TEF ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME TRAINING

BY

TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION

BEGINNER’S COURSES: MODULE 1

TOPIC: STARTING YOUR BUSINESS

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 TABLE OF CONTENT
CONTENT PAGE

MODULE I.I - DEFINING YOUR ENTERPRISE 3

Sub Module 1.1.1 Defining Entrepreneurship 3
Sub Module 1.1.2 Starting Business Tips 4
Sub Module 1.1.3 Product/Service Distribution Channels 4-6
Sub Module 1.1.4 Generating Ideas 6-7
Sub Module 1.1.5 Validating Opportunities 8
MODULE 1.2 IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS & OPPORTUNITIES 8
Sub Module 1.2.1 Business Problems & Opportunities faced by Entrepreneurs 8-9
Sub Module 1.2.2 Problems identification and research solutions 10
Sub Module 1.2.3 Converting Challenges into opportunities 10-11
MODULE 1.3 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE & BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT 11
Sub Module 1.3.1 Understanding the dynamics of external systems 11-12
Sub Module 1.3.2 Environmental Scanning 12-14
Sub Module 1.3.3 Direct and Indirect Competition 14-15
Module 1.4 MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS & PRINCIPLES 15
Sub Module 1.4.1The Concept and Fundamentals of Marketing 15-16
Sub Module 1.4.2 Marketing Functions 16-17
Sub Module 1.4.3 Marketing Mix, Segments, Penetration & Positioning 17-19

Sub Module 1.4.4 Conducting Market Research and intelligence 19-20

MODULE 1.5 MARKETING IN DIGITAL AGE 20
Sub Module 1.5.1 Major forces shaping the digital age 20-21
Sub Module 1.5.2 The Best Digital Marketing Channels 21-23
Sub Module 1.5.3 - Impact of Social Media on Marketing (SMM) 23-24
Sub Module 1.5.4 The concept of e-marketing and e-business strategy 24-25

Sub Module 1.5.5 The four major e-commerce domains 25

MODULE 1.6 BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL START-UP 25
Sub Module 1.6.1 Entrepreneurial Traits and Small Business Mistake 25-27
Sub Module 1.6.2 Personal Assessment for Entrepreneurship 27
RESOURCES 27-28

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 MODULE 1 - STARTING YOUR BUSINESS

MODULE 1.1 - DEFINING YOUR ENTERPRISE

SUB-MODULE 1.1.1 - DEFINING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Introduction
There are diverse motivations for entrepreneurship. Some people want to be their boss, while
others are more interested in making money from the enterprise. We have those that are only
interested in engaging in activities that will further improve the standards of living of the
society.
Notwithstanding the different notions, an entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new
business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is
commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, or services. He contributes his
initiatives, skill, and ingenuity in planning, organizing, and administering the enterprise.

Entrepreneurship - Entrepreneurship on the other hand, is the process of designing, launching,

and running a new business, which is often initially a small business, or the capacity and
willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks to
make a profit.

As an entrepreneur, you must learn how to define your business to ensure that everyone in
the organization knows what needs to be done. From the Business name, vision, mission, and
values through to the company logo and color. It is important to define a consistent message
that supports your marketing material and identity in the market place. And most importantly,
the basic knowledge of the business is a major requirement.

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SUB-MODULE 1.1.2 - STARTING BUSINESS TIPS

• Identify Your Talents: Define your passion and think of it in terms of profit. It could be
product-oriented or service-oriented.

• Consult with Colleagues, Mentor, Friend, or Family: When consulting with others they
can provide valuable feedback on what they think about your start-up ideas. Their
support and suggestion will still be valuable to your business venture's progress. But
beware of whom to consult!

• Research and More Research: Learn more about the business by researching into the
industry, talking to the business owners, and attending seminars relating to the field.

• Analyze Your Financial Situation: Take a very good and close look at your finances
and other sources of finance. Identify the cost of starting the business along with on-
going business costs before breaking even; also determine how much you will need
to support your family while you are building the business.

• Know Yourself: Evaluate your strength and weakness. Factors, such as motivation,
organization, and internal drive will be important to your success. Usually, there is a
scarcity of encouragement from the outside world.

• Keep Records: Keeping records gives you the financial position of the business.
Whether the business is going according to plan or stagnating or growing or
generating profits or whether you need to get out fast.

• Discuss Lifestyle Change: Take a cursory look at the changes in the lifestyle, finances,
and emotions that your family will encounter with your business undertaking. Make
sure you inform your family and get their support.

• Find All Necessary Resources: Determine your sources of capital, equipment,

employee, and sources of vendors and have a back-up arrangement. Write down
your reasons for deciding to become an entrepreneur. Keep the list handy because
you will need it for motivation in good and bad times.

• Knowledge-Economy: Knowledge economy is the in-thing now. Gone are the days
when the emphasis is only on land, labor, and capital. The most important capital is
intellectual capital driven by education, knowledge, and productivity.

• Attitude: While skill and knowledge are essential, attitude is the mother of all tips when
starting a business. Display the right and positive attitude to both the business and to
your employees. The attitude of constant mentorship and coaching as well as open
dialogue is essential for success. Never see a customer as an inconvenience.

SUB-MODULE 1.1.3 - PRODUCT/SERVICE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

A distribution channel represents a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which the

final buyer purchases a good or service. Distribution channels include wholesalers, retailers,

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distributors, and the Internet. In a direct distribution channel, the manufacturer or service
provider sells directly to the consumer.

