Entrepreneurial marketing is less about a single marketing strategy and more about a marketing spirit that differentiates itself from traditional marketing practices. It eschews many of the fundamental principles of marketing because they are typically designed for large, well established firms. Entrepreneurial marketing utilizes a toolkit of new and unorthodox marketing practices to help emerging firms gain a foothold in crowded markets.

In competitive markets, it can be easy to get lost in the crowd. One of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs is standing out from their competitors. Marketing in new, unusual, or aggressive ways is the best way to illustrate what makes a business unique. Below are some marketing strategies that entrepreneurs have used successfully in the past. A company can direct all of its marketing efforts towards one strategy, or use several of them at once.

• Relationship Marketing – Focuses on creating a strong link between the brand and the customer.
• Expeditionary Marketing – Involves creating markets and developing innovative products. Companies act as leaders rather than followers.
• One to One Marketing - Customers are marketed to as individuals. All marketing efforts are personalized.
• Real Time Marketing – Uses the power of technology to interact with a customer in a real time.
• Viral Marketing – Places marketing messages on the Internet so they can be shared and expanded on by customers.
• Digital Marketing – Leverages the power of Internet tools like email and social networking to support marketing efforts

Many entrepreneurial marketing strategies are born out of necessity. New businesses might have 10, five, or just one person working on their marketing efforts. They work within limited budgets and have access to a fraction of the resources that their major competitors have. Luxuries like graphic design teams and advertising consultants are often outside the means of start-ups, requiring them to find ways to make the maximum impact with limited resources.

The most common features of entrepreneurial marketing include innovation, risk taking, and being proactive. Entrepreneurial marketing campaigns try to highlight the company's greatest strengths while emphasizing their value to the customer. Focusing on innovative products or exemplary customer service is a way to stand out from competitors. They make this pitch using cheap and accessible tools including viral videos, Tweets, Facebook pages, and email marketing. Any and all marketing strategies can be considered as long as they produce results. (See also Guerrilla Marketing)

5 Benefits of Networking

As an entrepreneur, networking is a key activity that is not only fun, but critical to your personal growth and business development.

1. Shared Knowledge

Networking is great for sharing ideas and knowledge. Whether it’s asking for feedback or discussing your point of view, it will help you expand your knowledge and allow you to see things from another perspective.

It is also likely that within a group there will be those who have already been where you are today. This provides you with an opportunity to learn and avoid some of the common pitfalls they experienced.

2. Opportunities

It’s natural that networking will result in opportunities. The thing you will not know is when or how they will materialise. Whether it’s a referral, offer partnership or request for your service or product, it is important to be ready to seize opportunities when they come along.

3. Connections

Remember you are not just gaining exposure to the people in the room, you are building connections with their network too. If someone they know has a need that matches your business, if you have made an impression, you will likely get a referral.

And remember it’s not just a one-way street. If someone in your network matches a business you encounter at an event, don’t hesitate to share their details. It will only strengthen your relationship.

4. Increased confidence

By regularly networking, and pushing yourself to talk to people you don’t know, it will help increase your confidence. This is an important attribute as a business owner, because your business growth is dependent on talking to people and making connections.

5. Raising your profile

Being visible and getting noticed is a big benefit of networking. By regularly attending business and social events, people will begin to recognise you. This can you help to build your reputation as a knowledgeable, reliable and supportive person by offering useful information or tips to people who need it. You are also more likely to get more leads and referrals as you will be the one that pops into their head when they need what you offer.

Marketing vs Public Relations

Marketing	Public relations
Marketing promotes the transfer of goods and services from the producer and provider to the consumer.	Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.
Marketing's immediate goal is sales.	Public relations' immediate goal is mutual understanding or positioning of the organization with its publics.
Marketing's implicit goal is profit.	Public relations' implicit goal is positive perceptions and predispositions.
Marketing's measure of success is the number of sales and/or the revenue it generates.	Public relations' measure of success is expressed public opinion or other evidence of public support.

