Entrepreneurs’ Guide to Managing Marketing Page 1
ENTREPRENEURS'
GUIDE IN
MANAGING
MARKETING FOR
TOMORROW Tkjain’s 10 simple principles of marketing for the fresh entrepreneurs
Dr. Trilok Kumar Jain
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 2
ENTREPRENEURS' GUIDE IN MANAGING MARKETING FOR
TOMORROW
by : Trilok Kumar Jain
Dean, ISBM, Suresh Gyan Vihar
University, Jaipur, India
Mobile : 9414430763
Author of book on: Marketing
Management
for whom?
Are you an entrepreneur? - this will help you
thow who have become entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 3
those who aspire to be entrepreneurs
those who aspire to train entrepreneurs
thow who aspire to support entrepreneurs
Introduction
Its great to be entrepreneur - its even greater to be
someone who creates innovative products and services
for the people - its even more greater to create solutions
for this small planet. Entrepreneurs are born to offer
solutions to humanity and to ease our lives.
Entreprenuers need support and mentoring. Let us all
join together to reduce bureaucratic, legalistic, social and
political hurdles that we are creating all around
entrepreneurs. The real growth in our times is created by
entrepreneurs, but all other segments of society take
away the rewards and ultimately curse the
entrepreneurs for all the pollution and degradation
created in the process. Let us recognise that we all have
come to this planet as a journey and this journey is
accomplished most beautifully if we are able to discover
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 4
solutions for our (man-made) problems faster - which is
really possible.
No business without marketing. No entrepreneurship -
without customers. No survival without turnover.
Marketing is the blood and soul for every entrepreneur.
Marketing cant be learnt from books, it is an approch.
Dig yourself deep into a customer centric approch and
immerse yourself in the position of the customer. See
what fantasy can you create for the customer. See how
can you make the customer 'wow'.
Marketing is all about being innovative, techy, creative,
and artistic. Marketing is all about finding the gap in the
market and designing your offering to make the
customers hungry for the gap. You have to make the
customer aspire your products.
People have sold useless and harmful products even
through marketing. I wish that you should be one who
offers really useful and beneficial products to the society.
There are many difficulties and challenges faced by
society. More the challenges, more are the opportunities
for marketers. You should jump to the occasion and
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 5
catch the challenge with your offerings. Poeple will salute
you, your cause, admire you, reward you and support
you for your initiatives. You will find that your customers
are your best brand ambassadors. You will discover that
real marketing is nothing but being prophet to your
customers. You will be amazed to know that its not you
cost, but its your imagination for which people will pay
and they will be grateful to you for all that you have
created and offered.
10 Principles of Marketing for the entrepreneurs of
tomorrow : -
1. be young : i am not talking about age - its about
ideas. Be young in your spirit, thougts and actions -
that will propel your company to a high growth path.
Your energetic voice and your youthful adventurous
approach will drive every employee to work with
zeal and energy, which is the first requirement for
any marketing. If you are youthful, you will adopt
technology also in marketing. You will add catchy
keywords in your online campaigns. You will add
energetic touch in your products and services
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 6
through their attractive designing and positioning.
Being young means you are displaying youthfullness
in your products and services. People wish to be
associated with youth - and your initiatives will make
you appear youthful. See your company's logo, your
company's names, communication, dress,
appearence, furniture, designing, internet campaign
- make all look young.
2. do the opposite of other companies :
Rules are made by companies and business norms
are set by the collective efforts of the companies.
The companies that innovate are different from
others. This difference should be eye-catching.
When Gramin Bank of Bangladesh started, it just did
opposite of the traditional banking system - and it
evolved what we recognise as the most fascinating
micro-finance system of our times. When IGNOU
spread, it introduced flexible education system not
found in traditional colleges - and IGNOU became
extremely popular among learners. Today the
distance education system created by IGNOU is
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 7
being admired and followed across the country. New
products and services evolve out of dis-engagement
with the traditional ones.
3. dont spend money on advertisements,
invest in PR & promotions: for new
entrepreneurs - advertisements only prove to be
burden. Advertisements generate revenues - but
that takes time. Entrepreneurs need quick cash flows
in the beginning. PR and sales promotions generate
quick returns. This will enable entrepreneur to
strenthen the position of the company and build a
brand slowly but steadily. There are many options in
PR, which can help the entrepreneurs in generating
quick sales. There are also various types of
promotion schemes including online marketing
promotions schemes, special discount schemes etc.
These schemes should be carefully designed not to
dilute the brand value of your company (as discount
schemes generally dilute the brand value and
therefore should be avoided).