What Is a Distribution Channel?

A distribution channel is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or
service passes until it reaches the final buyer or the end consumer. Distribution channels can
include wholesalers, retailers, distributors, and even the Internet. Distribution channels are part
of the downstream process, answering the question, "How do we get our product to the
consumer?" This is in contrast to the upstream process, also known as the supply chain, which
answers the question "Who are our suppliers?"

Goods and services sometimes make their way to consumers through multiple channels a
combination of short and long. Increasing the number of ways a consumer can find a good
can increase sales. But it can also create a complex system that sometimes makes distribution
management difficult. Longer distribution channels can also mean less profit each
intermediary charges a manufacturer for its service.

Direct and Indirect Distribution Channels

Channels are broken into two different forms, direct and indirect. A direct channel allows the
consumer to make purchases from the manufacturer while an indirect channel allows the
consumer to buy the goods from a wholesaler or retailer. Indirect channels are typical for
goods that are sold in traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Generally, if there are more intermediaries involved in the distribution channel, the price for
a good may increase. Conversely, a direct or short channel may mean lower costs for
consumers because they are buying directly from the manufacturer.

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Distribution Channels in a Service Business
Before you can reach your targeted audience in a service business, you must understand the
different platforms that are available to sell your services. This is known as the distribution of
service, and refining this process is the difference between success and failure. Using different
channels for distribution of service can help you manage demand for your core services. You
can use a different distribution of service channels to reach various market segments, and
develop different pricing strategies that correspond to the income of market segment
members. Once you understand that channels of distribution are different for different
products, you can analyze examples of distribution channels in marketing to access new
markets.

SUB MODULE 1.1.4 - GENERATING BUSINESS IDEAS

It is important to note that most businesses are not based on an amazing invention, rather
they are simply modifications of what is existing already. You could further develop the idea
by holding conversations with consumers, retailers, wholesalers, or manufacturer's
representatives. Each opportunity must be carefully screened and evaluated.

The market size and length of the windows of opportunity are the primary basis of determining
the risks and rewards. The risks reflect the market, competition, technology, and capital. The
assessment of the opportunity requires answering the following questions:

• Where is the money to be made in this activity, who will need this product or service,
and how it is different from what they are getting presently?
• What competition exists in the market and how will you describe the behaviour of this
competition?
• What personal observations have you recorded about the need and what social
condition underlines this need?
• Does any patent exist about this need?
• Every business needs a unique selling proposition (USP). Think about why the customers
should choose yours over anyone else. Your USP could well be based on the level of
service you provide. Know your strength, but it is also important, to be honest with
yourself about what you need and what you can do given your capacity at that
moment.

The identification and evaluation of opportunity involve linking the results of critical
assessment of self, to the result of your findings with a window of opportunity. The entrepreneur
needs to be able to put forth the necessary time and effort required to make the venture
succeed. Avoid the risk of feeling that the desire can be developed along with the venture
as most times it does not materialize, thus an entrepreneur must believe in the opportunity so
much that he or she will make the necessary sacrifices to develop the opportunity and
manage the resulting organization.

Let's examine a few scenarios in idea generation capable of provoking some good thoughts
that may help you assess your level of understanding of the discussion.

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Investigate New Markets, Niches, and Opportunities - You can find ideas that have worked
in another country and transfer it home. An example is the importation of GSM phones into
Nigeria that effectively shut down the monopoly of NITEL in Nigeria. The Chinese company,
ALIBABA took their idea from eBay USA in setting up their auction sites Taobao. Car45
imported the idea for carzaars to provide a platform for auctioning used vehicles in Nigeria.
Virtually all the FINTECH companies operating in Nigeria brought their business ideas from
other countries.

Pick Up on Market Trends - Change is the only constant thing. The world around us is changing
every second, so an entrepreneur could look at the world around us and tap into how work
and home life and communities are changing. With change comes shifting lifestyles, needs,
and fresh opportunities. Most consumers are working longer hours and earning more money
than ever before, so they want to buy unique and luxurious products and services.

Broaden your perspective - Entrepreneurs look around themselves and ask 'what if questions'.
What if you could buy eggs in cone-shaped boxes? Can you provide the public with pure
water in paper packs? What if plantain wafers are packaged in hand made crafted
cylinders? What if you design filling stations where motorists can drive in and serve themselves
with PMS? Etc.

Take note of what works and a special note of experiences you have. Seek out new
experiences, new experiences generate ideas and ideas are the currency of
entrepreneurship.

Transform, Transact and Transcend - There are three broad categories through which business
can make money and these are:

You could transform materials for a living, converting raw materials into finished goods. I.e.
taking spools of cotton and turning them into high fashion garments, taking disused
computers from waste tips and recycling the parts to sell back to computer manufacturers.

You could build a business that transacts with customers on behalf of the principals, similar to
the use of ATMs, POS, Internet banking, etc. In considering what kind of business to set up, the
entrepreneur is advised to keep the mind open to new opportunities.

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SUB MODULE 1.1.5 - VALIDATING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

An idea that is only in your head is of no use to anyone. An idea with no link to reality has no
worth and no value. Only when you test your idea against what is happening in the real world
can you validate whether you can turn the idea into a business or not.

The bottom line is how to make money or improve humanity from your idea. You will not know
if your product or service is right until you get the consumers and this has a bearing to your
understanding of the market, customers, competitors, suppliers, trends, and size of
opportunities. This requires getting more information and understanding.

