October 28, 2007

Mindblocks against entrepreneurship

Few months back, I had written about Life Plan [the planning phase to Entrepreneurship] and as mentioned in the comments of that article, The Right Mindset is so very important. Just came across an interesting article on Economic Times, which describes the Five Common mindblocks against Entrepreneurship , which are listed below :
  1. You don’t have a lot of money in the bank.
  2. Someone mentions the words “business plan” to you, and you stare blankly.
  3. You don’t know anything about bookkeeping.
  4. You’re not sure you have the dedication it takes to stick with it.
  5. You’re afraid of selling.
Also, if you are in India, than "Age when a person thinks about Marriage", could also be a mindblock , not only to Entrepreneurship but also to join a startup wink

Read the complete article here

Related Article :
Are Blogger's the best recruit for startups
Seven Signs of an Entrepreneur
Can small companies too take the plunge in M&As?

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October 26, 2007

Are BLOGGERS the best recruits for STARTUPS?

This is a thought that has been running into my mind since many days.I was just trying to research on mentality of bloggers[at least the guys whom I know in my blogging fraternity].Over a period of time, I have realized that Blogging is not a simple job[also it is not that difficult as well].Few days back, someone just told me "Blogging is just writing your thoughts...so what is the big deal in it?" As you might have guessed, he did not have a blog and this is where the thought to this article struck my mind.

Based on my experience on blogging and interactions with other bloggers, below are the top 5 reasons "Why bloggers are the best recruit for startups?".

1. Bloggers are COURAGEOUS & OPEN MINDED
Blogging is a simple platform where you express your thoughts but the catch word here is "EXPRESS".Blogs spread like fire and you never know who is reading your blog.But it always takes a lot of courage to go on this platform and being noticed/criticized.For example: One of my friend's asked me "Can I blog?".My reply was "Why not".He told that "My communication skills are not so great and hence,people may treat me bad" but now "He has already started blogging and we already discuss about Blogs in our free time" biggrin At the end of the day, it takes courage to be criticized.

Being criticized, gives bloggers more COURAGE to EXPRESS and Courage is what Blogging is all about!!!

2. Bloggers always THINK OTHERWISE
It is very important to see the right things first and start finding defects in the same.Bloggers are expert critics ,be it a website/consumer electronic good/M&A/Business Stuff or any other topic.If a non-blogger would think in a direction A, Blogger would always try to think in a different direction[and also question Direction A], not to prove the other person wrong but to find a better solution.

So, Bloggers don't only think WISE but they also think OTHERWISE !!!

3. Bloggers always BORN COMPETITORS
Bloggers always want to compete, first competing with themselves to come up with very good articles and second to compete with the competition.Have you ever heard conversation between bloggers.It starts with Technorati ranking, Alexa ranking and other such statistics.Blogging is no longer about writing , it is also about competition with the other bloggers especially if there is a Collaborative Blog.Check out the articles here and here, which proves the same.

So, Bloggers always want to be a CUT ABOVE THE REST and it is their general tendency on outlook to beat the competition.

4. Bloggers are GOOD RESEARCHERS
Ask anyone "Which Venture Capital(VC) has invested money in a startup XYZ" and most of the times, the guy who answers this question correctly is a Blogger.But what makes the Blogger get interested in this topic? It is his/her inbuilt curiosity TO KNOW MORE , which makes him/her to read about the same.

GOOD RESEARCH makes people more knowledgeable and come up with better results and this is a daily routine in a Blogger's life!!!

5. Bloggers are EXCELLENT NETWORKERS
Blogging is all about coming out with good piece of information and networking with others.They love to network and meet other bloggers/non-bloggers and hear from them.You would find them in any Networking event either blogging in a corner or exchanging cards with other bloggers or doing some other stuff.Network of a blogger can help bring other people on board(who share the same passion) and this can help Bootstrapping or initial scaling up faster.

BLOGGING is nothing but NETWORKING and Bloggers know this the best!!!

