Have you ever wondered why Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson are so often in the spotlight? Why their faces, their words, their actions are so closely tied to their respective space companies?
Their brands are so strong, that their businesses save billions on marketing.
But it's not the only way. Have you noticed the rising stars in the new space sector, like Luc Piguet of Clearspace, AJ Piplica of Hermeus, and Moriba Jah of Privateer, following suit?
The answer, my friend, is not rocket science. It's founder-lead marketing. Or, more precisely—founder-led branding.
The Human Factor in B2B Marketing
Let's face it. Even in the high-tech, B2B space sector, business is still conducted human-to-human. Trust, the cornerstone of any business relationship, is built on human interactions. And who better to build that trust than the founders and executives of your company?
Recently, we wrote about the importance of engaging emotions in B2B brand and marketing. In a nutshell? While products specs and whitepers may justify the sale to the logical side of the brain, what really drives buying decisions are emotions. Humans are hard-wired to assign emotions in contact with other humans, but not so much, when in touch with products (that's something branding tries to address).
You might think you're selling a product, a service, a solution. But what your stakeholders—clients, VCs, partners—are really buying into is your vision. Your leadership. You.
Harnessing Founder Credibility
Founders are the most credible and highest authority figures within a company. They are the visionaries, the trailblazers, the ones who dared to dream and then turned that dream into reality. Not utilizing this credibility? That's the greatest opportunity you can miss.
Think about it. What's the cost of inaction?
- Making the game harder for the entire company
- Diluted, weak brand identity
- Missed partnerships, sales, funding and team building opportunities
- Lost trust
- Ultimately—lost business.
Smart Leveraging of Founder's Time
"But wait," you might say. "Our founders are busy. They don't have time to be the face of our brand."
First of all, it's time to realize building a brand, particularly its vision is not something to be outsourced. You may get help, but believing someone will do it for you is a delusion.
But, that's also where the technology comes in. With the power of asynchronous communication, your founders can engage with stakeholders without being overwhelmed. At scale.
Ever heard of the "7 hours and 11 touches" concept? It's the idea that it takes 7 hours of interaction and 11 touch points to build trust. And with technology, you can achieve this at scale.
The result? Your founders have more time for these key meetings and strategic decisions.
Implementing Founder-Lead Marketing Strategies
So how do you put founder-lead marketing into action? Here are a few strategies that give a personal touch without overwhelming your founders' time:
- Establish a strong personal brand via social media, website, and industry events. Let your founders' voices be heard. Let their passion shine through. It's an investment.
- Public speaking and keynotes. Nothing says authority like a founder speaking at an industry event. Prioritize these opportunities, that will be recorded by professionals.
- Founder-led marketing videos for social media and website media hub. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a founder-featuring video? Priceless.
- Video Q&A about products and technology featuring founders and key tech people. Let your stakeholders see the faces behind the innovation.
- Participating in podcasts. Podcasts are a great way to reach a wider audience and share your founders' insights and vision.
- Answering questions in video format on strategic platforms like WOIS, Quda. This not only provides valuable content but also builds trust and credibility. Once recorded, this content can be easily reused as social media fuel.
The Power of Personal Brand Archetypes
While working on founders' personal brand, aligning it to one of the brand archetypes can make a founder appear more charismatic. It's like putting on a tailored suit—it enhances your natural attributes and allows you to tap into the power of mental shortcuts humans have mastered.
But what if you have contrasting co-founder profiles and archetypes? That's even better. Orchestrating this dynamics can add depth and dimension to your brand, making it even more compelling. For every Laurel, there's Hardy! But that's a topic for another day... Why not subscribe to our articles not to miss the upcoming chapter?
To Conclude and Launch
Founder-lead marketing is not just a strategy. It's a necessity, particularly in the new space sector. It's about leveraging technology and strategic planning to put your founders where they make the greatest impact. Not in the lab—that's what CTOs and your massive engineering team is for. So where?
At the forefront of your brand.
It's not just about what you do. It's about who you are, what you believe in, how strong and ownable your vision is.
And who better to convey that than your founders?
Till the next one.