Opportunity analysis or what is frequently called an opportunity assessment plan is one

method for evaluating an opportunity to get the information required to make a decision or
act on the opportunity.

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MODULE 1.2 - IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES
SUB MODULE 1.2.1 - BUSINESS PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES FACED BY ENTREPRENEURS

As business grows, different problems and opportunities emerge with varying solutions. What
worked a year ago might not be the best approach at the moment. Most often, avoidable
mistakes turn what could have been a great business into a failed dream.

Recognizing and overcoming the common pitfalls associated with business growth is essential
for the success of the business. You need to ensure that the steps you take today do not
themselves create additional problems in the future.

Below are the highlights and discussions on the business challenges and strategic steps to be
taken.
• Keeping up with the market
• Planning ahead
• Cash flow and financial management
• Problem-solving
• The right systems
• Skills and attitudes
• Welcoming change

Keeping up with the market - Market research is not something you do as a one-off when you
launch your business. Business conditions change continually, so your market research should
be continuous as well. Otherwise, you run the risk of making business decisions based on out-
of-date information, which can lead to business failure.

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Information sources - Published information can provide useful insights into market conditions
and trends. As a growing business, your own experience can be more valuable. You should
be able to build up an in-depth picture of what customers want, how they behave, and
which of your marketing approaches work best.

Planning - The plan that worked for you a year ago may not necessarily work for you now.
Market conditions continually change, so you need to revisit and update your business plan
regularly. As your business grows, your strategy needs to evolve to suit your changed
circumstances.

Cash flow and financial management - Good cash flow management is important for any
business, especially a growing business.

Problem-solving - New businesses often run in perpetual crisis mode. Every day brings new
challenges that urgently need resolving, thus, management spends most of their time
troubleshooting.

The right systems - All businesses produce and rely on large volumes of information - financial
records, interactions with customers and other business contacts, employee details,
regulatory requirements, and so on. You need to put the right system in place to run a
successful business.

Skills and attitudes - Entrepreneurs are the driving force behind their businesses. All too often,
they are also the people holding them back. It's vital not to fool yourself into valuing your
abilities too highly. The chances are that you will intervalley need training to update your skills,
knowledge, and attitudes required from other professionals.

Welcoming change - Complacency can be a major threat to a growing business. Assuming

that you will continue to be successful simply because you have been in the past is very
unwise. Regularly revisiting and updating your business plan can help remind you of the
changing market conditions and the need to respond to them.

SUB MODULE 1.2.2 - IDENTIFY & SOLVE YOUR BUSINESS PROBLEMS USING MARKET RESEARCH

Market Research can be separated into two basic categories: problem-identification

research and problem-solving research. Problem-identification research helps marketing
teams identify what types of problems they might have, while problem-solving research helps
identify ways to solve those problems through marketing mix and segmentation. There are
many problem identifications and solving methods that can be completed through market
research.

Take a look at the examples below to see which methods can benefit your company.

Problem-Identification Research - By conducting new market research projects in your

company, you might discover a potential dilemma or opportunity that you have not

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considered before. You could discover any of the following factors through problem-
identification research:
• Brand Image:
• Market Characteristics
• Market Potential
• Market Share

Problem-Solving Research - Once you identify your marketing problem, you need to research
on how to solve it. The following research options will help you solve potential problems or
capitalize on opportunities identified by your company:
• Distribution Research
• Market Segmentation
• Pricing Research
• Product Research
• Promotional Research

SUB MODULE 1.2.3 - CONVERTING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES

In a very competitive workplace, demonstrating your ability to turn challenges into

opportunities remains crucial in business ventures. Challenges are the source of new
opportunities to establish your professionalism, decision-making quality, and ability to focus
on a problem and solve it.

Crises occur in good times and in bad times. Some are corporate life-threatens, while others
are merely annoying. Yet, all must be managed and overcome to ensure your successful
future. Treating these potential disasters as opportunities to enhance your business fortune
might make the difference between the future success and failure of your organization. Here
are some tips you need to know about how some challenges can be converted into
opportunities for success.

• Much like the fate of venerable - You cannot create the proper stage to display your
managerial talent. Circumstances must exist that give you this opportunity. A
company, industry, or general economic crisis hands you the opportunity to separate
yourself from the "managerial crowd" and rise above the competition.

• It is easier to succeed and achieve when you are challenged - When in the nexus of
an economic boom, it seems everyone shines brightly. You are then challenged to be
noticed and recognized. However, when real challenges or crises arise, you have the
opportunity to step up, handle the situation, and resolve the problem successfully.

• Get into full attack mode when strongly challenged - Facing a challenge is not a time
for timidity. Even smaller challenges can win in such an environment. Attack a crisis or
challenge with enthusiasm, confidence, and the conviction that you will win.

• Don't be shy. Be daringly innovative and try out some new, creative techniques - When
you face a challenge, you should fight the natural tendency to "pull back" and simply

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 maintain a status quo. Unless you have addressed a similar crisis in the past and have
a game plan that works, this is a time to express your creativity. Be innovative and
willing to try new techniques.

• Attitudinal Change - Challenges come in many shapes, sizes, and danger levels.
Attitude often determines whether people and companies face these crises
successfully or crumble under the pressure. No one wants to exist in crisis management
mode forever. Pay attention to your attitude and constantly gauge its effect.

