dan amune, imsu icep,2011-2012.(danconsultants@yahoo.com)

THE MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF ENTREPRENEURIAL FIRMS[center][/center]
Today, the world is driven towards entrepreneurship. Everyone is expected to have an entrepreneurial spirit. In every country of the world, there exist firms, both small and medium scale that is entrepreneurial in nature. Every of this firms have their own activities. But first, let us take our time to x-ray of some of the words inherent in our topic of discuss today.
First, let us define the word marketing?
Marketing definition as generally accepted is the management process of identifying consumer needs and satisfying them profitable. But for the purpose of this discuss, we shall stick to the definition of marketing by a marketing guru, Phillip Kotler. He said that “marketing is a set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges”. The underlined words will also form part of our discussion today, as these human activities are part of the entrepreneurial activities.
For effective breakdown, let us look at the Ps of marketing; commonly called the 4ps of marketing:
The first "P" can be considered to be product or product strategy. But this is nothing more than positioning, which itself includes virtually all aspects of how a product is designed to be perceived by a consumer. You as an entrepreneur should endeavour to always product lines. Having more than one product that will suite different classes. An example is a caterer who produces chips. It is important to note that not all the consumers are in the same class. Therefore, it is necessary to produce in both nylons and cans and also in bottles, so as to satisfy the different classes of customers.
PRICING: In pricing, the entrepreneur must understand how to use price penetration strategy properly in entering into the market place. Especially when the product is not a propriety one (his brainchild). He must understand when to adjust the price and when not as this affects the company’s profit immensely. He must understand properly customers’ perceived value of his product, as this will be what the customer would use as his yard stick for determining if you.
PROMOTION: This has to do with all the methods of communication that the entrepreneur may use to reach the target audience. This is very important as these would determine his reach, and subsequently the demand for the product and ultimately, his profit. Issues such as advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion, must be critically considered. A quick one: your staffs are very important as they help handle your word-of-mouth marketing, which is also your public relations.
PLACE: This has to do with the places at which the consumers get the product and services. The consumer’s convenience is grossly considered here. Distribution is considered here. What is the distribution channel used to reach the consumer. The entrepreneur must work out this in a very strategic manner.

Addendum:
People
An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the organisation wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage. Consumers make judgments and deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact with. Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, atititude, aptitude and service knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for. Many British organisations aim to apply for the Investors In People accreditation, which tells consumers that staff are taken care of by the company and they are trained to certain standards.
Process
Refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service. Imagine you walk into Burger King and you order a Whopper Meal and you get it delivered within 2 minutes. What was the process that allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery? Banks that send out Credit Cards automatically when their customers old one has expired again require an efficient process to identify expiry dates and renewal. An efficient service that replaces old credit cards will foster consumer loyalty and confidence in the company.
Physical Evidence
Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix which allows the consumer again to make judgments on the organization. If you walk into a restaurant your expectations are of a clean, friendly environment. On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be able to lay down!
Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix; consumers will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which will have an impact on the organisation’s perceptual plan of the service.

Secondly, what is entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the act or process of identifying business opportunities and gathering the necessary resources to initiate a successful business activity. It is important to note that successful entrepreneurship demands a good acquisition and use of knowledge of a particular business or venture and the people who make up the industry, i.e., its publics. Knowledge seeking includes part of the activities of entrepreneurial firms.
Who is an entrepreneur?
Simply put, an entrepreneur is someone who organises, operates and assumes the risk for a business venture. Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English defined an entrepreneur as one who organises a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit. Entrepreneurs are risk takers. In a single sentence, an entrepreneur is a person who starts, organises, manages, and assumes responsibility for a business or other enterprise
An understanding and familiarity with marketing theories and marketing techniques are fundamental to the success of entrepreneurial activities. Marketing in itself is purely entrepreneurial and should play a critical role in any entrepreneurial business.
What makes an entrepreneur succeeds are those things they are either doing or not doing well. Hence, the needs for this discuss _ Marketing Activities of Entrepreneurial Firms. So join me as we ride on the journey towards taking a critical look at these activities.


For clearer understanding, we shall divide these activities into:
1. Innovative activities.
2. Risk bearing activities
3. Proactive activities.

