Marketing Interview

The marketplace today has proven to be a treacherous area for both large and small companies. Customers have more options for similar products and services than ever before. Not only can consumers rely on traditional options to buy and compare, but also with the advent of the Internet they have even more power over companies to dictate price and control. This has led companies to increase spending on advertising through both “hard” methods such as direct mail and telemarketing as well as using newer, “softer” approaches such as using the Internet. It has been estimated that the combined total for advertising spending was well above $117 billion dollars.

Large companies have a variety of tools at their disposal to get an idea of what is needed to attract consumers. They can rely on marketing departments and automated systems that can make it easy for them to target a specific consumer group. Mass mailings and telemarketing are also at their disposal. They can easily handle the cost of because of the large volume of customers and revenue they generate.

I work for a government agency, NASA, which could be construed as a large company. It has marketing department. However, because it is a government agency, it doesn’t have all departments in the same area. For example, I work at headquarters in Washington, D.C. Most marketing for NASA is generated out of Houston or Goddard.

I interviewed a good friend of mine who is in the process of starting a small business. Businesses that are smaller have a harder time of it. Having a solid marketing plan is crucial for a small business getting their name out. My good friend has recently started a new venture in the education services field. The educational industry is an $800 billion field in which educational services field is a lucrative part. He has two ideas with a patent pending and is now in the process of doing a market analysis. One is a game for children ages 2-6 that will improve their reading and language skills. The other is a game geared towards improving SOL (Standard of Learning) test scores for 4th and 5th grade children in the Virginia Public School system.

My friend understands the importance of having a good aggressive marketing plan. Marketing would allow him to generate sales and revenue for his startup company. It will enable him to expand and establish a name in the market place for not only his games but also his startup company. A solid marketing plan will help him to establish a foothold and potentially establish long-term growth in the education services field.

He accomplishs that there are marketing challenges ahead. Since he is not an established business and is still working a full time job, he understands that time will be a potential hurdle for him. Setting aside enough time to formulate and implement a proper marketing plan will determine how successful his business will become. He has established a project plan that will assist him in keeping to a timetable. Reasonable project goals have been established and kept.

Another marketing challenge has been his ability to attract potential investors. Investors can help him by giving him the funds to improve on prototypes that he can sell to the bigger education companies to distribute his products. Having a carefully thought out market plan will assist in garnering investors.

Most importantly, market analysis and market testing will be a challenge for him. He has done a general market overview and has found that there is a market for his games. Now he needs to broaden his testing to include a testing plan, set up focus group to evaluate test plan, and document results for potential investors. He has gone to various schools in the Virginia School district and had been given permission to test his games for the appropriate age groups.
These are tenuous times for both large and small businesses. Any products or services that are to be embraced by the public at large will have a marketing plan that stands out and grabs them by the collar. Larger companies have the benefit of a bigger budget and name recognition. Smaller companies or even start-ups have be both nimble and work harder to get there names out to the public. Invasive marketing is the best way to accomplish this.

Article Source: http://www.rightbiz.com

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