The PATHFINDERS[/b]
By Aditya Tanwar and Abhinav Kumar
Many believe that the most important element in starting a new venture is amassing capital but we hold a different view. It is not the human resource, not the operations to be handled and not the finances but it is the market for your idea which determines the success of your entrepreneurial venture. If i or you were to start a new venture tomorrow what is the first thing that will come to your mind? Whether the business idea is feasible or not, whether there is any market potential for your business idea and most importantly how profitable is your idea.
Initiation[/b]
Entrepreneurship is not about innovation but about initiation, risk taking and the ability to go that extra mile. It is a myth that an idea initiates a new venture. Rather it is your urge to start a new venture that takes you towards an idea and your first step. Along with the urge there should be a risk taking capability and the zeal to market your product/service. Starting a business involves not only creating a unique product but also involves a unique communication channel to market your brain child. For instance Mr. Mansukhbhai Jagani an ordinary, not well educated farmer in Mota Devaliya village, Gujarat developed a machine system called Santi for small farm holdings, complete with attachments for tilling, weeding and sowing. It was basically a motorcycle modified to do farming in place of bullocks. The project was recognised and accredited by various institutes like IIT and MIT. He even got a patent with the help of National Innovation Foundation (NIF). But the innovation never got executed into a business venture. What do you think could be the reason behind it? The project was never marketed by Mr. Jagani. Despite being such a revolutionary innovation which is cost effective and as well as fuel efficient, i.e it could plough one acre of land in just half an hour consuming only two litres of fuel, Santi never got so popular that it could replace the bullocks from the Indian farms.
In February 2012, just when the Union Government issued an order on ban on importing second hand Photocopy Machines which could lead to a rise in the price of a photocopy from Rs 1 to almost Rs 5, two men came forward and claimed to photocopy for just Rs 10 paise/page when the current price is almost Rs 1 per page and is expected to rise to Rs 5 per page? TM Sandeep gave up his job at Goldman Schs to join hands with his friend K Anand to launch their startup Photocopy Inc. Both Sandeep and Anand, alumni of Loyola College, Madras, promised to give a photocopy for 10 paise/page. Their concept is a perfect illustration of entrepreneurship based on pure marketing business model. Their idea was simple, to share their profits generated by the advertisements displayed on the flipside of every photocopy. Since they generated their revenue from the advertisements on the flipside of the paper, therefore they could lower the price of the photocopy from Rs 1 per page to 10 Paise/page.
The 3 factors Theory[/b]
Clearly the above examples illustrate the importance of marketing but it is not a cake-walk. The confidence generated in the market is the measure of success rate of your marketing endeavours. Therefore focusing on our marketing strategies when starting a business becomes all the more important, so what are the factors which determine the success of your marketing strategies? 3 basic factors are Distinctiveness, Quality and Presence of your product or service.
Distinctiveness[/b]
There are very few people in the world who choose to remain distinct. Steve Jobs was one of them, with products like i-pod, i-phone and i-pad, he was the brand ambassador of innovativeness. So what is it that will make your product/service distince? To make a distinct product/service one should make sure to incorporate 3 things into his venture: Innovation, Value Creation and Irreplaceability.
Quality[/b]
The lifecycle of a business venture is determined by the quality of the product or service provided by the businessperson. Therefore one should set ‘standards’ and ‘benchmarks’ for the product and services being provided. Another factor which can prolong the lifecycle of your venture is the ‘trust’ that you can generate in your customers for your product/service and the trust will come only when you provide a quality product/service.
Presence[/b]
If Thomas Edison after inventing the bulb would have sat in his home under the bulb then how would have the world got to know about his invention and how would have the world’s one of the largest electrical company GE would have come into existence. Therefore the most important function when venturing into a business is making your presence felt. You will have to ‘promote’ your product/service, cover the required area or target market and make yourself ‘visible’ among the consumers and competitors.
And Finally..[/b]
Entrepreneurial marketing is vital as it helps in reducing the liabilities that a new venture faces initially by creating a market and pushing the company sales forward. Marketing is an integral part of a new venture, from marketing your idea to the venture capitalist to marketing your idea to your customers, entrepreneurial marketing has taken a very important role. Entrepreneurial marketing helps you “create your own space” in highly saturated and competitive market.
[/b]