1. What are those innovative activities that every entrepreneurial firm should embark upon?
They are:
a. Product Development: Every entrepreneur should seek ways by which to develop new product and also make the existing ones better. An example is the popular Alhaji Dangote. He started with single product line, but today, boost of many product line, including, spaghetti, noodles, macaroni, sugar, etc.
An example of making an existing product better is seen in the innovative packages that the telecoms companies keep rolling out. They do this just to make their customers happy and stick to them.
b. Eagle eye for investment opportunities: Every opportunity well seized, often brings about a paradigm shift for any organization. There are investment opportunities always springing up at every point in time. But question is “which one is a viable and profitable?” So every entrepreneur must seek profitable investment.
c. Service innovation: These activities cannot be over-emphasized. It is one of the marketing activities of entrepreneurs that make him better. Ultimately, it behoves every entrepreneur to seek ways by which his product and services would be better improved for the continuous satisfaction of the customer. Take an Eatery owner, for instance, he must do everything possible to capture feed-backs from the customers. He should be interested in their criticism, and their grievances, as these would only serve as a basis for his improvement.

2. RISK BEARING ACTIVITIES: Every entrepreneur is like the proverbial donkey who is a burden bearer. Every day, the entrepreneur faces risk. Therefore, risk taking becomes an activity. Entrepreneurs bear the risk of the business. He carries the pains, the blames, (and of course, the glory of the business). It is important to note that entrepreneurial activities are quite risky. It is most important to say here, that this should not paralyse your zeal and enthusiasm as an entrepreneur. Just be willing to take moderate risk. When you take risk as an entrepreneur, there is a business possibility of gain. Part of the risk the entrepreneur bears are:

i. Competition
ii. Change in prices
iii. Style or fashion
iv. Changes from fluctuating economic conditions.
v. Customers’ response that may be negative.
The major activities he embarks on as regards risk bearing are:
 Continuous seeking of new source of material sourcing as this would enable him to reduce the cost of his production, and ultimately selling, so as to have a competitive selling price.
 Distribution and logistics activities also involved here. He bears the risk of making the goods to reach the final consumer from the manufacturer. So if he has a shipment on the offshore, he doesn’t sleep well, even in the comfort of his air-condition bedroom. He knows that if any happens the business is affected.
 Decision taking: the entrepreneur also bears the risk of every decision taken so he is careful in making decision as to what opportunities to exploit. He critically analyses each opportunity, if possible he should do Cost to Benefit Analyses (CBA), or any other relevant ratio analyses that will clearly show the viability of any project he intends to embark upon. Because of the changes from fluctuating economic conditions, he is expected to make reasonable decisions in response to these condition as they develop and change.
 Analysing Current And Future Economic And Market Conditions. These would help you as an entrepreneur to overcome the changes that occur regularly in our environment. By regularly analysing economic activity, the entrepreneur is able to reduce his risks.
 Another very important activity of the entrepreneur is that of INSURANCE. He must endeavour that he looks into insurance policy that favours his business per time. No matter how small you are, there is always an insurance policy that can cover for any losses that may occur in your business. All you need do is seek proper advice from an isurer, which is sometimes free. This will help me not to feel the burden of loss so much. Every entrepreneur should endeavour to look into this.

PROACTIVE ACTIVITIES: Entrepreneurs are more proactive than any set of individuals on the earth. It is expected to be part of the personality of any entrepreneur.
Some of the proactive activities the entrepreneur engages in include:
a. Identification of Gap: In business, there is room for overtaking. Therefore, any gap you leave uncovered will be taken up by another business man. And you will lose your customer and also your footing. Ultimately, entrepreneurs must understand that business environment is dynamic and not static. And must therefore seek out new methods of doing things and satisfying the customers each day, so as not to leave the gap for others to overtake. They must ensure efficient logistic control, accurate lead time, and effective customer feedback unit. It is important to note here that entrepreneur must show care for the customer and not profit motive.
b. Allocation of scarce resources: This is another proactive activity that entrepreneurs engage in. When resources are adequately allocated, then profit is guaranteed. The amount of working capital that should be maintained at what particular time is determined. This helps him know what short-term investment he can take advantage of, so as not to have idle cash. If you as an entrepreneur do not know what investment to look or what opportunities to take advantage of per time, then it would be difficult for you to efficiently manage your resources.


c. Developing a Niche: Developing a niche is another proactive because, by you creating a niche for yourself, it means that you have taken an initiative to carve out a particular or concentrated arena for yourself. Some people then know you for having that special strength in your type of business.



d. Thinking inter-continental: Globalization is now the name of the game. Entrepreneurs must seek out ways by which they will be engaged in international and comparative marketing. When you as an entrepreneur have been able to achieve success in your home country, you can seek out neighbouring countries that need your products and services. Although the international market has its own trouble waters, it is still full of opportunities and it is open to all. So before other business men go into those regions, you should be proactive enough to think out ways by which you could enter into those regions and make a footing for yourself.

