Welcome Dwain Reid, Entrepreneurship Project Manager Finding customers Welcome Dwain Reid, Entrepreneurship Project Manager

Join the conversation……… @BizBoardKU #KUENT Tell Everybody!!!

Get Involved! http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk The Year Ahead. Get Involved! http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk

The journey Accelerator Workshops, Masterclasses Bright Ideas Closes 2 Dec Startup W/end 27-29 Jan Pitching, Prizes & Party 9 Feb Celebrate Enterprise! End of academic year celebration 23 March Kingston Award Participation in the Enterprise Programme contributes to the Award Accelerator Follow-on support for those starting something new

Workshops http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk/workshops Wednesdays 4pm *Idea generation *Bright Idea’s Q’s *PR *Social Media http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk/workshops

Every Month on a Thursday from 5.45pm Insights Every Month on a Thursday from 5.45pm Guest speakers take you through their journey of success, Q&A and networking http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk/insights

“Everything begins with an idea” Bright Ideas 2016/17 “Everything begins with an idea” NOT a business Competition! Open Now Deadline: 2 December 2016 http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk/brightideas

Next week.. Wed 19th Oct, 4pm PRJG1005 How can I test if I have a good idea Sign Up NOW! http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk/workshops

Getting money? There are a few different models a company can adopt to get money from customers. In your group come up with as many examples as you can with a real example for each

Finding Customers Dr David Stokes Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship and Visiting Entrepreneur

Professor David Stokes Visiting Entrepreneur, Kingston University Finding customers Professor David Stokes Visiting Entrepreneur, Kingston University

Myths about finding customers “Personal selling is no longer needed because of the internet”

Finding Customers is about SELLING Two ways to sell: In person Through others What makes a good sales person?

Questioning and listening The number one skill of the salesperson Questioning and listening

Which type of selling do you need? CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE High Relationship building Order taking PRODUCT High Low COMPLEXITY Consultative selling ‘Harder’ sales process Low

Myths about finding customers “Social Media Marketing has changed all the rules”

Recommendations or word of mouth (WoM) is still the number 1 method of finding new customers for small enterprise Recommendations from customers is most popular method of acquiring customers in virtually all sectors and sizes of SMEs Recommendations from other sources (non-customers) is often the second most popular method Recommendations from customers is ranked as most effective method, including fast growth and most profitable firms

Word of Mouth to Word of Mouse Face-to-face communications supplemented by internet and social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

Word of Mouth communications process self-contained system that can be limiting

Word of Mouse communications process potential for faster, wider, viral messaging

Role of opinion leaders 10% of customers will strongly influence the other 90% - ‘hubs’ or ‘alphas’ Source of influence Who they are Who they know What they know Independent advice from friends is more trusted than expert recommendations

Seeding trials Combine opinion leaders with involvement of customers Identify opinion leaders and involve them in product/service development Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright, tested Innocent Drinks at a music Festival with a ‘yes’ and ‘no’ bin for empties

Word of mouth triggers Involve clients with the business above normal commercial relationships Tell true stories/news to act as reminders and reinforcements (e.g.case studies, newsletters) Visual aids stimulate recommendations Fast, generous complaint handling Ask for referrals

Customer need for recommendations CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE* High medium low PRODUCT High Low COMPLEXITY high medium Low *Experience includes product and origin of supplier

Principles of Word of Mouth and Word of Mouse are the same Power of impartiality – can be undermined Power of opinion leaders Triggers include involvement, stories and visual aids Customer need for recommendations depends on experience and complexity of product/service

Extra rules for Word of Mouse Ensure that social media marketing is suitable – are your customers users of social media? Realistic integration – SMM most effective when used in conjunction with traditional marketing methods. Monitor SMM very closely –social media can draw your attention to problem areas quickly; act immediately on negative comments Maintain an appropriate tone – fine line between portraying values of your business and being too familiar or inappropriate

Evaluate your type of selling. Practice it! Work out the Who, What, Why of your customer recommendations How can you involve Word of Mouse in your Word of Mouth marketing Reference: ‘From Word of Mouth to Word of Mouse’, Stokes and Nelson, 2013 (in ‘Entrepreneurial Marketing Global Perspectives’).

How will you move forward? Feedback #KUENT How will you move forward?

Next week.. Wed 12 Oct, 4pm PRJG1005 Defining and attracting your first customer Sign Up NOW! http://bizboard.kingston.ac.uk/workshops