Recognize a Potential Market

 The Entrepreneurial Process of Creating New Venture

 Essentials in Entrepreneur’s Opportunity Seeking
o Entrepreneurial mind frame. This allows the entrepreneur to see things in a very
positive and optimistic way in the midst of difficult situation. Being a risk - taker, an
entrepreneur can find solution when problems arise.
o Entrepreneurial heart flame. Entrepreneur's driven passion, they are attracted to
discover satisfaction in the act and process of discovery. Passion is the great desire of an
entrepreneur to achieve his/her goals
o Entrepreneurial gut game. This refers to the ability of the entrepreneur of being
intuitive. This also known as intuition. The gut game also means confidence in one’s self
and the firm believes that everything you aspire can be reached.
 Sources of Opportunities
o 1. Changes in the environment
1.1 The physical environment includes a. Climate- the weather conditions. b.
Natural resources- such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in
nature and can be used for economic gain. c. Wildlife- includes all mammals,
birds, reptiles, fish, etc., that live in the wild.
1.2 The Societal environment includes the various forces like
a. Political forces- includes all the laws, rules, and regulations that govern
business practices as well as the permits, approvals, and licenses necessary to
operate the business.
b. Economic forces- such as income level and employment rate. c. Sociocultural
forces- customs, lifestyles and values that characterize a society. d.
Technological environment- New inventions and technology innovations.
1.3 The industry environment of the business includes:
a. Competitors
b. Customers
c. Creditors
d. Employees
e. Government
f. Suppliers
o 2. Technological discovery and advancement
o 3. Government’s thrust, programs, and policies
o 4. People’s interest
o 5. Past experiences
 Forces of Competition Model
o Competition – it is the act or process of trying to get or win something.
o five forces competing within the industry:
o • Buyers
o • Potential new entrants
o • Rivalry among existing firms
o • Substitute products
 o • Supplier

Recognize and Understand the Market

 Value Proposition (VP) is a business or marketing statement that summarizes why a consumer
should buy a company's product or use its service. This statement is often used to convince a
customer to purchase a particular product or service to add a form of value to their lives. In
creating Value Proposition, entrepreneurs will consider the basic elements:
o • Target Customer
o • Needs/opportunity
o • Name of the product
o • Name of the enterprise/company
 Unique selling proposition (USP) refers to how you sell your product or services to your
customer. You will address the wants and desires of your customers.
Some tips for the entrepreneur on how to create an effective unique selling proposition
to the target customers:
• Identify and rank the uniqueness of the product or services character
• Very Specific
• Keep it short and simple (KISS)

 A. Target Market
Market Targeting is a sage in market identification process that aims to determine the buyers
with common needs and characteristics. Prospect customers are market segment that
entrepreneurial venture intends to serve.
1. Geographic segmentation – the total market is divided according to geographical
location.
• Variable to consider
a. Climate
b. Dominant ethnic group
c. Culture
d. Density (either rural or urban)
2. Demographic Segmentation – divided based consumers.
• Variable to consider
a. Gender
b. Age
c. Income
d. Occupation
e. Education
f. Religion
g. Ethnic group
h. Family size
3. Psychological Segmentation- divided in terms for customers think and believe.
• Variable to consider
a. Needs and wants
b. Attitudes
 c. Social class
d. Personality traits
e. Knowledge and awareness
f. Brand concept
g. Lifestyle

4. Behavioral Segmentation- divided according to customers behavior pattern as they

interact with a company.
• Variable to consider
a. Perceptions
b. Knowledge
c. Reaction
d. Benefits
e. Loyalty
f. Responses
B. Customer Requirements
Customer requirements are the specific characteristics that the customers need from a
product or a service.
There can be two types of customer requirements:
1. Service Requirement
2. Output Requirement
Service Requirement:
Intangible thing or product that is not able to be touched but customer can feel the
fulfillment. There are elements in service requirement like on-time delivery, service with a
smile, easy-payment etc. It includes all aspects of how a customer expect to be treated
while purchasing a product and how easy the buying process goes.
Output Requirements:
Tangible thing or things that can be seen. Characteristic specifications that a consumer
expects to be fulfilled in the product. Costumer that will avail services as a product, then
various service requirements can take the form of output requirements. For example, if the
consumer hires a multi cab, then on-time arrival becomes an output requirement. Customer
buys gadgets (phone speaker), the specification like the loudness and clarity are the output
requirements.
C. Market Size