In a nutshell:
Bloggers can wear Multiple hats and this is what make them ideal in a startup biggrin
Note:
If you have some other thoughts, kindly add them in the comments section and I would glad to add them in the article.

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October 22, 2007

Let's recruit , the INNOVATIVE way ...

How many times do you come across an advertisement "Wanted Software Engineers Experience: 2+ Skills : C, C++, RTOS etc etc." cry Opportunities always look good and we jump to say "Yeah this is the company and suddenly out of nowhere , that company becomes your DREAM company".

But times are slowly changing and the way in which companies place Job Advertisements is also changing[though slowly and steadily]. Currently, there are many options for a suitable candidate to change a job and companies need an "ADDITIONAL TOUCH" in their Advertisements to lure the right person to join the organization smile

Try a Google search on Why should I work in a startup , after browsing through a couple of the crawled websites, I came across an interesting presentation titled : Why should you quit your job for a startup.The contents of the presentation touched upon all the aspects of a startup : Funding, Team Work, Learning , Salary[in a Venture backed startup] etc etc. but the end[Slides#7 and 8] was quite dramatic, "The presentation was an advertisement for a startup Cobaan and the benefits of working in Cobaan"


Now let us move from India to the west, where you find the ultimate source of innovative job advertisement.Netflix , the online DVD Rental company in the US[and one of Guy Kawasaki's hot favourite] has an interesting list of benefits(if you work in Netflix). The advertisement is not like a recruitment page but it is written in such a way that makes the reader to JOIN Netflix that very moment biggrin The advertisement also touches on the dominance of Netflix in the online DVD rental business!!! Below are the top 8 reasons[listed on the site] to work in Netflix.

After reading them, you would feel that Netflix is the ONLY company you could ever work for !!!
  1. Netflix delights people
  2. We're democratizing movie distribution
  3. Values Matter
  4. Rules annoy us
  5. We pay well
  6. Consistently outstanding people
  7. We love movies
  8. We're creating an amazing future
Click on the image below to read the complete description:

Hey wait, but I could not see what are the Technical requirements for Netflix wink These are small examples of how companies have started to realize that sometimes you need more than a normal advertisement to lure the job seeker.

Times are sure changing and companies need to be innovative in every angle to send a message to the job-seeker - IF YOU ARE NOT WORKING HERE, YOU ARE TRULY MISSING SOMETHING !!!

Netflix inputs : BusinessWeek

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October 21, 2007

Simplicity Challenge : Think Simple and Win...

Some of the readers would be wondering if this blog is turning into an event calendar sad Of course not, but whenever I write about some unconference or a conference or some other event, we can see "The changing face of a rising India" biggrin

While watching CNBC, came across an interesting contest called TheSimplicity Challenge which is open ONLY to students from the age 18-30.

What is the Simplicity Challenge?
You can check the details here

Interesting highlight was the definition of BIG IDEA:
An idea is a business opportunity to improve people’s lives and create value for individuals and communities. If it does that, it automatically makes marketing sense. And the simpler the idea, the more sustainable it is likely to be.
So, there is a Social Entrepreneurial angle to the contest [since, your idea would help in making lives simple & better, which is also the mantra of Philips - Sense and Simplicity].

Terms and Conditions :
You could read them here

Prizes to be won :
From the Simplicity Challenge Website:
If your idea is voted by the viewers as amongst the first 4, you can look forward to prizes like the Philips Ambilight LCD televisions, in addition to all the publicity. And if your idea is judged the Number One, you will receive a cash prize of Rs 15 Lakhs. And, an introduction to a Venture Capitalist, who can turn your idea into a commercial success, and you into the hottest entrepreneur of the year.
More details here , here and here

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October 20, 2007

Third Party applications now on iPhone !!!

