Global Entrepreneurship Institute

Discussions of Marketing Strategies and Working With Nonprofits 

Social cause marketing is the planning and implementation of sound marketing concepts and tools in commercial marketing programs in existing companies that are designed to influence individuals, modify behaviors that improve their well being, and bring about change in society. Learn how you can incorporate social cause marketing into your next business plan. Continue reading ‘What is social cause marketing?’ »

Booz Allen Hamilton’s annual study of the world’s largest corporate R&D spenders finds two primary success factors: aligning the innovation model to corporate strategy and listening to customers every step of the way.

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BusinessWeek: Small Business

These are some great talking points in this article by John. Thanks for setting up a great discussion. We believe that best marketing research comes from studying “lead users.” Continue reading ‘Market Research On The Cheap’ »

Managing Customer-Specific Relationships

Customer relationship management (CRM) combines a strategic business approach with technology. Managing customer relationships begins with a strategic awareness based on customer-focused themes. Continue reading ‘How will you manage your customers via the Internet?’ »

Discussion About The Benefits of a Networked Enterprise

It is important that your networked components of business become an extension of your business model and business practices rather than just some adjunct service to a complex revenue event or a small element of your value chain. Continue reading ‘How will the Internet help your business?’ »

Discussions About Creating a Collaborative Advantage

Created within each of these three relationships in your networked enterprise should be a system of constant interface to a value-added environment for information exchange. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a business leadership series professor at Harvard Business School, describes this interface as a “collaborative advantage.” Continue reading ‘How will you collaborate with your customers?’ »

Discussion About Your Marketing and Sales Controls

After working on your marketing and sales strategy, it is important to establish measurements that focus on key controllable variables that reflect performance results in your marketing and sales efforts. Continue reading ‘What are marketing and sales controls?’ »

Introducing the Catalysis Sales Approach 

Many entrepreneurs proceed by looking at a hundred different opportunities and ideas for their product, with the belief that their success will come in numbers. But only the most experienced entrepreneurs know there is just no way to go after all of them. As David Packard of Hewlett-Packard stated, “Many companies die from indigestion of opportunities rather than starvation.” Continue reading ‘What is the catalysis sales approach?’ »

Discussions About Your Sales Tactics

 Since it is the least-discussed buying situation in literature and academic circles, and the most important for new business venturing, from this point on we shall direct our discussion to the entrepreneurs choosing their sales tactics for facilitating a new-task buying situation. Continue reading ‘What are your sales tactics?’ »

Preparing Your Value Map 

Today’s venture capitalists look to market traction, or “referenceability,” as the single most important element before investing in a new business venture. Brooke Seawell, general partner of Palo Alto-based Technology Crossover Partners, which invests primarily in expansion and late-stage start-ups, says, “The most important thing is, can I go to four or five referenceable customers who can tell me why they like this company over competitors.” Continue reading ‘What is a value map?’ »

In 1961 Finis Conner headed for California with $100 in his pockets. After a studying at San Jose State University he worked at the Memorex Corporation where he met his future business partner, Alan Shugart. Together they founded Shugart Associates in 1973, where they produced and sold 8″ hard disk drives. The company was sold to Xerox Corporation in 1977. Continue reading ‘Case In Point: Finis Conner, A Salesforce of One’ »

Discussions of Your Revenue Model

Put simply, no business can exist without top line revenues from sales, no matter how well the other functions are handled. Your business plan must detail how you plan to price and sell your product, and how much money you plan to make. The basics should cover three broad aspects: your selling tactics, your revenue model, and your sales cycle. Continue reading ‘What is a revenue model?’ »

Marketing Through a Sales Crusader

There are many great marketing, sales, advertising, and branding books and courses out there. They all say the same thing, that you need to create a marketing strategy that goes out looking for the customer. Unfortunately, all this literature and great in-class discussion accomplishes little for the emerging venture. Continue reading ‘What is a sale crusader? Do we need sales reps?’ »

Discussions About Setting Marketing And Sales Objectives

The first objective of any business venture is to figure out how to gain paying customers. A great product without customers is not a business, though it may be a little more than a science project. Marketing involves increasing customer awareness, delivering a well-thought-out message about your product or service, and identifying customer prospects. Sales involves various efforts to convince those potential customers to buy your product. Continue reading ‘What are marketing and sales objectives?’ »

Discussions About Getting Sales Traction

Today’s venture capitalists look to market traction, or “referenceability,” as the single most important element before investing in a new business venture. Brooke Seawell, general partner of Palo Alto-based Technology Crossover Partners, which invests primarily in expansion and late-stage start-ups, says, “The most important thing is, can I go to four or five referenceable customers who can tell me why they like this company over competitors.” Continue reading ‘What is sales traction?’ »

Discussions About Lead Users

Dawn Lepore, former CIO for Charles Schwab, told us that everything—from defining your space to defining and analyzing your market, to creating the perfect product or new service—starts with a focus on the customer. Continue reading ‘What are lead users?’ »

Japanese automakers create single products and brands for worldwide consumption, while Ford customizes products for local markets. You know who won. Why do global brands work? What makes them work? Harvard Business School Professor John Quelch provides some answers.
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For marketers, the Internet changes everything — and nothing at all. For example, it enables companies to instantly reach consumers in different countries and economically tailor messages to them based on demographics, buying habits and other information. Yet it doesn’t free these companies from the constant challenge of building distinct, durable brands. Continue reading ‘Brand Managers’ High-wire Act: Going Global and Staying Local’ »

When Apple dropped the price of its iPhone by a third after only two months on the market, even its most loyal buyers complained bitterly, forcing chief executive Steve Jobs to apologize and offer a partial rebate. This is an excellent discussion about new market entry strategies, pricing strategy, and technology adoption.
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With more than $300 million in sales in its first week on the market, “Halo 3 is truly a cultural phenomenon,” says Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. This is an incredible story about new product launches, as this is one of the most successful new product sales in history. This is an incredible story about “corporate entrepreneurship” because the gaming division in Microsoft was started as a new business inside of Microsoft.
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