MODULE 1.3 - UNDERSTANDING THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE & BUSINESS

ENVIRONMENT
SUB MODULE 1.3.1 UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF EXTERNAL SYSTEMS

Every business is affected by the environment in which it operates, therefore understanding

the firm's environment is an important step in the planning process. Developing a
comprehensive awareness of broad-based environmental forces will help the entrepreneur
identify any external factors that could potentially impact the future of your organization.

Six types of forces that need to be considered are:

• Economic
• Governmental
• Technology
• Demographic
• Social
• Global

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Economic Forces - Economic projections are important in entrepreneurship, as they affect
your business, your industry, your suppliers, and your customers. Consider the impact of
economic conditions over the last few weeks due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Are you
analyzing and thinking ahead now!!

Governmental Factor - An entrepreneur should be on top of changes in Government policies

and regulations, Legal developments that can affect their business. An example, the Nigerian
Government recently increase Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5% to 7.5% with its huge
economic implications. Some of the policy changes can occur at the Federal, State, and
Local Government levels.

Technological Forces - Failure to monitor and address the major technological innovations
may adversely affect a firm's competitive edge, particularly if competing firms use technical
improvement. Companies can now use Artificial Intelligence, Internet, Big DATA, Block-chain
to make customized products while simultaneously minimizing costs. Key technology
affecting your industry should always be tracked.

Demographic Forces - These are trends in population characteristics such as age, ethnic
makeup, education, family, and gender distribution. Changes can affect the demand for a
company's product and labor.

Global Forces - Changes in the global environment offer tremendous opportunities and
potential threats to businesses. The importance of accessing global markets has become
increasingly important as a result of the development of satellite communication, cheaper
and faster modes of transportation, the privatization of several overseas businesses, and
economic alliances among countries.

Competition – Competition is inevitable in business. There are a few questions that will help
you analyze your competitors. You should treasure tough competitors because they help you
stay on your toes all the time.

Tips; It is important to note that environmental forces affect all businesses. Opportunities can
come from demographics, from changes in the economy and from new technological
developments. As a growing business do not forget to pay attention to threats that you may
uncover. Also, search for ways that environmental threats can be turned into opportunities.

SUB MODULE 1.3.2 - ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING

The organizational environment consists of both external and internal factors. The
environment must be scanned to determine the development and forecasts of factors that
will influence organizational success.

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Environmental scanning refers to possession and utilization of information about occasions,
patterns, trends, and relationships within an organization's internal and external environment.
It helps the managers to decide the future path of the organization. Scanning must identify
the threats and opportunities existing in the environment. A threat to one organization may
be an opportunity for another.

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Strategic managers must not only recognize the present state of the environment and their
industry but also be able to predict their future positions and recognize the trends identified
by an environmental scanning.

SUB MODULE 1.3.3 - UNDERSTANDING DIRECT AND INDIRECT COMPETITION

There are a few questions that will help you analyze your competitors. You should treasure
tough competitors because they help you stay on your toes all the time. The questions are as
follows:
• Who are your competitors?
• What do they want?
• What can they do?
• What will they do?
• Indirect Competition

McDonald's and Weight Watchers are selling wildly different products, but they're competing
for the same customers. This is what we call indirect competition.

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Direct Competition
Your direct competitors are targeting the same job-to-be-done with the same solution as you.
If you want a burger, McDonald's and Burger King will both satisfy that desire with the same
outcome. Unlike indirect competitors, secondary competitors compete on outcomes. For
example, video conferencing and business class flights compete on outcomes as they're
both hired for the same job, business meetings but solve the problem differently.

MODULE 1.4 - MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS AND PRINCIPLES

SUB MODULE 1.4.1 - THE BASIC CONCEPT AND FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING

Entrepreneurs should believe passionately in their products and that marks the foundation for
all other marketing activities. You must truly believe in your products and its ability to satisfy
your customers if you are going to succeed in marketing -Donald Trump.

Small Business Marketing

Many small businesses do not think of marketing. They simply open their doors and hope for
the best. Think about the Dry Cleaners in your area, are they known for anything special?
What about the meat sellers, are they known for anything special? That panel beater &
Ironworks workshop, what are they known for? The 10 rooms' guest house in your
neighborhood, what are they known for? Think of the Supermarkets in your community, are
they known for anything? As you decide to go into business, what are you going to be known
for?

Any business can be special to its customers. A dry cleaner can be known for its ability to
deliver clothes on time, with all the stains removed. A mechanic can be known for his ability
to recycle motor parts and reinstall the parts with 8-12 months guarantee. Every business

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needs to have a way to make itself special to customers, and by doing so you separate
yourself from the crowd.

Marketing aims to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits
into his or her desire. Ask yourself these three basic questions:
• What do my customers want from my products?
• Have I targeted the right customers?
• What is the unique benefit of my product or services that my customers cannot get
elsewhere?

Defining Marketing
Marketing is the act of managing perceived values. To manage perceived values, you must
understand your competitive environment, target markets, position products, and services,
build a strong brand, satisfy customers, set price, develop advertising messages, organize
sales efforts, arrange distribution, forecast results and motivate your team, above all, do all of
these extremely well.

Note: A customer is that person that will buy your product without your input, i.e. someone
can walk into a shop and walk around the shelves and select a bottle of water and pay for
it. But a client will not buy without your professional input. He can litigate against you if the
values you promised is missing. i.e. Advise received from a Stock Broker for the purchase of
stocks. Entrepreneurs should be able to differentiate between the two concepts.