References:
Okeke J.C. (2012) “ENTRENEURNEURSHIP”. Student Lecture book.
Phillip Kotler(2002) “Marketing Management”
7ps Extended Marketing http://www.learnmarketing.net

dan amune, imsu icep,2011-2012

THE MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF ENTREPRENEURIAL FIRMS[center][/center]
Today, the world is driven towards entrepreneurship. Everyone is expected to have an entrepreneurial spirit. In every country of the world, there exist firms, both small and medium scale that is entrepreneurial in nature. Every of this firms have their own activities. But first, let us take our time to x-ray of some of the words inherent in our topic of discuss today.
First, let us define the word marketing?
Marketing definition as generally accepted is the management process of identifying consumer needs and satisfying them profitable. But for the purpose of this discuss, we shall stick to the definition of marketing by a marketing guru, Phillip Kotler. He said that “marketing is a set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges”. The underlined words will also form part of our discussion today, as these human activities are part of the entrepreneurial activities.
For effective breakdown, let us look at the Ps of marketing; commonly called the 4ps of marketing:
The first "P" can be considered to be product or product strategy. But this is nothing more than positioning, which itself includes virtually all aspects of how a product is designed to be perceived by a consumer. You as an entrepreneur should endeavour to always product lines. Having more than one product that will suite different classes. An example is a caterer who produces chips. It is important to note that not all the consumers are in the same class. Therefore, it is necessary to produce in both nylons and cans and also in bottles, so as to satisfy the different classes of customers.
PRICING: In pricing, the entrepreneur must understand how to use price penetration strategy properly in entering into the market place. Especially when the product is not a propriety one (his brainchild). He must understand when to adjust the price and when not as this affects the company’s profit immensely. He must understand properly customers’ perceived value of his product, as this will be what the customer would use as his yard stick for determining if you.
PROMOTION: This has to do with all the methods of communication that the entrepreneur may use to reach the target audience. This is very important as these would determine his reach, and subsequently the demand for the product and ultimately, his profit. Issues such as advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion, must be critically considered. A quick one: your staffs are very important as they help handle your word-of-mouth marketing, which is also your public relations.
PLACE: This has to do with the places at which the consumers get the product and services. The consumer’s convenience is grossly considered here. Distribution is considered here. What is the distribution channel used to reach the consumer. The entrepreneur must work out this in a very strategic manner.

Addendum:
People
An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the organisation wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage. Consumers make judgments and deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact with. Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, atititude, aptitude and service knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for. Many British organisations aim to apply for the Investors In People accreditation, which tells consumers that staff are taken care of by the company and they are trained to certain standards.
Process
Refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service. Imagine you walk into Burger King and you order a Whopper Meal and you get it delivered within 2 minutes. What was the process that allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery? Banks that send out Credit Cards automatically when their customers old one has expired again require an efficient process to identify expiry dates and renewal. An efficient service that replaces old credit cards will foster consumer loyalty and confidence in the company.
Physical Evidence
Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix which allows the consumer again to make judgments on the organization. If you walk into a restaurant your expectations are of a clean, friendly environment. On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be able to lay down!
Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix; consumers will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which will have an impact on the organisation’s perceptual plan of the service.

Secondly, what is entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the act or process of identifying business opportunities and gathering the necessary resources to initiate a successful business activity. It is important to note that successful entrepreneurship demands a good acquisition and use of knowledge of a particular business or venture and the people who make up the industry, i.e., its publics. Knowledge seeking includes part of the activities of entrepreneurial firms.
Who is an entrepreneur?
Simply put, an entrepreneur is someone who organises, operates and assumes the risk for a business venture. Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English defined an entrepreneur as one who organises a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit. Entrepreneurs are risk takers. In a single sentence, an entrepreneur is a person who starts, organises, manages, and assumes responsibility for a business or other enterprise
An understanding and familiarity with marketing theories and marketing techniques are fundamental to the success of entrepreneurial activities. Marketing in itself is purely entrepreneurial and should play a critical role in any entrepreneurial business.
What makes an entrepreneur succeeds are those things they are either doing or not doing well. Hence, the needs for this discuss _ Marketing Activities of Entrepreneurial Firms. So join me as we ride on the journey towards taking a critical look at these activities.


For clearer understanding, we shall divide these activities into:
1. Innovative activities.
2. Risk bearing activities
3. Proactive activities.

