Marketing for Entrepreneurs: Concepts and Applications for New Ventures »

Frederick G. Crane is an Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the College of Business at Northeastern University, Editor of the Journal of the Academy of Business Education, and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Enterprise Growth. He was formerly a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the University of New Hampshire and a chair and full professor at Dalhousie University. He currently teaches courses in entrepreneurship, innovation, and entrepreneurial marketing.

Dr. Crane grew up in a family business and also founded and operated several of his own businesses. In addition to being a serial entrepreneur, he has also been an investor in several startups, served on the advisory boards of entrepreneurial firms, and worked as a consultant for angel investors, venture capitalists, and government agencies on venture funding projects. In addition, he has developed and delivered numerous training programs and workshops for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

His academic research activities have resulted in more than 100 publications, including eleven books, and he currently sits on the editorial boards of several academic journals. His current research stream intersects the domains of marketing, entrepreneurship, corporate venturing, and innovation and he is conducting ongoing research on the psychology of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial education, entrepreneurial branding, and innovation readiness. Dr. Crane is also an award-winning educator who has received numerous honors for teaching excellence over the past twenty years.

This practical text provides insights, strategies, and tips on applying entrepreneurial marketing concepts to increase the chances of venture success. The book focuses on how marketing can be used to find, evaluate, and plan the right venture opportunity. The author walks students and professionals through the various phases of the marketing process, highlighting unique and effective examples of entrepreneurial pursuits.

Key Features:

Practical application: Each Chapter is written for readers to readily apply the concepts in their individual ventures.

Unique focus: The author looks beyond the "4Ps" to address forces in the external marketing environment.

Comprehensive coverage: This book provides everything aspiring entrepreneurs need to know about leveraging marketing in the development and promotion of new products and services, including opportunity assessment, research, understanding customers and competitors, branding, pricing, and creating a market plan.

Pedagogical Highlights

Entrepreneurial Marketing Spotlights illustrate how successful entrepreneurs use contemporary marketing techniques, featuring real-life examples.

Entrepreneurial exercises encourage readers to apply what they have learned, promoting deeper understanding.

Key takeaways summarize material covered in the chapter, allowing readers time to review before advancing in the text.

Preface xi

1 Marketing in an Entrepreneurial Context 1

Marketing: Defined 2

The Seven Steps in the Marketing Process 3

Why Marketing in New Ventures Is Different 4

Using Marketing to Discover and Satisfy Customer Needs 5

The 5Ps of Product-Based Ventures 7

The 8Ps of Service-Based Ventures 8

Market Fulfillment Versus Market Creation 8

The External Marketing Environment 10

Five Forces in the Entrepreneurial Marketing Environment 11

Environmental Scanning 14

An Environmental Scan of the United States 16

Key Takeaways 18

Entrepreneurial Exercise 18

Key Terms 18

2 Finding and Evaluating the Right Marketing Opportunity 19

Opportunities Can Be Recognized, Discovered, or Created 20

Characteristics of a Good Opportunity 21

Finding Marketing Opportunities: Where to Look 24

Veiled/Niche Opportunities 29

Evaluating Marketing Opportunities 30

Determining the Extent of the Opportunity: Making Some Market Estimates Using Voice of Consumer 33

Opportunities and the Business Model 35

Key Takeaways 38

Entrepreneurial Exercise 38

Key Terms 38

3 Using Marketing Research to Ensure Entrepreneurial Success 39

Marketing Research: Defined 40

Types and Methods of Marketing Research 40

Secondary Data 40

Primary Data 41

Other Research Issues 52

Research Design 52

Sampling 52

Proper Data Collection and Analysis 54

Research Conclusions and Taking Action 54

Designing a Marketing Information System 55

Key Takeaways 55

Entrepreneurial Exercise 56

Key Terms 56

4 Understanding Customers and Competitors 57

Understanding the Customer 58

Psychological Influences 60

Sociocultural Influences 64

Situational Influences68

Marketing Mix Influences 68

Business Customers 69

Key Differences and Key Similarities 69

Business Buying Criteria 70

The Buying Center 71

Understanding Competition 72

Key Takeaways 76

Entrepreneurial Exercise 77

Key Terms 77

5 Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning 79

Market Segmentation 80

Questions Any Segmentation Analysis Must Answer 80

Additional Requirements for Effective Segmentation 81

Ways to Segment Markets 81

Selecting Target Segments 89

Positioning 92

Perceptual Mapping 93

Key Takeaways 96

Entrepreneurial Exercise 96

Key Terms 96

6 Developing New Products and Services 97

Types of New Products 98

Types of New Services 99

Characteristics of Successful New Products and Services 101

The New Product/Service Process 103

Idea Generation 104

Screening and Evaluation 106

Business Analysis 107

Development 107

Market Testing 108

Launch 109

Adoption and Diffusion of New Products and Services 110

Managing Your Products/Services Over Their Life Cycles 116

Key Takeaways 118

Entrepreneurial Exercise 119

Key Terms 119

7 Building and Sustaining the Entrepreneurial Brand 121

What Is a Brand? 122

Why Is Entrepreneurial Branding Important? 122

Characteristics of a Good Brand 124

The Entrepreneurial Branding Process 124

Entrepreneurial Branding Strategies 127

Corporate Branding-Branded House 127

Individual Product/Service Branding-House of Brands 129

Hybrid Branding-Sub-Branding 130

Other Branding Options 130

The Importance of Brand Equity 131

Creating Brand Equity 132

Valuing Brand Equity 133

Key Takeaways 135

Entrepreneurial Exercise 135

Key Terms 136

8 Entrepreneurial Pricing 137

The Pricing Parameters 138

Cost-Based Pricing 138

Competition-Based Pricing 142

Customer-Based Pricing 142

Some Entrepreneurial Pricing Advice 146

Key Takeaways 147

Entrepreneurial Exercise 148

Key Terms 148

9 Entrepreneurial Channel Development and Supply Chain Management 149

Understanding Channels 151

Channel Options 151

Direct Channel 152

Indirect Channel 153

Multichannel 154

Channel Drivers 155

Choosing a Channel Strategy 157

Two Channel Design Imperatives 160

Formalized Channel Arrangements 161

Supply Chain Management 162

Key Takeaways 164

Entrepreneurial Exercise 164

Key Terms 165

10 Entrepreneurial Promotion: Doing More With Less! 167

Promotion 169

The Role of Promotion 169

The Promotional Mix 170

Advertising 170

Public Relations 174

Sales Promotion 175

Personal Selling 177

Direct Marketing 178

The Integrated Promotion Plan 180

Target Audience 180

Promotion Objectives 181

Promotion Budget 182

Promotional Theme and Message 183

Promotional Mix 185

Execution 187

Control and Evaluation 188

Key Takeaways 190

Entrepreneurial Exercise 190

Key Terms 191

11 The Entrepreneurial Marketing Plan 193

Difference Between the Venture's Business Plan and the Venture's Marketing Plan 194

The Critical Questions the Marketing Plan Must Address 195

The Anatomy of the Marketing Plan 196

The Executive Summary 196

The Marketing Situation 197

Marketing Objectives 199

Marketing Strategy 200

Marketing Budget/Financial 201

Marketing Team 204

Evaluation and Control 204

Key Takeaways 205

Entrepreneurial Exercise 206

Key Terms 206

Index 207

About the Author 227