PR agency experts share the most common startup launch mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Launching a new business is an exciting time—new ideas, fresh energy, and big ambitions.
From branding your vision to building your team and seeing your product or service come to life, it’s a moment full of possibility. But it’s also one of the most difficult, especially if you’re entering an already crowded market.
Whether it’s health tech, hospitality, or home services, busy sectors create tough conditions for startups to stand out—and even the best ideas risk falling flat if they don’t reach the right audience.
Getting off on the right foot and drawing attention to your brand is crucial in those early stages. Many startups make the same missteps, like failing to generate meaningful publicity, struggling to define their message, or leaving visibility as an afterthought. These early errors can slow growth or stall momentum altogether.
But these pitfalls are avoidable. With the right approach—and the right support—you can navigate even the most competitive industries and come out ahead. With over two decades of experience, the experts at leading PR agency Holyrood PR have helped countless businesses go from launch plans to long-term success.
We’ve identified many of the key mistakes, so you don’t have to make them and have complied a list of our top tips for getting your business off on the right foot and not letting it be overshadowed by your rivals.
Photo by Alesia Kazantceva on Unsplash- No one buys a product they don’t know exists
You may have a fantastic, high-quality product or a service, but in a busy marketplace, customers won’t become aware of your business unless you put it in front of them.
Many startups pour their energy into perfecting their product or service—and while quality is essential, it’s not enough on its own. After all, no one can buy something they don’t know exists.
To build success, you need to ensure you build awareness early. A PR agency can secure early media coverage, amplify your USP, and establish credibility with the right audiences—before you even launch.
We’ve seen first-hand just how powerful a well-executed brand launch can be when backed by strategic public relations with multiple award-winning PR campaigns under our belt.
Take Thai Express Kitchen, for example. When the brand opened its first-ever dine-in restaurant at Edinburgh’s billion-pound St James Quarter, it didn’t rely on great food alone to make a splash. Working closely with the owners, our PR team created a high-profile media launch—bringing together influencers, journalists, and bloggers to experience the restaurant first-hand.
From hands-on wok cooking experiences to double-decker seating reveals, the night delivered the kind of buzz that money can’t buy—just look at the results: 43 influential guests, 68 pieces of coverage, and nearly half a million opportunities to see.
That level of exposure before the first official service helped establish Thai Express Kitchen as a must-visit destination from day one—and it’s a perfect example of what strategic PR can do for a new brand in a competitive space.
- Not defining a unique message
In a busy industry, it’s easy to look around at what your competitors are doing and feel tempted to recreate it. If one company launches an incredible marketing idea, everyone suddenly wants a slice of the pie. But in an overcrowded market, copying competitors instead of carving out your own identity can be a major issue.
Following trends can sometimes be helpful, but looking too much like your competitors often ends up confusing customers instead of attracting them. It makes your brand feel generic and forgettable.
Instead, use media communications to define what makes you different. A strong public relations campaign can help uncover and amplify your unique message, highlight the story behind your brand, and shine a light on the people and vision that set your business apart.
This is why it is crucial to define what makes your brand unique, by asking the following questions:
- What do we offer that no one else does?
- What is your story – why did you choose to start, what are the people and the values behind this decision?
- How do you want your brand to be defined – what message to you want to share?
Once you have a solid grasp of what sets your brand apart and what message you are trying to share, you can cut through the noise with a unique selling point.
- Overlooking the power of strategic visibility
When it’s time to launch, getting your business in front of the right people is a top priority. Many new businesses invest heavily in social media or paid advertisement campaigns, in the hopes of making the brand as visible as possible.
This approach does bring attention towards your brand quickly, however without a true understanding of how visibility works, this won’t last long, and business will be left with little more than blown budgets and short-term attention.
To create a real, lasting impact requires a deep understanding of visibility and brand awareness. This is where strategic PR strategy comes into play, combing paid content and advertisements with media features, founder stories, and thought leadership pitches, earned through years of building up trusted relationships with journalists and editors.
By positioning your startup within trending conversations and securing high-impact coverage across major media publications and their social channels, you’re not just increasing visibility- you’re building credibility. Earned media adds weight to your message in a way paid ads simply can’t.
The value of this kind of coverage for a start-up is immeasurable, not only helping to validate your business in the eyes of potential investors, customers, and partners but also driving organic interest and positing your brand as an established name within its sector.
- Launching loud, then going quiet
A big, successful launch is crucial to getting your business up and running, but it’s not the only step. All too often our exerts observe startups investing huge budgets and countless hours into their initial launch campaign, only to go radio silent once the first wave of attention comes in.
Continued brand awareness and public relations strategy is pivotal if you are to maintain and increase your customer base and establish your brand as a leading name in your industry.
Establishing a long-term presence in your market takes time, consistency, and a clear understanding of how and when to communicate with your audience.
It takes effort but the results are invaluable. With the right approach, your brand becomes more than just a name; it becomes a trusted voice, a go-to provider, and a recognised player in your space.
We have seen this first hand with many of our clients becoming respected voices within their sector, through sustained media coverage over a series of months and years. Helping businesses showcase their expertise through thought leadership pieces—such as commentary from the CEO of a leading Scottish housing association during the ongoing housing crisis—is a perfect example. By consistently contributing to important national conversations, the organisation has built a reputation not just as a service provider, but as a thought leader shaping the future of housing in Scotland.
Conclusion
Navigating a new business launch in a crowded market is a difficult undertaking. But with some careful planning and strategic public relations you can break through the noise and get in front of the right clients quickly.
Strategic public relations isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a powerful tool for creating credibility, trust, and brand awareness from day one. The difference between brands that thrive and those that fade often comes down to visibility, messaging, and consistency. By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can build long term momentum and ensure tour new business doesn’t fade into the background.
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