Welcome to marketing4entrepreneurs.com The idea behind this dedicated marketing community for Irish and International entrepreneurs is to: share insights into winning marketing and sales  avoid pitfalls and making the same mistakes once! get to next level objectives as quickly as possible.  If you'd like to join us - simply subscribe  and/or contact Community Facilitator : Greg Byrne . There's no cost - just make deposits when you can, as well as withdrawals from our KnowledgeBank. Spring '08 GrowthPaths Newsletter - Is Out Now!! Welcome to our Spring edition of GrowthPaths. We have the first quarter of 2008 done, we're well into Q2 and it's fair to say that economic slowdown and caution are shaping the picture for the next 12 months. In this issue we're looking therefore at marketing in a new economic environment- marketing your way through a recession, testing and recalibrating your sales methods and channel maps and cutting the cost of inefficient marketing and sales. Marketing your way through a recession. Instead of cutting market research budgets and advertising budgets, John Quelch of Harvard Business School councils you need to know more now about how customers are redefining value and responding to slowdown and even increase advertising to improve market share and reassure uncertain customers that you are not going away. Cutting the costs of ineffective marketing and sales. Its time to review your products , reappraise the key differences between yours and the key competitors - particularly in the context of the emerging market slowdown where new customer value points may be adopted - and once again brand that differentiation in the markets mind. effective product positioning cuts the costs of ineffective marketing and sales. Test and recalibrate your sales approach, methods and channels. Existing customers and prospects are experiencing new needs, priorities and changing requirements. Sales methods and channels that worked well for the last 5 years may undergo significant change - don't get caught unawares . The art of positioning product enhancements. A possible strategy for many entrepreneurs will be in re-packaging and adding enhancements to good existing products- read the London Business School Centre for Marketing Working Paper for insight into 'The Art of Positioning Product enhancements'. Great names are a powerful force!. .Here are marketeers passionate and deeply knowledgeable about branding. Read about the differences, pros/cons to the four types of brand name and look over the brand names and logos they've created across all sorts of product categories- medical devices to the semantic web - fantastic. The Journey Ahead Ahead lies The Entrepreneurs Journey and the winning marketing and sales decisions that must be made in the three stages of growth. Use your warrior spirit to carry you forward Take the growth stages quiz - see which stage you really are at? Create a compelling 'mission statement' for your team to live by. There are many trials, tribulations and hurdles to jump during the journey. Not all threaten the viability of the venture - but there are some common marketing mistakes that can. Check for the 'Missing Marketing' Always test to see if you are applying your core competencies/skills and key marketing assets in the right applications, product solutions and in the best markets. Use Rob Ryan's Competency, Applications, Markets Flower If you are starting out in the software business, Michael Cusumano, MIT Sloan Management Review Distinguished Professor of Management, has some advice for you. How will markets change as more and more consumers migrate online? What business models do you consider in this new 'digital' era? Michael Rappa , the Alan T. Dickson Distinguished Professor of Technology Management at North Carolina State University has created the educational site to address these and other 'Managing the Digital Enterprise' challenges and opportunities. Always listen out for the 'voice of the customer' - it can lead to new products, new services and most importantly an army of customer-marketers who advocate your business to their friends, family and colleagues. Consumers ( and your customers!) are increasingly going online to : chat amongst close friends, find like-minded people in communities of shared interests, debate and discuss topical issues, give and ask for information and support on important matters, shop, play and increasingly create new products and services in collaboration with companies. Stay tuned and be involved! in this major , seismic change. What are You Better At! For a business to be viable, it has to do something as well as its competitors; however,to survive, thrive and win in a competitive market, it has to do something better than its competitors. And then communicate this convincingly to the customer group that will value it the most. That's about staking out your market position.... What is your position in the market? .....If you're short on the answer, find out about the three steps and six key questions to get you there. Being first to market is the formula for success- right?. Not so-unfortunately. It's only half the battle. The most important marketing task is yet to be done - market positioning Entering and Capturing Markets Choosing the best way to enter a market is no simple task for entrepreneurs. There's a decision-guidance tool to help you and your team devise the best strategy.In the KnowldgeBank there are insightful case studies from great entrepreneurs- like Mario Polegato of Geox  and how they go about their international market expansion. In Monica Eisinger's case study, you'll see how they moved from an initial telecomms market into another, more rapidly growing market. Internationalisation needs to be a part of the tool set for every entrepreneur doing a start up. This doesn't necessarily mean going international immediately - but it does need planning from the get-go. Here's some guidance on getting export ready. Ronald van Bueren shares practical and real insight into hiring your first export manager One of the first questions an investor will ask of the start-up/emerging stage entrepreneur is : 'What is your product market category?'