iHub Consulting By Mel Mbugua / September 24, 2012
Entrepreneurial Marketing Is Grimy
by Maureen Gitau
“Marketing for Start-ups is dirty work, it’s about rolling up your sleeves and diving in” those were the words of Andrik Kristinsson, founding CEO of Innovit Entrepreneurship Center, during a recent talk given at the iHub. The talk organized by iHub Consulting tackled the beast that is getting your product known.
“There really is no magical solution” says Andrik ‘It’s about identifying your target market, knowing what needs or problems your product solves and then building of that.” Being user-centered is key to success, because at the end of the day, it’s what the client wants and it’s the client who pays. To strike a balance between company philosophy and client needs, start-ups must have a position statement that succinctly states what they do and why. This will be their anchor amid evolving client needs.
Founders should be at the frontline of marketing. Start-ups shouldn’t hire until they’ve gotten the process right. This means they’re able to get direct feedback from clients and incorporate changes into the product swiftly. It gives ample room to test and play around with the product until the perfect marketing strategy is found.
If you are wondering where to start the answer is your contact list. Email and call everyone who can use your product. Post on all relevant blogs, walls and forums. “That’s what we did at our startup, and those initial 3 hours of calls and emails are still running our business to date” testifies Andrik.
Lastly, measures of success are important. Start-ups should have at least 5 key metrics on which to gauge their success. Measurable results give a clear picture where the company is at and where it should be. With this right, the rest is simple. Execute, measure, tweak, iterate.
Download the full presentation here.
Author : Mel Mbugua
Mel is a thinker and doer who focuses her energy on activities which seek to find new ways of educating young people to develop their critical thinking and creativity skills. She is currently the lead at iHub Consulting. @melmbugua
Categories
Recent Posts
- Apply for the Intel Technology to Market Accelerator in Silicon Valley: Deadline June 23rd 2013
- The PIVOT East 2013 Checklist: Kampala & Nairobi | June 25-26 2013 | Sheraton Kampala & iHub
- Steve Rogers officially opens the iHub UX lab
- Zege Technologies emerges Second Best in Dragons Den Pitching Competition in South Africa
- How to Build Your Career in Social Enterprise | Tuesday June 18 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm | iHub
Tag Cloud
africa community design developers event fireside chat Ideas iHub iHubResearch (R@iHub) Innovation Intel kenya launch Meetups microsoft mobile nairobi open data PIVOT25 private sector projects Research robotics startups talks techies Technology training Umati volunteersRelated Posts
- ‘The Social Network’ & Entrepreneurs: Lessons from the movie – Saturday June 8th, 7 – 9:30 pm, iHub
- NRBUZZ: DIGITIZING MARKET RESEARCH
- FIRE Programme Awards 2013: Submit your applications by May 31st
- BeUnreasonable Nairobi | 10th – 12th May, 2013 | GrowthHub
- The power of openness in revealing hidden talent in a tech community
1 comment
Entrepreneurial Marketing Is Grimy | InnovationAfrica at 14:07:17PM Tuesday, September 25, 2012
[...] Go to Source Related Posts:From Startup to LeaderStart-Up Profiles – BityarnICT Hubs: Assessing the Impact of African ICT Hubs to the EntrepreneursEntrepreneurial pricing: characteristics and implications of pricing in SMEs and start-upsLocal Start Up NikoHapa Featured on BBC /* Andrik, iHub Consulting, Marketing For Startups [...]
Reply