After the success of FaceBook being open to developers, it was now the turn of the hottest product ever to be open to developers....Developers would now be able to download their applications in the iPhone [but from the month of February,08]. As per the statement from Steve Jobs, "iPhone would be COMPLETELY open to APPLICATIONS" surprised Below is a copy of the statement from Steve Jobs [taken from Apple's official site]:
We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.
Source : Apple Hot News

Related News:
Apple iPhone hacked !!!
Nokia Taps Web Developers for Next Killer Mobile App [Thanks Manish Panchmatia]
MySpace open up to developers

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October 19, 2007

Startup Camp : Sun's unconference for the Startup Community


Long time back, there was a Podcast which focussed on Sun's strategy to help Startups .Just came across an excellent initiative[taken in this direction] by Sun Microsystems named Startup Camp, details of which are given below:

What is StartupCamp?
Startup Camp is an unconference-style event that's dedicated to bringing together the various members of the startup community for a face-to-face collaborative meetup where its the attendees that drive the agenda [in true unconference fashion]

What's hot in StartupCamp?
There are topics which would address each and every corner of a Startup right from Starting Up to Funding a Startup to Managing a startup to Scaling a startup and many more... Some of the HOT topics are given below:
  1. How to start without funding?
  2. Software Practices for Start-ups
  3. Intellectual Property Issues for Startups
  4. Venture Labor as an alternative to Venture Capital
  5. Marketing with $0.00
  6. Developing a winning team
Check out the complete list of Discussion Topics here

When and where:
New York,USA [22-23 October,2007] [Oops, the Unconference is not in India but we can surely watch out other attendee's blogs for more details into the actual event.biggrin]

How to register:
More information about StartupCamp here.You can register for the event here

More Coverage:
Ian Murdock sheds light on StartupCamp

Reader Contribution:
Sun Startup Essentials Guide [Thanks Vaibhav Pandey]

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October 18, 2007

Approaches to new product development - Part II

In continuation to the previous article on "Approaches to new product development - I", below are the other approaches as described from the book "Lateral Marketing" by Philip Kotler and Fernando Trias.

4. Innovation based on design:
Consists of :
Modifications of design in order to communicate different lifestyles.
Effects in the market:
Amplification of targets.
Differentiation by lifestyle.
Example:
Watches: In case of Swatch, design is the main source of innovation.Swatch introduces new models every year but the external appearance is a major change.
Design based innovations are those which create a new product by changing its external appearance.
5. Innovation based on Complements:
Consists of :
Adding ingredients or complimenting/adding additional services.
Effects in the market:
Ability to better serve concrete segments or niches.
Increase in the range of products.
Examples:
Hand soap : Soap with moisturizers, antibacterial soap etc.
Computer Services : A computer service can offer maintenance, ink toner replacement while also being repaired etc.
Innovations based on complements consist of adding complementary ingredients or additional services to the basic product or service.
6. Innovation based on effort reduction:
Consists of :
Reduction of the effort customers make in the purchase process.
Effects in the market:
Conversion of potential buyers into current buyers.
Ability to reach maximum penetration of the product or service.
Examples:
Perfumes: A firm known for expensive perfumes decided to introduce mass market perfumes in attractive bottles at much lower prices.Through the effort reduction of lower prices, the firm converted an enormous mass of potential buyers into current buyers.
Innovations based on effort reduction consist of modifying your not the product or service, but rather the efforts and risks involved in the purchase.
Conclusion:
These innovations consist of continued variations on what the product or service is, but do not intend to modify it's essence.The innovations occur within the category in which they compete, since the methodologies for creating them assume a fixed market.