Socia Media Dos & Don'ts

1. DO Increase Your Marketing Leverage

2. DON'T Disagree with the Customer

3. DO Fail Fast

4. DON'T Discount the Value of Free

5. DO Seek New Revenue Streams

6. DON'T Settle

7. DO Use Automation

8. DON'T Have Mixed Messages

What is 'Market Penetration'

Market penetration is a measure of the amount of sales or adoption of a product or service compared to the total theoretical market for that product or service. In addition, market penetration can also include the activities that are used to increase the market share of a particular product or service.

BREAKING DOWN 'Market Penetration'

For example, if there are 300 million people in a country and 65 million of those people have cellphones, then the market penetration of cellphones would be approximately 22%. In theory, there are still 235 million more potential customers for cellphones, which may be a good sign of growth for cellphone makers. In general, older offerings or industries have greater market penetrations.

Market penetration encompasses the activities used to gain additional market share, such as advertising and price changes, and it serves as a measurement for the amount of market share.

Market Penetration Techniques

Market penetration techniques include any action done for the purpose of increasing overall market share, whether by encouraging consumers of similar products to switch to the company's product or by increasing the amount of the population that can be considered potential customers. Lowering prices and most forms of advertising are done to promote market penetration. Bundling products can also help gain traction in previously untapped portions of the market.

Market Penetration As a Metric

As a metric, market penetration relates to the amount of potential customers that have purchased a specific company’s product instead of a competitor’s product, or no product at all. Most commonly, market penetration in this form is expressed as a percentage, calculated by multiplying the current sales volume by 100, and then dividing that amount by the total sales volume of all similar products, including those sold by competitors.

Market penetration, as a measurement, can be used to determine the success of a company’s marketing techniques, as well as provide insight into how their product is viewed in comparison to a competing product.

Market Penetration versus Market Development

While market penetration focuses on obtaining more customers from those seen as potential customers (often those who have expressed in interest in the product category but not necessarily the business's specific product), market development focuses on increasing the number of potential customers.

This can be accomplished with some of the techniques used to increase market penetration, such as advertising and bundling, but it directs the message towards previously untapped market segments. For example, if a company with a product typically purchased by women is looking to develop the market further, it may choose to direct its advertising towards men in hopes of increasing their interest.

Choosing the Best Location For Your Business

10 Things to Consider When

1. Style of Operation

2. Demographics

3. Foot Traffic

4. Accessibility & Parking

5. Competition

6. Proximity to other businesses and services

7. Image and history of the site

8. Ordinances

9. The building's infrastructure

10. Utilities and other costs

No matter what type of product you sell, the price you charge your customers or clients will have a direct effect on the success of your business. Though pricing strategies can be complex, the basic rules of pricing are straightforward:

• All prices must cover costs and profits.
• The most effective way to lower prices is to lower costs.
• Review prices frequently to assure that they reflect the dynamics of cost, market demand, response to the competition, and profit objectives.
• Prices must be established to assure sales.

Pricing Strategies

Neutral Pricing

Neutral pricing, the most common pricing strategy, means that you price so that your customers are relatively indifferent between your product and your competitor's product after all features and benefits, including price, are taken into account.

Penetration Pricing

Penetration pricing means pricing more aggressively than neutral. It can be used to gain market share relative to your competition -- but be careful. This can and does start price wars. No company wants to lose market share, and if you lower your price in an effort to gain market share, your competitors are likely to lower their prices just to keep their share.

Forward Pricing

Forward pricing is another term similar to penetration pricing, but with a focus on future costs. If you're building a product and it costs $1 to make, you probably don't want to sell it for less than $1. However, if you know that once you sell a million units, your costs will go down to $0.30, you may be willing to sell at a price lower than your current costs knowing that your costs will be lower in the future. 

Skimming

Skimming is the opposite of penetration pricing. Companies skim in an effort to segment the market, to get the customers who are willing to pay more to do so. The two common implementations of skimming are at new product launch and at the end of a product's life.

Value-Based Pricing

Value-based pricing, another pricing strategy, is the most important. The idea seems simple. How much is your customer willing to pay? Set the price at or just below that point.

BRANDING: 5 tips to branding yourself and your business

A successful brand can go a long way with self-promotion, conveying loyalty and consistency in the quality of services you provide. 

