B2B SaaS Marketing Mistake #2: Using Slow Marketing Tactics
Use the marketing tactics instead...
Hey there,
Welcome to the series on “5 Fatal B2B SaaS Marketing Mistakes“. If you missed part 1, you can read that here.
Today we're talking about—
MISTAKE #2: USING SLOW MARKETING TACTICS
A lot of early-stage founders waste time on marketing channels that take months to attract potential customers.
They post on social media. Write blog posts. Optimize for SEO. Create newsletters. These "slow" marketing tactics need months, sometimes years, to build meaningful traffic.
Examples include:
Posting content on social media
Publishing blog posts
Posting videos on YouTube
Sending articles to the press
Doing podcasts
Listing on directories
Optimizing for SEO
Now don't get me wrong, these are all valid ways of generating leads and customers...
BUT, in the early-days, investing your limited time into these slow-to-grow channels is a big risk.
You're at the mercy of algorithms and gatekeepers. With AI flooding every platform, standing out gets harder every day.
Imagine spending six months building a LinkedIn audience or YouTube channel only to discover your leads don't convert. Wrong audience. Wrong messaging. Wrong product fit. Six months of work— gone. And you're back to square one.
Don't risk months of effort only to learn you've been targeting the wrong people or selling the wrong thing.
SO WHAT'S THE FIX?
Focus on tactics that deliver market feedback FAST, ideally within 24 hours. These include:
Direct outreach: emails, calls, DMs, door knocking
Paid ads: search, social, newsletters, snail mail
Community engagement: Discord/Slack groups, Reddit, online forums, in-person events
With these fast-feedback activities, you can get responses within hours or even minutes. Send an email, get a reply 30 minutes later. Launch an ad, see clickthrough's in a couple of hours. Post in a community, get comments later that day.
Slow marketing channels have their place, but for your very first customers, focus on speed. Get feedback fast, iterate quickly, and learn what actually works.
ACTIONS
Commit to focusing your limited time on using fast-feedback tactics
Choose ONE fast-feedback approach: outreach, ads, or community engagement
Experiment with it. Send out 100 cold emails, spend $100 on ads, or put in a couple of hours into engaging in communities
What did you learn? Adjust your approach based on feedback before scaling further or testing other tactics
NEXT TIME
You've chosen your beachhead market. You're using fast-feedback marketing tactics. But if you don't get your product offer right, you'll still struggle to win customers.
Until next time,
JP
PS: I'm developing a customer-acquisition system for early-stage B2B founders. It covers everything from strategy to marketing playbooks. If you'd like early access, drop a comment, and I'll keep you in the loop.
I'm interested!