Entrepreneurial Marketing Challenges and Solutions

This report discusses the challenges faced by a local, new restaurant in terms of entrepreneurial marketing and provides recommended solutions to overcome these challenges.

Entrepreneurial Marketing (BMA605) 1
Entrepreneurial Marketing (BMA605)
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Entrepreneurial Marketing (BMA605) 2
Entrepreneurial Marketing (BMA605)
Entrepreneurship is a term used to refer to the process of designing, starting and running
a new business and in most cases is a small business. The people who create the business are
known as entrepreneurs. Being an entrepreneur can be both a rewarding and challenging venture
mainly in the contemporary dynamic business environment. Most people want to become
entrepreneurs because of the urge to make money but according to Frederick G. Crane in his
book "Marketing for Entrepreneurs" the main focus of entrepreneurship is to create and retain
new customers, (Crane, 2013, pp. 18). The profit comes as an outcome of mastering the critical
concept of creating new customers and retaining customers. Entrepreneurs are faced with several
marketing problems, and they have to overcome them to survive and develop to become large
and renowned firms. This report is about the entrepreneurial marketing challenges of a local, new
restaurant in our neighborhood. In this report, I get an opportunity to use my entrepreneurial
marketing concepts and knowledge concerning the difficulties to formulate the recommended
solutions to these challenges.
Marketing is most commonly confused with selling and advertising. Although advertising
is part of marketing, marketing is way much broad than advertising. Marketing is the process of
creating, exchanging and delivering offerings that benefit the stakeholders, the organization and
the society at large. Marketing is not just focused on creating considerable revenues to the
organization but add value to all the stakeholders. Marketing is a challenging task especially for
new firms that are trying to enter a new market that is often dominated by well-established
organizations. In this new restaurant in our neighborhood, I identified three entrepreneurial
challenges namely cash flow management, choosing what to sell and marketing strategies.

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The restaurant is a small and new business it is suffering from cash flow management as
the entrepreneur running; it struggles to pay bills. The suppliers sometimes demand their pay at a
time when the firm does not have the required amount at hand. This is a frustrating moment for
any entrepreneur, and it may force someone to find alternative sources of funds to settle the debt.
This problem has to be solved appropriately to allow the entrepreneur to focus o delivering
quality products and services to its customers.
The best solution to the cash flow management problem the firm is facing is proper
planning and budgeting. This won't completely take away the stressing over bills, but it will
reduce it considerably. One way of dealing with this challenge is by arranging with the vendors
and suppliers to invoice the firm at around 45 days and above. This will give the firm sufficient
time to collect revenues and allocate them to cover the invoices. This arrangement will only
work if there is a good relationship between the firm and the suppliers, (Krisjanous, and
Carruthers, 2018, pp. 230). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the entrepreneur to establish an
understanding with the suppliers to ensure that the firm runs smoothly, efficiently and
effectively, (Ali, H. and Birley, 2015). Since the restaurant also offers out catering services, it
should request a down payment sufficient to cover the costs as well as adopt the cash on delivery
payment module ensure a fast flow of income. All these arrangements have to be done in a way
that it won't compromise the quality of product and services as well as customer satisfaction.
Knowing the right product to sell and how to sell it well is the other challenge the
restaurant is facing. Based in a multi-cultural community, there are people from all walks of the
world and choosing the right recipe to add in the menu is not an easy task. There are numerous
alternatives, and each looks enticing to try .Choosing the right market niche for the firm is
challenging, (Andersson, Evers and Gliga, 2018, pp. 225). The best solution for this challenge is

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for the owner of the restaurant to delegate the task to someone with the experience in identifying
the market niche. The entrepreneur has to admit that they are weak at this area and they have to
seek the service of an expert. It does not have to be a large marketing firm, but a well-
experienced researcher in the marketing field could help them with this challenge. The researcher
has to make a market analysis and prepare a market report for the alternative market niche with
probable profit margins. It would be more appropriate if they draft a comprehensive SWOT
analysis to help the entrepreneur understand the market niche they are venturing into.
The third challenge is identifying the right marketing strategy. There are several ways to
market the firm's products and services such as mobile, online, print, advertising and many more.
Choosing the right way to sell the firm is a challenge for the entrepreneur, and this has to be
solved for the restaurant to attract new customers. Marketing is an expensive venture, and the
marketing strategy has to bring a return on investment, (Thompson, A., Strickland, A.J. and
Gamble, J., 2015). The best solution to this problem is to create a marketing plan for the firm. If
the entrepreneur has some knowledge on this area, they can formulate an appropriate plan or
outsource skills and expertise of someone good at creating marketing plans. The marketing plan
should outline all the activities that will motivate purchases at minimal cost possible. Social
media marketing and digital marketing is an upcoming trend in marketing, and the firm can
invest in mastering this crucial marketing tool to create a competitive advantage over their
competitors, (Ashley and Tuten, 2015, pp. 17). To come up with the most appropriate marketing
plan, the firm has to comprehensively understand the marketing environment and determine the
market opportunities they can tap to create a strong brand. The right marketing plan can be the
stepping stone for the firm to grow into a large organization.

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In summary, small and new firms face a lot of challenges, and the entrepreneur has to
overcome these challenges for the survival and growth of their businesses. Marketing is a broad
area in the industry and having a good understanding of marketing helps entrepreneurs attract
new customers and retain old ones consequently making profits. A new firm with a good
marketing plan and cash flow management can quickly grow into a large organization.

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References
Ali, H. and Birley, S., 2015. The role of trust in the marketing activities of entrepreneurs
establishing new ventures. Journal of Marketing Management, 14(7), pp.749-763.
Andersson, S., Evers, N. and Gliga, G., 2018. Entrepreneurial marketing and born global
internationalisation in China. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 21(2),
pp.202-231.
Ashley, C. and Tuten, T., 2015. Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory
study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1),
pp.15-27.
Crane, F.G., 2013. Marketing for entrepreneurs. Sage Publishers. London
Krisjanous, J. and Carruthers, J., 2018. Walking on the light side: Investigating the world of
ghost tour operators and entrepreneurial marketing. Qualitative Market Research: An
International Journal, 21(2), pp.232-252.
Thompson, A., Strickland, A.J. and Gamble, J., 2015. Crafting and executing strategy: Concepts
and readings. McGraw-Hill Education.