SUB MODULE 1.4.2 - MARKETING FUNCTIONS |MARKETING MANAGEMENT

The marketing process performs certain activities as the goods and services move from the
producer to the consumer. All these activities or jobs are not performed by a single firm, but

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by different organization that constitute the entire marketing chain. The major activities are
listed below:

• Selling: It is the core of marketing. It is concerned with the prospective buyers

completing the purchase of an article. It involves the transfer of ownership of goods
to the buyer. Selling plays an important part in realizing the ultimate aim of earning
profit.
• Buying and Assembling: It involves what to buy, of what quality, how much from
whom, when, and at what price. People in business buy to increase sales or to
decrease costs. Purchasing agents are much influenced by quality, service, and price.
Assembling means, purchase of necessary parts fitted together to make a product.
Assembly line indicates a production line made up of purely assembly operations.
• Transportation: Transportation is the physical means by which goods are moved from
the places where they are produced to those places where they are needed for
consumption. Marketing relies mainly on railroads, trucks, waterways, pipelines, and
air transport.
• Storage: It involves holding of goods in proper (i.e., usable or saleable) condition from
the time of production until they are needed by customers (in case of finished
products) or by the production department (in case of raw materials and stores);
storing protects the goods from deterioration and helps in carrying over surplus for
future consumption or use in production.
• Standardization and Grading: Standardisation means the establishment of certain
standards or specifications for products based on intrinsic physical qualities of any
commodity. This may involve quantity (weight or size) or it may involve quality (color,
shape, appearance, material, taste, sweetness, etc.)
• Financing: It involves the use of capital to meet the financial requirements of firms
dealing with various activities of marketing seeking and applying funding to various
marketing activities.
• Risk Taking: Risk bearing in marketing refers to the financial risk interest in the
ownership of goods held for an anticipated demand including the possible losses due
to falling in prices and the losses from spoilage, depreciation, obsolescence, fire, and
floods or any other loss that may occur over time.
• Market Information: The only sound foundation on which marketing decisions may be
based is correct and timely market information. Right facts and information reduce
the aforesaid risks and thereby result in cost reduction.

SUB MODULE 1.4.3 – THE CONCEPT OF MARKETING MIX, SEGMENTS, PENETRATION &
POSITIONING

Today, Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) is a familiar strategic approach in

Modern Marketing. It is one of the most commonly applied marketing models in practice.

The STP model is useful when creating marketing communications plans since it helps
marketers to prioritize propositions and then develop and deliver personalized and relevant
messages to engage with different audiences. This is an audience rather than a product-

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focused approach to communications which helps deliver more relevant messages to
commercially appealing audiences. The diagram below shows how plans can have the flow
from Audience options > Audience selection > Production positioning.

The well, known ways to segment your audience include:

Demographics - Breakdown by any combination: age, gender, income, education, ethnicity,

marital status, education, household (or business), size, length of residence, type of residence,
or even profession/Occupation.

Psychographics - This refers to 'personality and emotions' based on behavior, linked to

purchase choices, including attitudes, lifestyle, hobbies, risk aversion, personality, and
leadership traits.

Interviews - Talk to a few people that are broadly representative of your target audience. In-
depth interviews let you gather useful qualitative data to understand what makes your
customers tick.

Surveys: Surveys let you reach more people than interviews, but it can be harder to get as
insightful answers.

Customer data: You may have data on what your customers tend to purchase from you, such
as data coming from loyalty cards if an FMCG brand or from online purchase history if you
are an e-commerce business. You can use this data to generate insights into what kind of
products your customers are interested in and what is likely to make the purchase.

Lifestyle - This refers to Hobbies, recreational pursuits, entertainment, vacations, and other
non-work time pursuits.

Belief and Values - Refers to Religious, political, nationalistic, and cultural beliefs and values.

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Life Stages - Life Stages is the Chronological benchmarking of people's lives at different
stages. An example is Saga holidays which are only available for people aged 50+. They
claim a large enough segment to focus on this life stage.

Geography - Drill down by Country, region, area, metropolitan or rural location, population
density, or even climate.

Behavior - refers to the nature of the purchase, brand loyalty, usage level, benefits sought,
distribution channels used, and reaction to marketing factors.

SUB MODULE 1.4.4 - CONDUCTING MARKET RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE

Once you have come up with a great idea how do you determine the demand for it? If the
audience is willing to buy into it, what will they want to pay? Will they be willing to pay enough
for you to earn profit from the product or service? Wouldn't it be great if you had some sort
of crystal ball that would give you the answers to these questions? After all, you don't want to
quit your day job to develop a product that will not command demand.

Marketing research is the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting marketing

information that can be used to answer these questions or solve problems to improve a
company's bottom line. Marketing research includes a wide range of activities. (By contrast,
market research is a narrower activity. It is the process of researching a specific market to
determine its size and trends.) Although marketing research isn't foolproof, it can take some
of the guesswork out of decision making.

Marketing research can help you with many discover the most basic and intriguing tasks
required to assist you succeed in your business endeavor. The following tasks can be
undertaken and resolved.

• Developing product ideas and designs

• Determining if there is a demand for your product so you know whether or not to
produce it
• Identifying market segments for your product
• Making pricing decisions
• Evaluating packaging types
• Evaluating in-store promotions
• Measuring the satisfaction of your customers
• Measuring the satisfaction of your channel partners
• Evaluating the effectiveness of your Web site
• Testing the effectiveness of ads and their placement
• Making marketing channel decisions

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Closely related to marketing research is a market intelligence, which is often referred to as
competitive intelligence. Whereas marketing research involves solving a specific marketing
problem at a specific point in time, market intelligence involves gathering information on a
regular, ongoing basis to stay in touch with what's happening in the marketplace. For
example, if you own a convenience store, part of your daily market intelligence gathering
would include driving around to see what competing stores are charging for gasoline or
checking to see what types of products are being sold or advertised by them.