Below are 5 tips to branding yourself and your business:

1. Define your brand and become an expert.

2. Establish a presence.

3. Generate brand awareness through networking.

4. Remember the 3 C's of branding: Clarity, Consistency, & Constancy.

5. Get feedback from family, friends, co-workers, etc.

10 Low Cost Start-up Business Ideas

In the last decade, the entrepreneurial field has increased. Tens of thousands of people are considering starting a small business. The good news is starting a small business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard. Below are some examples of small businesses with low start-up costs:

1. Accountant
2. Cleaning Service
3. Consultant
4. Courier Service
5. Errand Service
6. Graphic Designer
7. Online Retail Consigner
8. Photographer
9. Tax Preparer
10. Writer

Marketing: Impulse Buying

Do the things at the checkout counter cause you to make impulse purchases? Impulse buying is a very successful form of marketing. An impulse purchase or impulse buying is an unplanned decision to buy a product or service, made just before a purchase. One who tends to make such purchases is referred to as an impulse purchaser or impulse buyer. Research findings suggest that emotions and feelings play a decisive role in purchasing, triggered by seeing the product or upon exposure to a well crafted promotional message.

 Impulse purchases account for a significant chunk of the consumer spending pie. According to a study by Marketing Support, Inc. and Leo J. Shapiro and Associates, about one-third of all consumers make a sizeable impulse buy every week, with a median purchase of $30.

What Do Consumers Want?

Note: Adapted from "What do customers REALLY want? The Top 5 most important things revealed!", 30 May 2014," by Coreen Merryweather, 2014. (Linkedin)                 


1. Simply put, consumers want more "bang for their buck!" There's always a feeling of satisfaction when a customer feels as if they are getting a deal, an abundance of a product/service for less, great quality, etc.

2. Exceptional customer service is crucial to any business and it helps you attract and retain quality customers. Ultimately, consumers are willing to pay more for a better experience.

3. In order to keep your customers coming back over the long term, you have to do it right: "the almighty customer" should trump "the almighty dollar." Customers appreciate receiving their products on time. In doing so, it shows a company's reliability to do just what it says it will do.

4. Quality (self explanatory, right!)

5. Coreen Merryweather stated, "We want websites to be easy to navigate; products to be easy to access; for it to be easy to contact an organization. In our increasingly automated and mobile enabled world, we crave simplicity - organizations who make it difficult to interact, will ultimately lose out..."

Benefits of a Prototype

Better quality system delivered	Sometimes a developer may not fully understand what the end user is expecting. Prototyping enables any misunderstandings to be identified and sorted out early on in the process.
Identify problems early on	A working system is available early on in the process. The user can identify possible improvements which can be made before the system is completed.
End user involvement	The end user feels more involved in the development of the system and will 'buy' into it.
Fulfil user requirements	A system which has been through prototyping will generally have an improved design quality and will be far closer to what the user needs.
Cost savings	It is far less expensive to rectify problems with the system in the early stages of development than towards the end of the project.
Training	The prototype can eventually be used to help train staff while the real system is still being fully developed

Writing Journals

                                                         

There are many uses for journals: tracking your finances, doodling/drawings, managing your health, mapping your long-term goals, keeping a list of movies you'd like to see, jotting down ideas, keeping a daily record of one new thing you've learned, remembering favorite quotes, and so on.

I received my first journal when I was in the fifth grade. I would write about my experiences for that day, poems I've written, and kept a list of toys I wanted for Christmas or my birthday. As I got older, I started keeping a record of my ideas, movies I wanted to watch, my favorite quotes, etc.

In doing so, my writing improved tremendously. Also, it has become a good source to refer to when I want to revisit some of the ideas that I've had, some that are quite good. It has been very helpful and beneficial for me to keep a journal especially since I've dabbled into the entrepreneurial field. Anytime I have good ideas or insights, I write it in my journal.

Try keeping a journal. Your daily writing practice can help organize your thoughts and ideas, and in turn make you feel more emotionally and physically balanced.

Do you have a specialized topic you'd like to keep tabs on? Is there something in the news you'd like to follow? Are you interested in what blogs say about something? Would you like to follow a political candidate or celebrity?

