The crypto marketing trap: Hire crypto experts

Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of crypto.news editorial.

Every investor knows that trading their own expectations, not market conditions, will liquidate their positions. I wish crypto companies would follow the same logic and stop hiring marketers who go against marketing fundamentals with 100x leveraged expectations that they know better.

I’ve met dozens of marketers who think crypto marketing is a different beast. It’s easy to fall into this misconception, given that the industry is flashy, fast-paced and often feels like the Wild West of finance. This problem is further complicated by pioneering founders of new crypto companies who believe their industry and product are unique, require a unique approach, and as a result, hire experts who know crypto more than marketing.

This has left uneducated crypto marketers coming up with interesting and inefficient solutions on how to scale their businesses. Marketing departments that blindly follow industry trends often become a liability to crypto companies.

So if you have a marketing team that constantly misses the mark and is about to be eliminated, follow me on this.

How to spot a bad marketer?

1. Your marketer doesn’t go beyond leads. Lead generation in crypto marketing is bread and butter, giving marketers a clear ROI attribution and impressive results that have everyone nodding in agreement during board meetings. But let’s face it, relying solely on leads is like putting all your Bitcoin (BTC) in one wallet.

You know those tense internal meetings where we realize we’re losing potential future customers and your revenue rate starts to suffer? Yes, this is the turning point. Some marketers call this a plateau and blame the market; others are trying to fix this with ABM or shake up business processes. Surprisingly, this problem stems from a fundamental marketing constant that untrained marketers often overlook. They don’t know how to apply funnels and work with them. Follow me on the next one and it will become clearer.

2. Your marketer is confusing funnels. Imagine you are a startup with a new, state-of-the-art, hacker-proof crypto wallet. I bet your marketer is shouting about the wallet’s ultra-secure features and believes it’s a ticket to success. However, if you are a startup and no one knows your brand exists, you are essentially shouting into the void. Like an influencer without a following, their messages won’t get where they need to.

Where is the funnel in this, you may ask? Let’s zoom out; By default, lead generation attracts potential customers who are interested in your product, category, and problem solved. Here’s the funnel we use to represent this journey: top, middle, and bottom of the funnel.

Needless to say, the most attractive prospects are always at the bottom; these are the smallest and most desirable group. Now consider that your marketer must clearly and visibly demonstrate short-term marketing responsibility at the board meeting. How can it do this, given the low number of leads with active demand at the bottom of the funnel?

The first thing it will do is bring more leads to the top of the funnel and nurture them until it garners the necessary volume. That’s when he encounters an obstacle. If he had taken a basic marketing course, he would know that active customer demand comes from the brand awareness funnel:

While generating leads at the bottom of the funnel may seem like the most direct path to sales, it’s important not to overlook the importance of the brand awareness funnel to increase your active demand.

How to do it:

Check out Ledger, the rock star of the hardware wallet world. Initially, Ledger was at the bottom of the funnel, emphasizing the “Fort Knox” level security features of its products to drive sales. Sure, they grabbed some customers, but then they reached a level of resistance.

Realizing they needed to up their ToFu game, Ledger switched gears. They started attending major crypto conferences, attending blockchain events, and rubbing shoulders with crypto influencers. This power move sent brand awareness through the roof (ToFu).

But they didn’t stop there. Ledger has gotten into the content game, increasing brand recall (MoFu) by publishing educational articles and videos on crypto security and best practices. Ledger has become the hardware wallet of choice for its competitors (BoFu) as the crypto crowd starts to get to know them better.

This multifaceted approach across the funnel stages has led to a sustainable growth model. The increase in brand awareness at the top eventually faded away and increased conversion rates at the bottom.

3. Your marketer doesn’t know and . Every crypto investor knows what long and short means, but do they know what it means in marketing? They represent short-term sales activation and long-term brand building, and the trick to successful marketing is to do both.

If you know the demand generation curve, you should know that no matter how hard you try, you probably won’t scale in the long run. I recommend you read Peter Field and Les Binet’s book ‘The Long and Short’, where the data speaks for itself.

The most common mistake marketers make when it comes to scaling is to over-focus on short-term sales activation activities to maintain and show management results immediately. The trap here is that sales increases do not drive long-term growth and do not increase market share.

How to do it:

Take a look at Binance. They didn’t rise to the top just by shoving promotions and short-term sales down our throats. No, they played the long game, big time. Binance has poured resources into long-term brand-building moves such as education initiatives and community engagement. Binance Academy, the education powerhouse, is full of blockchain and cryptocurrency-related resources. This isn’t just a side project; A trust-building, knowledge-spreading juggernaut that has helped Binance solidify its market dominance and keep its growth train moving forward.

Identifying a good marketer

1. Your marketer practices long-term and short-term marketing. Now, telling the difference between the two can be like finding your way through a maze with your eyes closed. You can market your items in two ways: long and short. The long-form branding method is all about the big picture; It builds your brand over a long period of time. It’s like planting seeds and waiting for them to grow into big, beautiful trees (making people aware of your tech brand, convincing them that your soft drinks are perfect for every occasion, or making them think your luxury cars are luxurious).

Meanwhile, the path to short sale activation is more like “Let’s sell something right now!” like. The important thing is to get people to take action quickly (visiting your website, buying your newest gadget, buying a seasonal pumpkin spice drink, or taking your new car for a test drive. You know, the urgent stuff).

Think of it this way: The short course is more like sprinting to the finish line, while the long path is more like some meandering walks to admire the scenery. Both will get you there, but they have different feels.

Here’s the interesting thing: if you combine both approaches, it’s like having the best of both worlds. You improve your brand in the long term while generating immediate sales. It’s like planting these seeds and having a few ripe fruits to snack on while you wait for the trees to grow.

2. Your marketer establishes the balance. So if you’re still undecided, I have one word for you: balance. Short-term tactics can get you quick results, but they need to be balanced with long-term brand-building efforts. The important thing is to find the sweet spot between the two.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to drive sustainable marketing performance. Effective lead generation is as much about brand awareness as it is about demand generation. The principles of crypto marketing are basically the same. It’s all about getting leads that actually convert. Yes, this applies to both B2C and B2B.

Start building awareness long before a potential customer even considers knocking on your door. By blending both strategies, you can create a powerful marketing approach that fosters sustainable growth.

To my dear crypto company owners

Finally, if you have a crypto-related business, hire people who specialize in marketing, not people with a crypto background. They will know how to apply these principles effectively because, unlike your current hires, nothing written here is new to them. By doing this, you will avoid the usual pitfalls and guide your business to lasting success. It’s like choosing between someone who only knows how to make a meme swallow money and a strategist who can expertly navigate bull and bear markets. Trust me, you want a strategist.

Ilyas Melikov

Ilias Melikov is a marketing leader with more than a decade of experience in the technology industry. Their work is based on the principles of long-term brand development and short-term tactical marketing that balance sustainable growth with measurable results. Throughout his career, Ilias has held key roles as marketing director, brand marketing leader, communications officer and managing editor. He specializes in creating clear and precise brand narratives, executing performance-driven marketing strategies, and managing multi-channel engagement strategies by organizing campaigns that increase brand awareness and encourage user adoption. Passionate about decentralized technologies, Ilias actively contributes to discussions on their transformative impact on global markets.