MODULE 1.5.- MARKETING IN DIGITAL AGE

SUB MODULE 1.5.1 - MAJOR FORCES SHAPING THE DIGITAL AGE

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SUB MODULE 1.5.2 - THE BEST DIGITAL MARKETING CHANNELS (DISCUSSED)

The following are the digital marketing channels and strategies which every organization
should learn and adopt and adapt;

Websites (Content Marketing) - Your website is a must-have tool for your business as it provides
you with a dedicated platform where you can educate audiences about your brand,
products, and services. This requires a solid understanding of your target audience and an
effective content marketing strategy. Whatever the size of your company, a website can give
your business the online presence it needs to communicate and/or sell to prospects. Because
websites have multimedia capabilities, you can easily distribute different types of content,
from articles to infographics, and even video.

Email Marketing- Did you know that email marketing is the cheapest, most preferred, and
most effective digital medium? It comprises building a subscriber list and sending emails to
the target audience. It's so hard to dislodge email as a channel that delivers medium to high
ROI for your business, but the one thing you can't take away from email is its versatility. It allows
you to apply the latest trends in content marketing, such as personalization and automation,
without hurting your marketing budget.

Social Media - From being a channel that people use to establish personal connections,
social media has evolved into something grander, bigger, and better than what it was
originally envisioned to be. These days, you can reach out to potential buyers by engaging
them in a more personal and authentic fashion. As such, it's easier to direct your efforts toward
organic social media marketing since the platform was initially designed to foster interactions
rather than sell to your prospects. Ultimately, this can help you generate highly qualified leads
on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

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Organic Search (SEO) - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most specialized and
sought-after tools, SEO focuses on making your business website rank top in the search
engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc. Given that people use search engines for research,
shopping, and entertainment, the opportunities for businesses are huge! When prospects or
customers look for products or services, they'll tend to go with whoever ranks higher. Standing
out from the competition at this stage means that you'll be capturing new opportunities
organically, driving a consistent flow of leads down your sales funnel.

SEM – Search Engine Marketing - On the surface, it might seem inconceivable that paid
search (also called SEM) will have the potential to give you ROI. After all, you're paying for
each click you get, unlike SEO, where people find you organically (and technically for free).
The advantage of using paid search is that your ads are shown above organic search results,
making them more visible to users. Even if you have to pay for every time a user clicks on your
ad, there's still a lot of value monetary and otherwise, that can be received from paid search.

Display Ads - Display ads allow you to use images, audio, and video to communicate your
advertising message better. These are shown on websites, email platforms, social media, and
many other digital channels that offer ad placements, usually in the form of a banner.
Compared to search ads, display ads generally have lower cost-per-click since there's more
advertising space available across the web than on a search engine. The core difference is
that you don't target keywords.

One of the great things about display ads is their ability to track users for retargeting. For
example, if a user lands on your website and doesn't convert, you can track them with a
cookie and retarget them with a relevant display ad later on. It should be no surprise to know
that with this much contextual relevance, you'll be generating a lot more conversions at a
lower cost-per-click (CPC).

Mobile Marketing - With 80% of internet users relying on their smartphones to search for
information and buy products, mobile marketing is the way to tap them. It is a tool to appeal
mobile device users via SMS, responsive websites, apps, and personalized notifications. The
number of mobile phone users is increasing by the day, and this trend is expected to continue
in the years to come. It makes sense to serve promotional content to mobile users. And thanks
to geo-targeting strategies where location information is used to recommend products or
services more conveniently, customer experience can be consistently improved as well.

Affiliate Marketing - Affiliate marketing is one of the most lucrative types of digital marketing.
It involves a partnership with an online retailer where you earn a commission from every sale
or lead that you bring in. The two most common ways of doing this are:
• Offering a unique discount code to their readers/followers
• Linking to your website from their content website

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising - It doesn't cost you more if you prefer organic advertising.
But, the number of people you can reach is only limited. Whereas, paid advertising, especially
on Facebook and Twitter, can increase your digital footprint to a larger audience.

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Instant Messaging Marketing - Instant messaging is most often used to connect with friends
and family, but it can also be used by businesses to connect with their customers. And not
just to answer questions or fulfill orders but to promote themselves, too. Marketing through
instant messaging apps requires a slightly different approach to other types of online
marketing because of the one-on-one nature of chat. Ideally, you should personalize your
messages, inspire action (e.g. "Learn more", "Buy now", etc.), and most of all, keep it short and
snappy.

SUB MODULE 1.5.3 - IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MARKETING (SMM)

An Overview
Social media are channels for reaching out to customers. Most businesses employ the use of
social media in reaching out to their customers, clients and partners due to its possibility of
wider reach.

A growing business must leverage on it to sell its products to the wider market. One of the
favorable arguments for the use social media over the use of basic, traditional
communication media lies in its ability to measure the reach it covers and also reach
prospects widely. An advert ran on Facebook, for instance, gives insights on the number of
engagements, conversions and general insight. Traditional media, on the other hand, cannot
show these metrics. One can hardly tell the number of TVs switched-on listening to an Ad,
unlike, the Social Media which gives general insights on advertising activities.

