Marketing Issues for Entrepreneurs

Unique Marketing Issues for Entrepreneurship

• Entrepreneurial firms use a three-step process to identify customers: segmenting the market, selecting a target market, and establishing a unique marketing position.
• Defining a brand is critical to a firm's marketing efforts. A brand is a promise, a guarantee of performance, and an indicator of trust and reduced risk.
• The 4Ps of marketing activities used by entrepreneurial firms are Product, Price, Promotion, and Place (distribution).
• The seven-step sales process used by entrepreneurial firms identifies prospects and closes sales.
• Start-ups need to define their target customers to succeed.
• Segmenting the market involves identifying groups of customers who share similar needs and preferences.
• Selecting a target market is choosing the specific group of customers that a firm will focus on.
• Establishing a unique position involves differentiating the firm from its competitors in the minds of customers.
• Market segmentation includes product type, geography (city, state, region), and demographic variables.
• A strong brand is a valuable asset, increasing the market value of a company by 50-75%.
• Over 50% of consumers say a known and trusted brand influences their purchase decisions.
• Brands allow companies to charge prices consistent with their image.
• The product a firm offers is crucial, with the initial rollout being critical.
• Reference accounts, early users who provide testimonials, are helpful for new-product marketing.
• A product encompasses the good or service offered and its various attributes.
• Entrepreneurs use cost-based or value-based pricing to set prices.
• Cost-based pricing determines the price by adding a markup to the product's cost.
• Value-based pricing estimates the price by considering what customers are willing to pay.
• Promotion communicates a product's value to the target market, including advertising, public relations, and social media.
• Advertising raises awareness, explains features, and connects products to lifestyles.
• Effective advertising involves identifying the ad's purpose, target audience, medium, placement, ad creation, and fulfilling customer expectations.
• Google AdWords and AdSense programs allow advertisers to buy keywords and place ads on different platforms.
• Advertisers pay for ads based on click-throughs or impressions.
• Public relations is a cost-effective strategy to build and maintain a company's public image.
• It uses techniques like press releases, social media, blogging, and community involvement.
• Social media, including Facebook and Twitter, provides a platform for connecting with customers and building a community around a product.
• Viral marketing encourages the spread of marketing messages through users' networks, while guerrilla marketing is a lower-budget approach that uses cleverness and surprise.
• Place (distribution) encompasses the activities in moving a product from production to the consumer. Businesses must decide whether to sell directly to consumers or through intermediaries (like wholesalers and retailers).
• The decision to sell directly or through intermediaries depends on how a firm believes its target market wants to purchase products.
• The sales process outlines the steps involved in identifying prospects and closing sales.
• A formal sales process is recommended in order to generate higher prospects and close sales.
• Useful steps include prospecting, contacting, qualifying leads, presentation, meeting objections, closing the sale, and follow-up.

This quiz explores unique marketing challenges faced by entrepreneurial firms. It emphasizes the importance of market segmentation, target market selection, brand definition, and the 4Ps of marketing. Understand how these concepts apply to start-ups and their strategic marketing positioning.