. Not knowing the answer and not having the marketing research and analysis to back up the answer can be fatal to the funding outcome. New Product Development Peter Drucker wrote that a business has two and only two basic functions: marketing and innovation - marketing and innovation produce results, all the rest are costs. Nowhere is marketing and innovation more critical to the ventures success than in the 'total product solution'  Your initial 'hot product' gets you the foothold in your target market - but what next? You have 9 strategic options to consider in deciding the product-market growth path for the venture. Transitioning from early market success to mainstream market liquidity with your new product is anything but smooth - it's the wrecking rocks for many technology ventures. Specific growth strategies are needed Making An Indellible Impression In the early stages of an entrepreneurial venture, growth depends on the 'three-Ps' - publicity, promotion and personal selling. For these to be really convincing - nail your singular selling message by using the 'Need-Feature-Benefit' Tool Achieving the second stage of 'rapid growth' takes branding and getting your brand message across. What makes for a Leadership Brand? It takes Time and a 4 stage progression in customer perceptions. Your brand must 'beckon' ( call customers to your door) and it must 'breathe' ( deliver its promise in all interactions). Here's a handy brand implementations template to help you ensure both happen seemlessly. In consumer markets branding is paramount , the big challenge is to get your product into the consumers mind. In business markets however it's all about influencing the Company's decision making unit -  Key Account Management is the essential tool. Are your early/emerging stage customers hearing the sound of silence from you?. Maybe it's now time to revisit them Check Out The KnowledgeBank! The Community's KnowledgeBank holds the marketing ideas, innovations and insights - contributed by member entrepreneurs, the panel of experts and the THREE LITTLE PIGS CO. Everybody gives -first- to get back! Read our case study /entrepreneur insights : Mark Bezner, OLYMP shirts in Germany, Mario Polegato, GEOX shoes in Italy, Monica Eisinger , MIND telecommunications solutions in Israel , Gerry Mc Caughey, Century Homes in Ireland and Richard Reed's Innocents Smoothies success story. John O'Dea , serial entrepreneur and CEO of Irish Medical Devices Companies raises the importance of focusing your investment dollars for your eventual exit and Terence Monaghan shares the paralells between Jim Collins 'Good To Great' analysis and his own journey from MBO, through transformation and on to Trade Sale of BetaTHERM Sensors. Many thanks to the ICFAI Center for Management Research in India for their insightful interviews with two of the marketing greats - Al Ries and Jack Trout , authors of 'The 22 Immutable Laws of  Marketing' Get The Sales Sizzle Sell the sizzle -not the steak! Find out how your customers value your service product and sell your benefits , not the features! We also have some of Ken Morse's Sales Insights - Ken is Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center and a successful serial entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs and salepeople share many common characteristics - check it out and see how many of them you have!  The question is often asked - What is the best sales process? Get the answer on the 'Sales Sizzle' page. Subscribe To GrowthPaths - Join The Community GrowthPaths is the regular Community Newsletter - updating members about new content in the KnowledgeBank. Editor is Greg Byrne. greg@marketing4entrepreneurs.com Phone (mobile) : 353 86 175 5164 Postal : 31 Ashton Park, Monkstown, Co Dublin IRELAND Privacy Privacy Statement: Marketing 4 Entrepreneurs is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We know how valuble your contact details and privacy are to you and we use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal information you provide on computer servers with limited access that are located in controlled facilities. Members and subscribers names and addresses will not be divulged to third parties. Spamming will not be allowed.

The Winning Marketing Decisions That Grow A Business -How Successful Entrepreneurs Do It "...It looks like you have covered the ground pretty thoroughly... good luck with the Irish entrepreneurial community" Professor Joseph B. Lassiter III, Harvard Business School. find out more Online Marketing Assistance   You are  welcome to 'chat with us' . If we're not online,Please do check back later or leave a message...     Offline Marketing Assistance Dublin City University                                          On the last Friday ( mornings) of every month you can meet Greg Byrne in the DCU Invent Centre . To book , please Email maeve.freeman@invent.dcu.ie University College Dublin On the first Monday (afternoon) of every month you can meet Greg Byrne in the NovaUCD Innovation & Technology Transfer Centre. To book , please Email  mailto:nova.reception@ucd.ie?     Winning At Exhibitions Winning Business Plan Market Attractiveness Assessor Finding Opportunities For New Products  Mission Statement Template New Product Development Template Customer Relationship Calculator Key Account Relationship Evaluator  Template : Integrated Marketing Communications  Getting Buyer Trust For Your New Product    What do customers buy? A Brand Architecture To Avoid Confusion    Visit the Three Little Pigs Co. Many thanks to Harvard for it's working knowledge More Tools -next page              Visitors  from around the worlds universities,colleges and research institutes   Australia The University of Western Australia, Australia Central Queensland Institute of TAFFE, Macay Campus, Australia Central Queensland University, Australia Department of Education Library, Queensland, Australia Education of Western Australia Southern Cross University Canada Centennial College of Applied Arts, Ontario Universite du Quebec a Montreal Humber College, Ontario Algonquin College, Ontario Wilfrid Laurier University Seneca College, Ontario Germany Leibniz-Rechenzentrum der Bayerischen Akademie, Germany Johann wolfgang Goethe Universitaet Frankfurt, Germany Universitaet Stuttgart Ireland Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway, Ireland DCU Invent, Dublin, Ireland Cork BIC at the National Software Centre Japan National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan Malaysia Open University, Malaysia Malaysian Institute Of Microelectronics Systems Universiti Tecknologi MARA Malta University of Malta Romania National Institute for R&D in Informatics, Romania Research Institute For Informatics, Romania Singapore Republic Polytechnic, Singapore South Korea Sungkyunkwan University Pohang University of Science & Technology Handong University Singapore Management University Switzerland Ecole Dinginieurs du Canton de Vand Thailand Asian Institute of Technology UK Birmingham College of Food Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College Greenwich University, UK Liverpool John Moore s University, UK University of Wales, UK Bournemouth University, UK Anglia Polytechnic University, UK Warwickshire University, UK USA University of California, Los Angeles, USA California State University, USA Cornell University, New York, USA Boston University, Mass., USA University of Kentucky Northern Michigan University State University of New York at Buffalo, USA Michigan Technological University Monroe Woodbury Schools, New York, USA National Aeronautics & Space Administration, Alabama University of Michigan, USA Houston Independent School District, Texas, USA Indiana University, USA University of Phoenix, Arizona University of Oregon, USA University of Utah, USA Duquesne University, Pennsylvania, USA University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, USA University of Maryland, USA University of New Hampshire Vanderbilt University, Tennessee Texas A&M University, Texas, USA Rollins College, Florida, USA Ohio State University, Ohio, USA University of Pennsylvania Wake Forest University, North Carolina

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