Related Article:
Approaches to new product development - Part I

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October 16, 2007

Approaches to new product development - Part I

During my way back from Mumbai to Bangalore[early this morning] , I was reading an interesting book "Lateral Marketing" by Philip Kotler and Fernando Trias.The book had an interesting section where the innovations from various fields were classified on basis of Size, Design etc.Some of those approaches to new product development are given below:

[Note : This article is divided into two sub-parts and the next one would follow soon]

1. Innovation based on modulation:
Consists of :
Increasing or decreasing any characteristics of the product or the service.
Effects in the market:
Amplification of targets.
Ability to better serve concrete segments.
Examples:
Juices: with low sugar content, with more fruit, with vitamins, without additives etc.
Banking: with monthly interest payment, without charges for credit card usage, with high number of offices, with higher trained staff etc.
Module based innovations vary any basic characteristic of the product or service by increasing or reducing the weight, importance or degree of that characteristic.
2. Innovation based on sizing:
Consists of :
Variations of volume, quantity or frequency.In this case, the product or service never changes.
Effects in the market:
Amplification of targets.
Amplification of consumption occasions.
Examples:
Soft drinks: Half a liter, one liter, two liters etc.
Internet connection service:Free usage in the night, Bonus of 30 minutes per day etc.
Sizing based innovations consist of introducing a new product or service in the market by varying the volume, frequency or number of products(or services) offered.
3. Innovation based on packaging:
Consists of :
Modifications of container or packaging.
Effects in the market:
Amplification of targets.
Amplification of consumption occasions.
Examples:
Chocolates: One container [containing chocolates] is a small, simple paper-box sold in kiosks or candy shops.A much bigger paper-made box is marketed in supermarkets or hypermarkets and it's function is family consumption at home.
Banks:Banks having different brands oriented to different target markets expressed through the office layouts etc.There are banks for lower class, middle class, higher middle class and higher class.
Packaging based innovations consist of creating new products by modifying only the container, the packaging or the environment.Many times, the packaging changes can be made together with the sizing changes.
Approaches to new product development - Part II would be covered in the next article.

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October 14, 2007

10 new rules for Entrepreneurs !!!

Three days away from my favourite job(Blogging) and the time was spent in travel biggrin Today I met one of my blog readers from a different city and I understood that "BLOGS REALLY MEAN NETWORKING" biggrin Coming back to the topic, just came across a nice presentation "Small is beautiful" on Garage Technology Ventures.

It says "Instead of building a startup by the normal means" try this - "Building a lean, scrappy, nimble company without raising piles of money".The focus is more on value since, once we have the right value, wealth would follow!!!

Below are the top 10 new rules for Entrepreneurs and Investors:

Fundamental Objective:
Old rule: Create wealth
New rule: Create value

Getting started:
Old Rule: Brilliant entrepreneur
New Rule: Brilliant entrepreneurial team

Sharing the vision:
Old Rule: Craft a Mission Statement
New Rule: Create a Mantra [Old Guy Kawasaki statement]

Management style:
Old Rule: Plan the work, work the plan
New Rule: Ready, fire, aim!

Business Model:
Old Rule: Raise capital
New Rule: Generate revenues

Foundation of Innovation:
Old Rule: Good old American know-how
New Rule: Good new Global know-how

Competitive advantage:
Old Rule: First mover advantage
New Rule: Fast adaptor advantage

Marketing Strategy:
Old Rule: Build it and they will come
New Rule: Everyone sells

Pace of change:
Old Rule: Innovation is accelerating
New Rule: Market penetration is slow

Source of Innovation:
Old Rule: Technology drives innovation
New Rule: People trump technology

It was very important for me to repeat these rules here since, they are to be memorized !!!

Read the complete presentation from here

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October 11, 2007

Avenues, 07 : IITB Golden Jubilee Celebration

Indian Institute of Technology ,Mumbai (IIT-B) will celebrate its Golden Jubilee this year.Shailesh J Mehta School of Management,IIT Mumbai celebrates this occasion with Avenues 07, its Annual International Business Festival.

The festival is from 27th-28th October,2007.