Among many social media channels there are 4 popular social media accounts businesses
must use in reaching their marketing goals. They are: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
LinkedIn.

Facebook: Facebook has a total of 2.5 billion users and this presents itself as a market with
great potentials. Facebook marketing refers to creating—and actively using—a Facebook
page as a communications channel to maintain contact with and attract customers.
Facebook actively allows users to create individual profiles or business pages for companies,
organizations, or any group attempting to develop a fan base for a product, service, or
brand. It can be used by small businesses, big companies, NGOs and even, by celebrities.

Instagram: It has been estimated that 1 billion people use Instagram every month. It has also
been estimated that there are 25 million businesses on Instagram. Records have shown that
people record more sales on Instagram using Paid Ads and even by making organic posts.
Instagram is very helpful in stimulating sales and helping businesses reach their career goals.

Twitter: Marketing strategy is centered around creating, publishing, and distributing short,
valuable contents for buyer personas, audience, and followers. The goal is to close deals
faster. Twitter is an important marketing tool because brevity is powerful. Facebook allows
the space for long-winded posts, which risk losing the attention of some readers. Twitter's rule
of 140 characters per tweet keeps messaging brisk, short and digestible.

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LinkedIn: LinkedIn has over 690 million users from 200 different countries. It is known to be the
most professional of the major social networking platforms, used by over 690 million business
professionals worldwide. It is responsible for more than 80% of a business’s social media leads
and, since it is largely focused on B2B connections, LinkedIn should be a big part of your social
media marketing strategy. It allows you to set up a personal profile and connect with other
professionals you know or want to know. You will receive status updates on a regular basis as
your connections update their profiles. In addition, you can set up a LinkedIn profile for your
company to allow people to follow your company’s updates.

Conclusion
The various digital marketing channels work differently from one another and, therefore, will
give you different results. Additionally, what works for one brand might not necessarily work
for you. The ideal scenario is that you test different channels and strategies to see what
combination suits you best. Take time to measure key metrics and analyze if the results you're
getting that are helping you maximize your ROI. Otherwise, don't hesitate to adjust your
marketing game moving forward.

SUB MODULE 1.5.4 - CONCEPT OF E-MARKETING AND E-BUSINESS STRATEGY

To attract more customers and survive in the global market entrepreneurs have to change
means of advertising. It is not enough to have high-quality products, high-quality service, and
successful introduction of new products but the ability to embrace online marketing and
prudently deliver the products to the consumers. It is an interactive process when using
information technologies between the company and customers. E-marketing can be of two
types:
• As a marketing strategy component of a whole organization.
• As a stand-alone system, which contains all traditional marketing components.
In e-marketing, customers are not grouped into segments by the traditional demographic
method but by their behavior. To provide more and better-quality information sales
advertising is used. The number of distribution channels grows and the number of
intermediaries increases, as manufacturers discover new ways of delivering the product to
the buyer directly. Companies have to introduce a different type of marketing to be able to
adjust to new circumstances. E-marketing is characterized by certain features as shown
below:

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E-marketing is associated more with an external perspective, how the Internet can be used
to liaise with the traditional environment, providing services to customers and reducing costs
(administrative, etc.)

SUB MODULE 1.5.5 - FOUR MAJOR E-COMMERCE DOMAIN

E-business, also known as e-commerce, is the avenue used by companies in selling goods
and services via the Internet. The past ten years has seen an explosion in the world of business
technology. Companies implement technology to create a competitive advantage in the
business environment.

The major different kinds of e-commerce are:

• Business-to-business (B2B); business-to-consumer (B2C)

• Business-to-government (B2G)
• consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
• Mobile commerce (m-commerce).

What are the components of a typical successful e-commerce transaction loop?

E-commerce does not refer merely to a firm putting up a Web site for the purpose of selling
goods to buyers over the Internet. For e-commerce to be a competitive alternative to
traditional commercial transactions and for a firm to maximize the benefits of e-commerce,
a number of technical and enabling issues have to be considered. The Seller should have the
following components:
• A corporate Web site with e-commerce capabilities (e.g., a secure transaction server);
• A corporate intranet so that orders are processed in an efficient manner; and
• IT-literate employees to manage the information flows and maintain the e-commerce
system.

MODULE 1.6 - BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL START-UP

SUB MODULE 1.6.1 - ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAITS AND SMALL BUSINESS MISTAKE

While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses
that never intend to grow big or become registered, startups refer to the new businesses that
intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. Regardless of the motive of becoming an
entrepreneur, a serious and sound-minded entrepreneur must possess and exhibit the
following traits, with the ability to recognize and avoid some small business mistake.

Entrepreneurial Traits
• Passionate and unrelenting focus – Constantly keeping your eyes on the ball.
• Firmness - An entrepreneur should be able to act fast and appropriately. He has to be
flexible in decision-making but rigid in implementation.
• Time Consciousness
• Good Relationship Management
• Patience and Consistency
• Confidence, Firm and Resolute

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 • Information
• Perseverance
• Considerate
• Compliance with Regulatory Authorities

Recognizing Small Business Mistake

• Holding on to an idea for too long - It is not advisable to hold on to an idea for too long
without actualizing it. Ideas are the currency of entrepreneurs. Try out as many ideas
as possible because that is the only way to discover the ones that could be successful.