If so, you need to set up a Google Alert. Google will send you an email when there are new results for your search, so you can keep up-to-date without constantly running searches for the same words.

Uses for Google Alerts

I currently use Google Alerts to stay informed about TV shows and movies I love to watch, politics, my favorite sports teams, world news and more.

Google Alerts is a great feature for work-related topics and job hunting. If you're unemployed or just looking for a better job, you can use all the help you can get. Google Alerts lets you search for job openings and have results delivered right to your inbox.

How to set up a Google Alert?

Navigate to the Google News page, and click on the news alerts link. Next, you define the topic, by setting any number of keywords and phrases that retrieved items need to have, the type of news you want, how often you want it, and the email address you'd like to receive these alerts at

Once your Google account is verified, you will have access to Google's news tracker. The Google Alert starts to work almost immediately once it has been set up. You should start seeing information in your email inbox on whatever time basis you've designated.

What if I want to stop the Google Alert?

If you want to stop following a Google Alert, simply navigate back to the Google Alerts page, find the feed/topic you're following, and click the trashcan icon.

Google Alerts: an easy way to find and follow topics you're interested in

In summary, Google Alerts are an easy way to quickly follow any topic you might be interested in. They're easy to set up, easy to maintain, and very versatile.

Marketing Strategies

There are a wide range of marketing strategies that a business owner/entrepreneur can engage. I've listed three (3) below:

1. Internet Marketing
   
    Internet or online marketing combines web and email to advertise and generate e-commerce             sales. Social media platforms, as well as, traditional advertising formats like radio, television, and     print can be used to bring brand awareness to consumers and to promote products and services.

2. Paid Media Advertising
 
    Paid media is a tool that companies use to grow their website traffic through paid advertising. One     of the most popular methods is pay-per-click or PPC links. Simply put, a company buys a link that     appears as an ad in search engine results when keywords related to their product or service are         searched.

3. Word-of-Mouth

   Word-of-Mouth is an age-old, unpaid form of advertising. A recommendation from a friend,                colleague, or family member could potentially turn into thousands of dollars in revenue for a              company.

Regardless of the strategy you use, marketing effectiveness is dependent on how well you execute. One should take time to research the market and choose what method of marketing works best for you.

Hey Readers,

This is my first blog. I am very excited about sharing information regarding healthy eating and living. According to HelpGuide.org, "Organic food has become very popular. There has been a rise in home grown foods, such as, vegetables, fruits, beef, and poultry. Organic crops must be grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, bio-engineered genes (GMOs), petroleum-based fertilizers, and sewage sludge-based fertilizers.

Organic livestock raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products must have access to the outdoors and be given organic feed. They may not be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal-by-products."

The benefits of organic food

How your food is grown or raised can have a major impact on your mental and emotional health as well as the environment. Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their conventionally grown counterparts  and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives often find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods.

• Organic produce contains fewer pesticides. Chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides are widely used in conventional agriculture and residues remain on (and in) the food we eat.
• Organic food is often fresher because it doesn’t contain preservatives that make it last longer. Organic produce is often (but not always, so watch where it is from) produced on smaller farms near where it is sold.
• Organic farming is better for the environment. Organic farming practices reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy. Farming without pesticides is also better for nearby birds and animals as well as people who live close to farms.
• Organically raised animals are NOT given antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed animal byproducts. Feeding livestock animal byproducts increases the risk of mad cow disease (BSE) and the use of antibiotics can create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Organically-raised animals are given more space to move around and access to the outdoors, which help to keep them healthy.
• Organic meat and milk are richer in certain nutrients. Results of a 2016 European study show that levels of certain nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, were up to 50 percent higher in organic meat and milk than in conventionally raised versions.
• Organic food is GMO-free. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered (GE) foods are plants whose DNA has been altered in ways that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding, most commonly in order to be resistant to pesticides or produce an insecticide.

As you can see there are a lot of benefits for eating organic. Just recently, I've made a choice to start the process toward healthy eating and living because, not only is it safe for me, but also, safe for the environment.