Events for which registrations are open:

  1. Samadhan - The Operations Case Analysis Competition
  2. Chitra Katha - The Short Film Contest
  3. Udgam - A Consulting Challenge
  4. Prashnavali - The Mega Quiz
  5. Jantar Mantar - The Systems Game
  6. Mudra - The Finance Games
  7. Yukti - The Marketing Game
How to register:
To register for the event, please follow this link

For more details:
More details about the schedule here & here
Details about the speakers here

For any queries, please contact at:
Vishakha Mittal: vishakha.mittal@iitb.ac.in
Bhupendra Jagdev: bhupendra.jagdev@iitb.ac.in

Related Links:

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October 9, 2007

Don't delay things : Eat that frog

This article is written more with a selfish motive(that it would help me in my day to day life) and at the end of the article, you would also feel that "You should eat that frog" smile How did the frog come into picture, you would know later on.....

Most of the times, when there is too much to do in too little time, simple things tend to look complex and as a result of which , very few of the planned activities get completed on time wink. How many times does it happen that you plan to complete an activity "A" in the office and complete the activity "B" when you leave the office? This is about Prioritization and many a times, I fail to do the same.As Startup Gurus say "Prioritization is an important aspect in Entrepreneurship".

Many a times, even though we set the right priority, we fail to achieve our targets in the speculated period of time .One of the possible reason's is "We Delay those activities , which again makes simple things complex"

I am sure that you must also be thinking that "I also have experienced a similar problem, some day in my life".There was an article titled "Do you keep delaying things? Eat that frog!" about which I wanted to blog(few days back) but that too got delayed cry

The exceptional part of the article was it's "Seven steps to avoid procrastination", which are as mentioned below:
Step one: Decide exactly what you want.
Step two: Write it down. Think on paper. When you write down a goal, you crystallize it and give it tangible form. You create something that you can touch and see.
Step three: Set a deadline on your goal; set sub deadlines if necessary.
Step four: Make a list of everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal.
Step five: Organize the list into a plan. Organize your list by priority and sequence. Take a few minutes to decide what you need to do first and what you can do later.
Step six: Take action on your plan immediately. Do something. Do anything. An average plan vigorously executive is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done.
Step seven: Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal. Build this activity into your daily schedule.
You can read the complete article here. This article has helped me plan my activities in a better way(than before) and if you found the article helpful as well as interesting, than you can download the book "Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy" from here.

The article also had a beautiful quote by Stephen Covey - "Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make sure that it is leaning against the right building." Most of the times, we finish at the wrong end since, our beginning itself is not correct and I am sure that this book would be a valuable resource to "EAT THAT FROG" smile.

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October 7, 2007

DARE- Indication of Entrepreneurial bug in India !!!

Few months back , there was an article which mentioned about StartupNation - the radio show in US, which is solely focussed on Entrepreneurship. Guess what , India is also catching up in the rat-race with the launch of a new magazine(on Entrepreneurship)-DARE (Because Entrepreneurs Do) by Cybermedia.The logo of the magazine is very interesting with red R signifying the fire in the blood of the Entrepreneurs biggrin.

Few days back, I picked up the first issue of DARE and the content is pretty informative as well as organized. Some of the notable/ interesting sub-sections in the magazine are as given below:

Icon : How to be the next Narayana Murthy [very interesting article]
Funding/Equity : How to get into Private Equity
Opportunity/Idea : This features "Entrepreneur of the Month" - VSS Mani of JustDial
Policy : Insights into Legal Policies for Startups & 15 minutes guide to Trade Marks
Brands : Insight into Brand Management
Campus : Article on Campus Incubation
Strategy/IT : Web 2.0 & Digital signatures

[Note : Website of DARE is coming soon !!!]

Check out the podcast of Pradeep Gupta , Managing Director of CyberMedia sharing his thoughts on Entrepreneurship.


[Credits : Kamla Bhatt]

All in all, an interesting magazine, which gives an insight into the Entrepreneurial scene in India and a guide to watch out for in future smile. I guess, time is not far when we would soon have a StartupNation in India as wellwink.

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October 6, 2007

B - Competitions : Vista and Lakshya

It is the season of Business Competitions and this time , we have Vista & Lakshya[on the same days(12th-14th) in the month of October,07].

