When thinking of ways to market a new business concept — particularly one being run by an individual or a team with comparatively low levels of experience, capital and market recognition — it’s important to make a thorough assessment of the enterprise from two vantage points: internal and external.
The internal assessment should focus on two things: the core strengths and weakness of the enterprise, and the essential “identity” of the company.
Strengths and weaknesses refer, respectively, to advantages and disadvantages that your enterprise may possess.
- Among your strengths may be the specialized education of the founder(s), understanding of a new and complicated software application, familiarity with a particular demographic or psychographic, or relationships you might have with powerful people. In short, these are special skills or privileges that will differentiate your company and your offering(s) from others in the market.
- Conversely, weaknesses may be your lack of professional experience, low levels of start-up capital, a shallow pool of contacts and references, or obligations that limit the amount of time you can devote to the enterprise. In short, these are developmental areas that, in time, you’ll probably need to address, and in the moment, for which you will almost certainly need to account or compensate.
The essential company “identity” turns on leveraging those strengths and identifying your target market and core consumer. (This is key!) It requires that you consciously determine how you’ll present your enterprise to the marketplace, and by extension influence the manner in which your enterprise is to be perceived by the marketplace. A computer-repair company seeking to leverage its low-cost and efficiency will identify itself differently than a landscaping concern emphasizing its ability to beautify suburban lawns — or at least it should.
The external assessment requires that you attempt to evaluate your company, on the same metrics of strengths and weaknesses, through the eyes of that target customer — one with whom you have no connection, familial or otherwise, and one for whom your company is but another among several possible options. Ask yourself how this consumer might initially perceive you, and the product/service that you’re claiming you’ll deliver. Try to anticipate their questions, concerns and doubts, and contemplate ways that you can credibly address them. (It’s in your best interests to seek out honest and objective feedback on this point.)
Once you’ve completed these exercises, your task is to devise a marketing strategy that leverages your strengths, and compensates for your weaknesses. There are no uniform methods of accomplishing this, but there are certain core marketing essentials that entrepreneurs ignore at their peril. Here’s a list of what I consider to be the top five:
I. Presentation. As an early stage entrepreneur, it’s critical to understand that you are the face of the business. The manner in which you present, comport and express yourself will determine the way in which people perceive you, and by extension, your business. When in the public eye, always conduct yourself in a mature and professional manner. Develop a short, key-points summary of your business that you can casually insert into conversation or deliver when asked. Get professional-looking business cards, designed in a manner that is consistent with your business deliverable (e.g., a graphic designer’s card should be different than that of an investment advisor), and be sure to have some on hand at all times.
II. Networking. Perhaps the most oft-repeated business fundamental there is — and with good reason. Networking enables you, at little or no cost, to acquaint yourself with a universe of like-minded individuals who may themselves become clients, mentors, investors or partners — or be able to refer you to other such persons. Seek out, join and leverage professional organizations that cater to your chosen field of endeavor. Should you be constrained from doing so, think about ways in which you can create networking functions of your own.
III. Volunteering. To succeed you will need customers. Period. To get customers you will need opportunities to demonstrate the quality of your work product. Period. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle that’s impossible to avoid. Seek out high-visibility, high-credibility customers and offer to work your magic free of charge in exchange for using them as business references going forward. (You may also want to consider establishing some kind of incentive system wherein past/current customers are rewarded for creating future customers.) Additionally, consider volunteering for community groups and at community-based events. You can grow your professional network, build experience, credibility and references, while at the same time cultivate what is hopefully a genuine image of philanthropy that can only work to your advantage.
IV. Collaboration/Bartering. It stands to reason that there are going to be larger players operating in any space in which you choose to focus your energies. In almost all such cases, you won’t have the resources to compete with them head-on. However, in most cases, your business function may complement those of another business — large or small — with whom you can collaborate or barter for mutual gain and market strength. If your company seeks to promote concerts, for instance, the managers of the local performance venues may permit you to collect email addresses at upcoming events that you and they can share going forward. Similarly, if your enterprise centers on customized fashion accessories, in exchange for promoting their businesses to your customer base, the owner(s)/manager(s) of local beauty and nail salons might be willing to distribute your business card or brochure to their own customers. It’s all about reciprocity.
V. Promotion. This is a budget-responsive tool that’s far too frequently misused by budding entrepreneurs. As a start-up you want to distribute your promotional materials — pamphlets, brochures, newsletters — in places that are likely to capture your core consumer, and via methods that aren’t going to irritate or offend. As stated above, consider the “identity” of your business and the sensibilities of your target customer. A computer-services entrepreneur probably won’t gain as much from a flyers-under-the-windshield-wipers strategy as s/he would from politely approaching computer users in the local coffee bar or library, or parent-child pairs in the neighborhood bookstore or the local supermarket. A lawn-care professional is sure to do better via personalized, daylight-hour, door-to-door appeals than s/he would stuffing flyers in neighborhood mailboxes. Think about the promotional strategies that irritate you and those that appeal to you, focus on adopting the latter.
In closing, it’s important to note that the suggestions offered above aren’t to be read as a comprehensive list of entrepreneurial-marketing essentials; they’re intended to serve as foundational basics that stimulate your strategic imagination, and help to organize those strategies within a thoughtful professional framework.
It’s also important to note that these strategies aren’t mutually exclusive, each builds on, reinforces and facilitates the others. Marketing — indeed, business — is a holistic undertaking. Each decision and commitment that you make will have consequences — positive and negative; intended and unintended — on the other facets of your enterprise. An effective marketer must be mindful of these truths; an effective entrepreneur, even moreso. Good luck!
This primer was originally produced for attendees of a panel focused on teen/young adult entrepreneurs at the 2007 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo.
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