1. What are those innovative activities that every entrepreneurial firm should embark upon?
They are:
a. Product Development: Every entrepreneur should seek ways by which to develop new product and also make the existing ones better. An example is the popular Alhaji Dangote. He started with single product line, but today, boost of many product line, including, spaghetti, noodles, macaroni, sugar, etc.
An example of making an existing product better is seen in the innovative packages that the telecoms companies keep rolling out. They do this just to make their customers happy and stick to them.
b. Eagle eye for investment opportunities: Every opportunity well seized, often brings about a paradigm shift for any organization. There are investment opportunities always springing up at every point in time. But question is “which one is a viable and profitable?” So every entrepreneur must seek profitable investment.
c. Service innovation: These activities cannot be over-emphasized. It is one of the marketing activities of entrepreneurs that make him better. Ultimately, it behoves every entrepreneur to seek ways by which his product and services would be better improved for the continuous satisfaction of the customer. Take an Eatery owner, for instance, he must do everything possible to capture feed-backs from the customers. He should be interested in their criticism, and their grievances, as these would only serve as a basis for his improvement.

2. RISK BEARING ACTIVITIES: Every entrepreneur is like the proverbial donkey who is a burden bearer. Every day, the entrepreneur faces risk. Therefore, risk taking becomes an activity. Entrepreneurs bear the risk of the business. He carries the pains, the blames, (and of course, the glory of the business). It is important to note that entrepreneurial activities are quite risky. It is most important to say here, that this should not paralyse your zeal and enthusiasm as an entrepreneur. Just be willing to take moderate risk. When you take risk as an entrepreneur, there is a business possibility of gain. Part of the risk the entrepreneur bears are:

i. Competition
ii. Change in prices
iii. Style or fashion
iv. Changes from fluctuating economic conditions.
v. Customers’ response that may be negative.
The major activities he embarks on as regards risk bearing are:
 Continuous seeking of new source of material sourcing as this would enable him to reduce the cost of his production, and ultimately selling, so as to have a competitive selling price.
 Distribution and logistics activities also involved here. He bears the risk of making the goods to reach the final consumer from the manufacturer. So if he has a shipment on the offshore, he doesn’t sleep well, even in the comfort of his air-condition bedroom. He knows that if any happens the business is affected.
 Decision taking: the entrepreneur also bears the risk of every decision taken so he is careful in making decision as to what opportunities to exploit. He critically analyses each opportunity, if possible he should do Cost to Benefit Analyses (CBA), or any other relevant ratio analyses that will clearly show the viability of any project he intends to embark upon. Because of the changes from fluctuating economic conditions, he is expected to make reasonable decisions in response to these condition as they develop and change.
 Analysing Current And Future Economic And Market Conditions. These would help you as an entrepreneur to overcome the changes that occur regularly in our environment. By regularly analysing economic activity, the entrepreneur is able to reduce his risks.
 Another very important activity of the entrepreneur is that of INSURANCE. He must endeavour that he looks into insurance policy that favours his business per time. No matter how small you are, there is always an insurance policy that can cover for any losses that may occur in your business. All you need do is seek proper advice from an isurer, which is sometimes free. This will help me not to feel the burden of loss so much. Every entrepreneur should endeavour to look into this.

PROACTIVE ACTIVITIES: Entrepreneurs are more proactive than any set of individuals on the earth. It is expected to be part of the personality of any entrepreneur.
Some of the proactive activities the entrepreneur engages in include:
a. Identification of Gap: In business, there is room for overtaking. Therefore, any gap you leave uncovered will be taken up by another business man. And you will lose your customer and also your footing. Ultimately, entrepreneurs must understand that business environment is dynamic and not static. And must therefore seek out new methods of doing things and satisfying the customers each day, so as not to leave the gap for others to overtake. They must ensure efficient logistic control, accurate lead time, and effective customer feedback unit. It is important to note here that entrepreneur must show care for the customer and not profit motive.
b. Allocation of scarce resources: This is another proactive activity that entrepreneurs engage in. When resources are adequately allocated, then profit is guaranteed. The amount of working capital that should be maintained at what particular time is determined. This helps him know what short-term investment he can take advantage of, so as not to have idle cash. If you as an entrepreneur do not know what investment to look or what opportunities to take advantage of per time, then it would be difficult for you to efficiently manage your resources.


c. Developing a Niche: Developing a niche is another proactive because, by you creating a niche for yourself, it means that you have taken an initiative to carve out a particular or concentrated arena for yourself. Some people then know you for having that special strength in your type of business.



d. Thinking inter-continental: Globalization is now the name of the game. Entrepreneurs must seek out ways by which they will be engaged in international and comparative marketing. When you as an entrepreneur have been able to achieve success in your home country, you can seek out neighbouring countries that need your products and services. Although the international market has its own trouble waters, it is still full of opportunities and it is open to all. So before other business men go into those regions, you should be proactive enough to think out ways by which you could enter into those regions and make a footing for yourself.

References:
Okeke J.C. (2012) “ENTRENEURNEURSHIP”. Student Lecture book.
Phillip Kotler(2002) “Marketing Management”
7ps Extended Marketing http://www.learnmarketing.net