Vista - IIM Bangalore (IIMB) Annual Business Summit:
Vista is IIMB's business competition that would be showcasing the latest trends in industry over the years. The theme of Vista 2007 is ReBusiness. The theme highlights the paradigm shift in manner of conducting business and the same would be reflected in the events hosted during Vista 2007 - to be held between October 12th and 14th,07.

You can find more details here and here
[Thanks Alok Padhi for this information]

Lakshya - NITIE(National Institute Of Industrial Engineering) B-Competition:
As mentioned on the Lakshya website:
Organized by PGDIE students of NITIE, Lakshya aims at broadening the outlook and honing the skills of practicing managers. The middle level managers present live industrial projects which brought significant change in the performance of their organization.
You can find more details here and here

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October 3, 2007

"Traditional Marketing" v/s "Guerrilla Marketing" - Part II

This is in continuation to my earlier article , which listed the 9 differentiators between traditional marketing from guerrilla marketing.Below are the other 9 differentiators between the two sides of marketing:

Note: Guerrilla Marketing is referred as GM in the article.

Traditional Marketing v/s Guerrilla Marketing:

Strategy #10 - Use "You" Marketing:
Traditional marketing is "Me" marketing.A prospect goes to a company's website and it says "Let me tell you what we do, let me tell you why the company is so big" whereas GM is "You" marketing.GM is always oriented to the customer and not the company, because people are more interested in themselves than in any company.

Strategy #11 - Use Marketing combinations:
Traditional marketing would have people believe that just advertising works or having website works or a particular medium of advertising works.Whereas GM says that times have changed and hence, you need a combination of strategies.Days of single weapon marketing do not work anymore since, we are living in a time where only marketing combinations work biggrin

Strategy #12 - Embrace technology:
Traditional marketing never made allowance for technology since, technology was too complex and it was hard for an average business owner to understand.Things have changed now and Marketers need to be tech-friendly and need to go hand-in-hand with the technology.

Strategy #13 - Create partnerships:
Traditional marketing instructs to compete with the competition whereas GM says to forget the competition and scan the horizon for those businesses with which the firm can cooperate.
The reason: Marketing partners lower the total marketing costs & increase the reach of both the partners.Hence, co-operation(and not competition) is the backbone of GM.

Strategy #14 - Help customers succeed:
Traditional marketing is also about "taking" and about seeing how much money they can get from each of their customers whereas GM is all about "giving".GM thinks about what they can do to help their customers achieve their goals since, this is what would ultimately help to flow the profits into the company.

Strategy #15 - Build relationships:
At the end of each month, traditional marketers count how much money they have brought in whereas Guerrilla Marketers count how many new relationships they have made.The reason - Longer the relationships, the more sales they will eventually make and the more profits they would eventually earn.

Strategy # 16 - Consider the details:
Traditional marketing only identifies the mass weapons of marketing like radio, television, magazines , newspapers and other mass marketing medium.Due to this some of the minute things in marketing getting unnoticed whereas in case of GM , each and every aspect of marketing is important.
Guerrilla Marketers are aware of all the details of marketing , including the attire worn by their company's representatives and how their employees treat the people on the telephone.Thus, each and corner is important in case of GM.

Strategy # 17 - Gain consent:
Traditional marketing has always aimed to make the sale with the marketing but the reality is that it is very hard to make a sale with one piece of marketing.Whereas GM aims to gain consent since, once the business has gained consent, it markets only to those people.When a company does that, it is not wasting money by mailing to or marketing to disinterested people.

Strategy # 18 - Increase the Marketing Arsenal:
Last but not the least, traditional marketers always had a limited arsenal.They fail to identify some of the unusual weapons of marketing which is quickly identified by the Guerrilla Marketers and many of them are free.
Companies that use GM are going to find out that their marketing arsenal may consist of twenty different weapons , and of those weapons , many of them would be free lol Hence, the bottom line is : The size of the arsenal of the Guerrilla Marketer is much larger than the arsenal of the traditional marketer.

