One of the most important research and analysis requirements is to identify the ‘market category’ in which the ventures ‘product’ competes, along with other brands. This is a significant challenge, not alone at start-up /emerging stage, but also an ongoing basis for established entrepreneurs.
Globalization needs to be part of the tool set for every entrepreneur doing a start-up today. This doesn't mean immediately going global, but understanding the global market and having a plan for the future.
During the emerging growth stage of the business, entrepreneurs should begin asking questions of customers and target customers and build up market intelligence in these four areas
Some categories of buyers can often feel unsure or distrustful of a new provider and a new product , particularly where it will involve them changing the way they do things and learning new things. They need assurance about the provider and product.
Segmentation methods available for marketing strategy formulation
DPM analysis is aimed at determining the appropriate strategic planning goals and the right strategies to achieve those goals across the portfolio of products, strategic business units (SBUs) and markets.
Take account of the local business etiquette, culture and norms. Be global, but act local. For example, American customers are receptive to new ideas, innovations and change and the bottom-line is an all-embracing driver.
In the early stages of all businesses, survival dictates that you find buying customers as quickly as possible. That means targeting the most interested and willing potential buyers. Innovators and early adopters are those buyers.
There are really two, fundamentally separate phases in the development of any high-tech or new product market: an early phase that builds from a few, highly visible, visionary customers; and a mainstream phase, where the buying decisions fall predominantly to pragmatists.
Derived from Figure 4.4; Key Characteristics, Needs and Role of Adopter Groups in Adrian Ryans, Roger More, Donald Barclay and Terry Deutscher Winning Market Leadership, strat
The human mind can only deal with up to 7 units of information at a time. People therefore have rationalise and simplify the world of non-stop, multiple communications and messaging to process the information they need to make decisions.
For a business to be viable, it has to do something as well as its competitors; to win in a competitive market, it has to do something better than its competitors. Most early stage entrepreneurs are strongly product focused‚ but it is crucial at this emerging stage that the entrepreneur thinks about getting into the customer's mind. Here's How to Go About Creating Marketing Strategies for Your Startup:
Tom Peters, the Excellence guru, asserted that the real job for marketing was and is to make sales redundant! Image your marketing being so targeted, motivating and convincing for the customer that you require little or no sales effort to execute the buying transaction.
In a recent research study of B2B buyers and decision makers, the use of the internet is shown to be increasingly important as a tool for researching and supporting their buying decisions. Online communication is emerging as a powerful tool for both buyers and sellers.
Traditional postal direct marketing is as powerful a tool for communicating with prospective customers as it has always been notwithstanding everybody increasing online life. Direct mail marketing can be even more effective if you keep in mind the following:
The chart below highlights many of the marketing activities that entrepreneurs employ during their start up and emerging stages of evolution. Their objectives, strategies and communication media typically revolve around:
Make sure you check your checklist for Trade Shows and Exhibitions.
Finance products which utilize a company‘s debtors as security such as Debtor Finance and Factoring are excellent ways to fund a business with a strong growth story.
There has been a search for an ideal or perfect structure because of its impact on the business model. The right structure depends on the environment, the vision, the values, the purpose, the goals and priorities, the skill and experience levels, the culture, the team, etc. Each of these is unique, which makes recommending the “right” structure very difficult. However there are a few things that of high performing organisational structures have in common:
