How do your startup marketing efforts measure up? How common are the challenges you’re facing? How unique are your strategies and tactics? We’ve got answers to all those questions in The Startup Marketer Outlook: In Pursuit of Peak Efficiency.
The TL:DR
Our exclusive research report found that a majority of startup marketers are ahead of their 2024 growth targets and are confident in their ability to meet them by year’s end. At the same time, though, they are struggling with steep customer acquisition costs, changes in buyer behavior, and an overall lack of efficiency.
The Story Behind the Story
Firebrand surveyed 250 senior marketers (Director level and above) at early and late-stage tech startups about their growth expectations, strategies and challenges. More than half (59%) indicated they are ahead of revenue growth targets, only 17% said they were behind target, and more than a quarter said they are actively focused on building their profile ahead of an IPO.
Performance varied across sectors, with cybersecurity most likely to be ahead of target (79%), AI next (71%) and enterprise software / SaaS in third (70%). Hardware / semiconductor startups were the least likely of all sectors to be ahead of target (38%).
The Optimism Ends at Optimization
Unfortunately, respondents are not particularly confident in their ability to optimize: when asked to evaluate their marketing departments, the lowest-rated abilities were “making accurate data-led marketing decisions” and “improving marketing efficiency.”
There was, however, a marked difference in the data skills between high-performing startups and the rest, suggesting that data competencies are critical for success. Sixty-four percent of startups who are ahead of their revenue targets were confident in their ability to make accurate data-led decisions, while only 28% of those behind target said the same.
“Being able to make data-led decisions is a common goal, but for many startups their data is disjointed and their marketing activities become siloed as a result. That’s why, in our experience, the best-performing startups are able to quickly implement across multiple channels, analyze the results holistically, iterate, and then double down on the most effective ones,” said Morgan McLintic, CEO of Firebrand.
Beware of Buyer Behavior
As part of our deep dive into startup marketers’ challenges, we asked how they’ve seen buyer behavior change over the past year. While our respondents noted a number of changes, the most common were buyers seeking shorter contracts and customers being unwilling to act as references. Another common challenge? Disrupted buying processes due to the arrival of a new decision-maker.
“The good news is that growth is happening. The bad news is that it’s extremely hard-won. Buyers are more risk-averse and less willing to commit, which leads to longer buying cycles and higher customer acquisition costs. In a nutshell, marketers are under pressure to do more with less, but there’s not much juice left to squeeze. No wonder many of them lack confidence in their ability to optimize their marketing programs,” said McLintic.
Take a Deeper Dive into the Data
This is only a small sliver of what you’ll find in The Startup Marketer Outlook: In Pursuit of Peak Efficiency. Dive deeper into the numbers and explore a variety of intriguing findings — including priority tactics, shorter buyer journeys, and differences between early- and late-stage startups — by downloading our full report.
About the Author
Lucy Allen is a Principal at Firebrand, where she brings over 20 years of experience in technology PR, marketing and agency leadership. At Firebrand, she oversees the PR and content practices, leading integrated programs that help tech companies build their profile, pipeline and value. In addition to her client-facing work, Lucy plays a key role in developing Firebrand’s team and services, ensuring the agency continues to evolve and embrace new best practices. She is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing programs with strategic rigor, and helping clients craft compelling narratives that drive growth and differentiation.
Before joining Firebrand, Lucy held senior leadership roles at some of the world’s top communications firms. She served as U.S. Tech Practice Chair and Bay Area General Manager at Edelman, where she led communications strategy for major enterprise and emerging technology brands. Prior to that, she was Chief Strategy Officer at LEWIS, helping grow the U.S. business from the ground up over the course of more than a decade. Lucy’s deep expertise spans brand positioning, executive visibility, thought leadership, and campaign development, with a focus on delivering measurable impact. She is based in San Francisco.
Follow Lucy onLinkedIn, or read her insights onFirebrand's B2B tech marketing blog.