Entrepreneur’s most critical task is to calculate the market size, and the potential value that market
has for their startup business. Market research will determine entrepreneur possible customers in
one locality.
Market Research
Market Research or Marketing Research Process can be defined as the process of
gathering, analyzing and interpreting the information about the products or the services to
be offered for sale to the potential consumers in the market,
There are different ways to collect the data. The most important methods you can consider are
surveys, focus group discussion and interviews.
DATA COLLECTION is the most valuable tool of any type of research study. Inaccurate
data collection may cause mistakes and ultimately lead to invalid results.
TIPS in GATHERING DATA
• Organize collected data as soon as it is available
• Know what message you want to get across and then collect data that is relevant to the message
• Collect more data
• Create more data
• Regularly run experiments or collect data
• Challenge your assumptions
• Set reasonable expectations
• Take note of interesting or significant data
In this lesson, we will consider the three different data collection techniques –
SURVEY (Questionnaire), INTERVIEW and FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION – and
evaluate their suitability under different circumstances
SURVEYS are the most common way to gather primary research with the use of questionnaires or
interview schedule. These can be done via direct mail, over the phone, internet (e.g. Google) or email,
face-to-face or on Web (e.g. Skype or Viber).
When designing or constructing your own research questionnaire, remember the following guidelines.
(Edralin, 2016)
• Keep it simple as possible.
• Make sure it is clearly appealing and easy to read.
• Cluster or block related questions.
• Move from complex questions to more specific questions.
• Make sure questions are concise and easily understood.
• Avoid questions that are difficult to answer.
• Make sure any response scales used are consistent with categories that are mutually exclusive.
INTERVIEW is one of the most reliable and credible ways of getting relevant information from target
customers. It is typically done in personal between the researcher/entrepreneur and a respondent
where the researcher asks pertinent questions that will give significant pieces of information about the
problem that he will solve. The interview is also helpful even when the business has already started
because the customers’ feedback provides the entrepreneur a glimpse of what the customers think
about the business.
• Personal interviews are the traditional method of conducting an interview. It allows the researcher to
establish relationship with potential participants and therefore gain their cooperation. It generates
highest response rates in survey research. They also allow the researcher to clarify indefinite answers
and when necessary, seek follow-up information.
• Telephone interviews are less expensive and less time consuming, but the disadvantages are that the
response rate is not as high as the face-to- face interview, but considerably higher than the mailed
questionnaire.
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION (FGD) - is an excellent method for generating and screening ideas and
concepts. It can be a moderated group interviews and brainstorming sessions that provide information
on user’s needs and behaviors.
The following are considerations in the use of focus group discussions in market research:
• The length of the session is between 90 and 120 minutes.
• Usually, conduct focus groups discussion with 8 to 10 participants per group.
• Assign an expert moderator / facilitator who can manage group dynamics..
• Use a semi-structure or open-format discussion
• Strive for consistency in the group’s composition (for example, it may not be advisable to have
business customers and retail customers in the same focus group, their needs are very different)

The Marketing Mix (7P’s) in Relation to the Business Opportunity

7 P’s of Marketing and Branding

1. PRODUCT
Marketing strategy typically starts with the product. Marketers can’t plan a distribution system or set a
price if they don’t know exactly what the product will be offered to the market.
2. PLACE
Place represents the location where the buyer and seller exchange goods or services. It is also called as
the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores or online shops on the
Internet.
Channel 1 contains two stages between producer and consumer - a wholesaler and a retailer. A
wholesaler typically buys and stores large quantities of several producers' goods and then
breaks into bulk deliveries to supply retailers with smaller quantities. For small retailers with
limited order quantities, the use of wholesalers makes economic sense.
Channel 2 contains one intermediary. In consumer markets, this is typically a retailer. A retailer
is a company that buys products from a manufacturer or wholesaler and sells them to end users
or customers. In a sense, a retailer is an intermediary or middleman that customers use to get
products from the manufacturers.
Channel 3 is called a "direct-marketing" channel, since it has no intermediary levels.
In this case the manufacturer sells directly to customers.
3. PRICE
The price is a serious component of the marketing mix. What do you think is the meaning of a Price?
4. PROMOTION
Promotion refers to the complete set of activities, which communicate the product, brand or service to
the user. The idea is to attract people to buy your product over others. Advertising, Personal Selling,
Sales Promotion, Direct Marketing, and Social Media are examples of promotion.
5. PEOPLE
Your team, a staff that makes it happen for you, your audience, and your advertisers are the people in
marketing. This consists of each person who is involved in the product or service whether directly or
indirectly.
6. PACKAGING
Packaging is a silent hero in the marketing world. Packaging refers to the outside appearance of a
product and how it is presented to the customers. The best packaging should be attractive enough and
cost efficient for the customers. Packaging is highly functional. It is for protection, containment,
information, utility of use and promotion.
7. POSITIONING
When a company presents a product or service in a way that is different from the competitors, they are
said to be “positioning” it. Positioning refers to a process used by marketers to create an image in the
minds of a target market.

Develop a Brand Name

Commonly Used Branding Strategy

1) Purpose
"Every brand makes a promise. But in a market in which customer confidence is
little and budgetary observance is great, it’s not just making a promise that
separates one brand from another, but having a significant purpose," (Allen
Adamson).
How can you define your business' purpose? According to Business Strategy
Insider, purpose can be viewed in two ways:
a. Functional. This way focuses on the assessments of success in terms of
fast and profitable reasons. For example the purpose of the business is to
make money.
b. Intentional. This way focuses on fulfillment as it relates to the capability
to generate money and do well in the world.
2) Consistency
The significant of consistency is to avoid things that don’t relate to or improve
your brand. Consistency aids to brand recognition, which fuels customer loyalty.
3) Emotion
There should be an emotional voice, whispering "Buy me". This means you allow
the customers have chance to feel that they are part of your brand.
4) Flexibility
Marketers should remain flexible to in this rapidly changing world. Consistency
targets at setting the standard for your brand, flexibility allows you to adjust and
differentiate your approach from your competition.
5) Employee Involvement
It is equally important for your employees to be well versed in how they
communicate with customers and represent the brand of your product
6) Loyalty
Loyalty is an important part of brand strategy. At the end of the day, the emphasis
on a positive relationship between you and your existing customers sets the tone
for what potential customers can expect from doing business with you.
7) Competitive Awareness
Do not be frightened of competition. Take it as a challenge to improve your
branding strategy and craft a better value in your brand.