• No business and marketing plans: Business and marketing plans focus on how you
operate and plan to reach your target audience. A good business plan gives a clear
operational directive while that of a marketing plan seeks to attract your target clients
to your product or services.

• Not Knowing Your Customer - You need to keep abreast of changes in your customer
needs and situation because changes in your competitors' products and services can
push you out of your market. Take your customer's comments and criticisms seriously
and look out for changes your competitors are introducing.

• Ignoring Your Cash Position - It takes time to build a brand and to achieve product
acceptance. Even the best products do not get an immediate response when they
were initially introduced into the market. Therefore, you need to have some reserve
savings or some forms of financial support to take you through a rough time.

• Not Caring About Employees - Motivating, coaching, managing, and keeping staff is
probably one of the toughest challenges of entrepreneur/business owners today. You
need patience and people's skills to maintain a welcome work environment, otherwise
morale, productivity, and profits can easily be destroyed.

• Confusing Likelihood with Reality - Successful entrepreneurs live in a world of likelihood

but spend money in the world of reality.

• No Sales Budget Plan - Without a sales plan, you cannot gauge the financial growth
and progress of your business. You need a realistic budget for where sales will come
from, and from whom.

• Doing It Alone - You own the business but you cannot do everything on your own.
Even modest success can overwhelm you if you do not hire staff and delegate
responsibility appropriately. You need to exercise patience with your staff and avoid
high staff turn-over.
• Having No Back-Up or Mentor - Get an advisory board or a mentor. This sounds crazy
for a small business operator but helps during bad times. The advisory board can be
family members or friends that you trust. Having someone to bounce ideas off and get
an objective opinion is essential.

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 • Over Trading - Though in-adequate funding or financial resources could occur when
an entrepreneur undertakes a highly aggressive expansion strategy, thereby growing
beyond its financial capabilities. This phenomenon could be referred to as overtrading
and very unhealthy for entrepreneurship.

• Giving-Up - Some of the successful entrepreneurs failed several times before doing
extremely well. Therefore, if you fail once or more learn from the experience and try
again and again and again. That is the new wisdom.

SUB MODULE 1.6.2 - PERSONAL ASSESSMENT FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Being an entrepreneur can be an exciting and rewarding experience. However, many

people leap business ownership without determining if they are ready. We've created a self-
assessment tool to help you ask yourself the tough questions before you get started. Your
honest answers to the following questions will help you determine your readiness. Whatever
your results are, we can help you get better prepared to start your business and address your
areas of concern.

Entrepreneurship Self-Assessment Tool is usually administered, and it tests the emotional,

psychological, physiological, financial, mental readiness among other parameters. The
sample questions listed below are germane and administered.

• Are you passionate about your business idea?

• Do you understand the demands and personal sacrifices necessary when starting a
new business and will your family support your efforts?
• Are the potential benefits of owning a business worth the investment/risk involved?
• Are you capable of multi-tasking and do you have a high energy level that can be
maintained over a long time?
• Are you self-motivated and capable of working independently?
• Are you able to work more than a traditional work schedule when necessary?
• Can you identify how your skills and experience will help make this business successful?
• Have you completed a personal budget that accounts for your family's expenses?
• Are you financially prepared to cover household and living expenses without drawing
a salary while you start the business? Etc.

RESOURCES

STAGE MODULE TOPIC

BEGINNER’S MODULE 1 STARTING YOUR BUSINESS
COURSES
RESOURCES FOR MODULE 1
Exercise 1 Explain the factors that influenced your decision to become an entrepreneur?
Exercise 2 Take a critical look and consider the environmental and competitive landscape of
your country and discuss with a mentor that dream business proposal you will consider
profitable to venture into.

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Exercise 3 Give a comprehensive analysis of a business venture you have understudied over the
years in which its operational methodologies and successes appeals to you to the
extent that you are contemplating venturing into same business.

Discuss step by step what you need to do to succeed in that same business.

Exercise 4 Explain the factors that influenced your decision to become an entrepreneur?

Exercise 5 A certain Government recently increase Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5% to 8%. That
action was both economic, as well as government policy. These changes are to be
implemented at the Federal, State and Local Government levels. If similar
occurrences are witnessed in your country how will you position take advantage of
the policy and keep your business running without any serious negative consequence.

Case Study A case study of two same business line operating in same regulatory and
1 environmental landscape with extreme varying degrees of success. Further
investigation revealed that Company A complied with all regulatory issues but did a
deep analysis on some of the challenges major businesses in same sector are facing
and, in the end, it was revealed that Company A discovered some hidden
opportunities amidst the challenges and quickly implemented. Company B resulted
in using a pressure group to challenge the unfavorable business regulatory
environment which took a long time to be addressed by the authorities before
Company A regained its profit status –

As a business owner faced with similar challenge in your country or region; what step
would you have taken. How and why?

Case Study Entering a rapidly growing market where there is little competition is always very
2 attractive and full of challenges. There is high demand for the product or the service
and the company constantly make good profits until the competitors arrived. But
when this happens, defend your view on how the company can maintain its profit
level using any or combination of the underlisted parameters?

1. By adopting a more aggressive marketing strategy?

2. By lowering prices? By expanding?
3. By having a reliable brand name? Which is the most important of all these?
Further http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0702/p18s03-hfks.html
Reading www.intercom.com/blog/videos/marketing-the-job-to-be-done
Link http://www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/content/about the case study
http://referenser.apt.no/volkswagen/roulette
http://wearesocial.net/beanzforgrownupz

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