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October 2, 2007

"Traditional Marketing" v/s "Guerrilla Marketing" - Part I

What is Guerrilla Marketing?
Guerrilla Marketing is pursuing conventional goals using unconventional means.It begins with an idea for how to generate profits for a business and become a circle when that business has the blessed patronage of repeat & referral customers.

More about "What is Guerrilla Marketing" as described by it's so called father Jay Conrad Levinson here
In my opinion:
From a blogger's point of view, Guerrilla Marketing comes into picture when the no of readers of your blog increase since, the first few readers of your blog are the ones that have spread the word about your blog wink
Traditional Marketing v/s Guerrilla Marketing:
There are lot of differences when we compare the traditional marketing with Guerrilla Marketing and this is the strategy that keeps Small & Medium Businesses(SMB) alive & kicking.In the book "The best of Guerrilla Marketing", Jay Conrad has described 18 strategies that differentiates traditional marketing from Guerrilla marketing.The article is divided in two sub-parts, the first 9 key differentiators are listed below:

Note: Guerrilla Marketing is referred as GM in the article.

Strategy #1 - Invest Time, Not money:
Traditional marketers say that a marketer's primary investment should be money.With GM, the primary investments should be time, energy and imagination.If marketers are willing to invest enough time, energy and imagination;they don't have to invest as much money.

Strategy #2 - Measure performance by Profitability:
Traditional marketing measures it's performance by sales while guerrilla marketing focusses on profits.Anybody can achieve high sales, but it takes talent to generate ever increasing profit.
For example: A store owner may feel that more the no of purchasers in the store, more is the profit.But many times, more sales does not result in an increasing profit.The reason - They are not making a lot of money on each sale & the cost of doing business is subtracting more.Hence, guerrillas focus more on profit because that's how executives build their business.

Strategy #3 - Spend Small:
Traditional marketing has always been suited for big businesses.The reality is GM is geared to small businesses with big dreams - but a tiny bank account biggrin

Strategy #4 - Maintain Focus:
Traditional marketing says that companies should grow their businesses large & than diversify into different fields & services.GM says that companies will probably get in trouble if they do that; the ability to maintain focus will lead to a company's success much more than it's concept of diversifying.

Strategy #5 - Know the tools:
Traditional marketing is full of guesses; marketers are not sure if it includes sales and they are not certain if advertising really is marketing.Guerrilla marketers feel no sense of intimidation and to them, there is no mystique about marketing.

Strategy #6 - Eliminate Guesswork:
Traditional marketing has always been about guesses whereas GM is based more on psychology.For example: Guerrilla marketers know that 90% of purchase decisions come from an unconscious mind, and they know that such a manner of accessing human unconscious mind is through repetition.

Strategy # 7 - Grow Geometrically:
Traditional marketing has always said that companies should focus to add new customers one at a time and that is an expensive way to grow : Arithmetically. GM tries to grow companies geometrically, enlarging the size of each transaction; and having more transactions from each customer.It is always easy to sell to an existing customer which in turn results into the birth of new customers(as a result of referral from the existing customers)

Strategy # 8 - Target individuals:
Traditional marketing always aims it's messages at groups,the larger the group the better.GM aims it's message at individuals , just a few at a time; if it's going to be a group, the smaller the group the better.

Strategy # 9 - Follow Up:
Traditional marketing seems to have aimed at making sale, period while GM is big on Follow Up.Guerrilla Marketers say "You have to make a sale and than follow up with that customer".Most of the lost businesses is not due to bad service but due to loss of apathy after the sale.Customers are ignored after the sale.
That's why Guerrillas follow up with all of their customers and stay in touch with them.They can't wait for customers to come to them; they have to constantly be proactive and get in touch with their customers,through any medium.This also gives an indication that "You are valued and are very important biggrin"

The other nine differentiators would follow in the next article.

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