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 8
4. redifine your product : what is your product
(or service) ? If you selling a car, you are mistaken, so
whats the product? the product is the bundle of
benefits that you are offering to your customers.
Why is your customer buying your product? Its not
the car, but its the benefit that you promise to
deliver - that makes customer come to you. You
have to redefine the product again and again - as the
customers' requirements also change. The benefits
that the customers expect also change. So why dont
you also redefine your product. When I was studying
in school, my parents expected the school to train
me in Hindi, Mathematics, Science, and
fundamentals of English. Today's parents are not
satisfied with this much. They expect much more.
They expect the school to do all that they are not
able to do - from teaching, to personality
development, to hobby classes, to developing
ettiquettes, to communication skill enhancement ...
so on. The product that the schools are offering
today is different from what it was 25 years back.
The situation has changed, the customers are
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 9
different, their expectations are different. As an
entrepreneur, you also have to redefine your
products and services.
5. learn from product failures : Product failures
should be your gurus. Take them as case studies.
Meet the team behind such products and services
and learn from them. They have tried somethings -
which proved failures - you can know about these
things without trying. Meet the laboratories and the
product development teams and understand how
they designed products - so that you can avoid those
mistakes that they have committed.
6. learn from retailers : retailers feel the
customers. If you can feel the customers - its the
best. If you can talk to the customers - its the best.
Otherwise, talk to retailers, who will tell you the
pulse of the customers.
7. extend supply chain relations from last
supplier to the ultimate customer : supply
chain is to create a strong relation with the suppliers
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 10
as well as customers. It is to understand that they
are also a part of your team. It is to understand that
growth in your business is dependent on them as
well as instrumental in their development. It is to
have detailed discussions, frequent communication,
and a strong strategy formulation with them. It is to
involve them in your important decision making.
Strong linkage with the supply chain will ensure that
you are able to have a very strong winning chances.
8. rural marketing - the key to the future :
companies like HUL send their executives for a rural
orientation programme and design their marketing
programmes keeping the rural India in perspective.
This is the need of today. The rural market is just like
urban market, but the marketing strategies are
slightly different. The urban market is hard to please,
difficult to change, indifferent to your messages and
aspiring for alien brands, but the rural market is one,
which is easier to approach, easier to talk to. Rural
market takes decisions based on referrals of retailers
and other communicators - which is the forte for
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 11
entrepreneurs in the beginning.
9. create unique products - with distinct brands
and distinct market segments : experiment,
experiment, experiment, and ultimately break the
rules of the business. When a fast forward bank
introduced flexi-fixed deposits - it clicked - because it
was different. When you go to the market - identify
products that fail to meet the aspirations of the
customers. Look into the market gap and try to fill
up the gap with your unique offerings. Break the
product into a bundle of offereings (benefits) -
remove some, add some, add some which have not
yet been imagined and see what product can you
offer. Explore the possibilities of combining /
detaching / removing product features and ensure
that your product is beyond the expectations of the
customers. It should create a 'WoW' experience. It
whould offer surprises. A small growing market
segment is better than a large market segment
without unique positioning. A strong market niche
will be formed only if there are clarity about what
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 12
distinct you are offering and how are your offerings
able to meet the aspirations and dreams of your
target segment. Customers search for their dreams
in the products and services they buy. Customers
wish to buy products and services to feel glorious, to
feel special and to feel that they are able to achieve
what they aspired. Customers would be willing to
promote your brands if they find your brand to be
admirable. You have to cultivate the habit of
recognising, accpting and changing the change. You
have to question yourself daily and break your habits
regularly so that you can be the one who can bring
changes for the society. The tendency to accept
what is going on is the inertia that will kill your
entrepreneurial spirit.
10.be loud, make your products louder,
bolder and confident : your products and
services carry a personality, marketing is all about
being visible, being audible, being talked about.
Marketing is about those who are bold and
beautiful. Marketing is all about being the most
Entrepreneurs Guide to Managing Marketing Page 13
admired, most aspired and most desired brands.
Marketing is to create a personality that is an ideal
personality for the segment. Marketing will succeed
only if there are strong communications with the
market. This communication will be based on what
strengths you are able to place before the market.
Identify your strengths, identify your uniqueness,
identify your difference, and go loud to the market.
Pl. do read my other articles also - which are freely available on the net : -
10 Point Orientation Programme for the Future Entrepreneurs
Beginners Guide to Career Enrichment
Biographies of Great Scholars from Bikaner
Bikaner’s Greatest Role Models of our times
Sujit Lalwani – An Inspirational Leader and Social Entrepreneur
Abhay Jain Granthalaya Bikaner
Harakh Chand Nahata – The Great Social Entrepreneur
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