/service and desperately need business and desperately need your prospects’ markets to know who you are, start with a short list of 3-5 succinct, but realistic goals for the next six months.

A realistic goal would be to get on the first page of search results for the key term “high performance cloud computing for the public sector”; an unrealistic goal would be to get on the first page of search results for “cloud computing” or even “high performance cloud computing”. A realistic goal would be to increase traffic to your website by 50 percent. An unrealistic goal would be 150 percent.

So, you say, “We are already marketing and aren’t getting anywhere.” Most of the time that organizations aren’t satisfied with their marketing efforts it is because the person handling the marketing is not qualified. A common scenario is hiring a sales rep that is also responsible for marketing. The usual result is that management believes marketing is taking place, but effectively it is not.

Marketing successfully today is extremely complex. It requires a deep knowledge of what marketing tools are available, which to use in each situation and, most importantly, where to tweak and where to pivot.

It’s also important to understand that there is no magic bullet. Getting your organization noticed will require a well-thought-out strategy that is flexible, but consistent and involves multiple tools. My best advice is to bring in consultants—just for consultations. See what they have to say and decide if it makes sense to you. If it does, ask for a no-strings trial.