BA 346 Working as an Entrepreneur Week 7

Agenda  Marketing for Entrepreneurs

The story so far…  Ideas  Screening  Plan  Costs  Now we need…

Marketing is Critical to Success  Why?  How do we create value through marketing activities? Selling Sales planning Advertising Marketing

Marketing Basics  Competition  Dialog  Goods vs Services  4 Ps of Marketing (“Marketing Mix”) Product Price Placement Promotion

What is the Competition Doing?  What matters?  What will we do the same?  What will we change? Best, Test, Invest

Creating Value from Customer Dialog  Outbound communication  Inbound communication  Social networks  Online reputation

Product Development  Idea Generation  Screening  Concept Development  Iterative Concept Tests  Business Analysis  Market Testing  Implementation  Commercialization

Innovative products get adopted gradually, and the adopters fall into five groups 3% 14% 33% 33% 17% Innovation: Who adopts, and when “Leave me alone. I like it the way it is.” “That’s Cool!” “How does this get me ahead?” “This is supposed to solve my problem. It better work right…” “Everyone’s doing this. Um… can I get some support, please?”

Pricing Strategies  Cost-plus pricing  Contribution margin-based pricing  Competition-based pricing  Premium pricing  Skimming  Penetration pricing  Loss leader

Placement  Distribution channels Choosing Optimizing Managing  Visibility Physical placement Online placement Advertising Publicity…

Promotion  Below the line (product-driven) Publicity, endorsement, sponsorship PR, Sales promotion, merchandising Direct mail, personal selling Trade shows  Above the line (media-driven) TV, Radio Newspapers, magazines, trade pubs Internet, mobile media  Closing the loop with dialog

Marketing Cube SUITABILITY PREDICTABILITY RISK (uncertainty) DEMOGRAPHICS (for appeal) Market Segments

Customer Behavior  What might they do?  Why?

Test in, Test out  What are we trying to achieve?  Iterative testing  Planning for results  Escalating costs  Interpreting results

Sales Management  Sales process  Sales quotas Financial plans Operational limits  Adjusting based on results

The Sales Process  There are nine key steps in the selling process:  Prospecting - Who is a likely customer?  Qualifying - Is the sale feasible?  Preapproach - What useful things can we learn about the customer?  Handling Objections - What resistance do we encounter, and how do we overcome that?  Getting the Interview - How do we get the salesperson together with the prospect under favorable conditions?  Establishing the Problem - What need does the prospect recognize which our product can fill?  Solving the Problem - How does our product solve the prospect's problem?  Closing the Sale - How do we officially get the transaction?  Followthrough - How do we keep this customer and get more business from the relationship?

Case Study  Case study: Gretchen Schaufler  Crowded market, filled with big competitors  How to compete? Niche market Unique product Small samples of wet paint Original names  “Woven tattle & spun tales”  “Espresso blends” Custom consultation via digital photos  10 years, 3 employees, $6MM revenue  Acquired by Valspar

Workshop  Marketing Plan Communication in 2 directions  Messages going out  Messages coming in  Closing the loop of customer dialog  Sales Plan Hitting the sales goals  What are the numbers?  What actions will be taken to reach goals?  Advertising Plan Communication in 1 direction  How will you measure results?