Entrepreneurial Marketing: Strategies, Theories, and SMEs Practices

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of entrepreneurial marketing strategies and techniques specifically tailored for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It begins by examining best-practice marketing methods, including flyers, posters, value additions, referral networks, follow-ups, cold calls, and internet marketing, while also addressing the challenges faced by SMEs such as limited resources and lack of skilled employees. The report then delves into the application of entrepreneurial theories, including Peter Drucker's view of entrepreneurship, Max Weber's theory of social change, Knight's uncertainty-bearing theory, and Schumpeter's theory of innovation, in the context of SME marketing practices. It critically evaluates these theories, highlighting their relevance and limitations in the SME environment. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of strategic planning and the diverse marketing approaches employed by entrepreneurs to achieve organizational goals, offering valuable insights for students and professionals in the field.

ENTREPRENEURIAL
MARKETING GROUP
PRESENTATION

INTRODUCTION
Small and medium business enterprise is generally start up by entrepreneur to meet
customer needs and wants. Such ventures comes up with innovative product and fills the present
gap of products available and customer demands. They contribute towards economy and increase
living standards of individuals by providing innovative product. In this assignment
entrepreneurial marketing methods and techniques used in Small Medium Enterprises will be
examined. There will be critical discussion about relevancy of entrepreneurial theories and small
and medium ventures regarding marketing practice (Miles and et. al., 2015).
MAIN BODY
Analysis of best practice methods and techniques for marketing in small and medium enterprises
Small and medium businesses are wholly owned by entrepreneur and comes up with
innovative product or services to fill the present gap present in market. Marketing environment
of SMEs businesses have different features and techniques used are different from other types of
ventures.
Marketing environment of small and medium businesses are different from those of large
companies. Market segment of such SMEs is relatively smaller and there are small group of
customers that need to be targeted. Competition in such environment is less as such organisation
introduced innovative product or services which are developed by analysing marketing
condition. Budgets of small and medium ventures is less for marketing thus they resort to cheap
and effective method for promoting their products and services (Whalen and et. al., 2016). There
is no frequent changes or addition to the range of product small and medium businesses offers
that makes their marketing strategies stable and effective to target that segment of customers
only.
Flyer is one of most cheapest method of advertising which uses E-mail to promote
product. It is brief in nature, highlighting offers, contact information, discounts and related
content so that it has powerful impacts on customers. This covers extensive market segments
which is helpful for small and medium ventures. Posters is another cheap methods in which
boards of super markets, Public places and malls are used to inform audience about the product
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or services provided by such businesses. This is not that impactful as such posturers are ignored
by audience or not taken into consideration while making buying decisions.
Value Additions is one of most powerful technique used by small and medium businesses
to promotes its product in market. In this free coupons, discounts, referral rewards, cards are
used to attract customer so that they once try product or services (Nijssen, 2017). This technique
is developed to increase customer satisfaction so that more and more market share is captured by
organisation in the starting. Referral Network includes two types of referral in general which is
used as marketing tool. One is referral by satisfied customers so that they hey discount by
referring services to other individuals. Other one business to business referral in which different
company refer services to their customers which is more valuable for organisation.
Follow-Ups is technique is following up with customer by recording their feedbacks and
then promoting services so that customer satisfactions can be increased. This is one of most
effective technique which is used by different type of ventures because of its efficiency. Cold
Calls is contacting customers either on phone calls or door to door method which effectively
helps small and medium businesses to promote its products or services. Face to face meeting is
proven out to be more effective in case of selling as its adds facial and physical expression which
makes advertising more effective in nature. Internet is most widely used and have extensive
reach than any other methods or techniques for advertising product in market. In this different
social or official platforms are used to promotes products or services. This is one of the cheapest
methods that is available for small and medium enterprises and widely used.
There are different challenges and issues that small and medium organisation faces in general
which makes its survival and growth difficult. There are many challenges that SMEs faces in
marketing their products and services. Lack of resources like capital, employees and time which
is major assets for business affects small and medium ventures in marketing and target
effectively (Lodish, and et. al., 2015). They lack in skilled employees and experience which
creates issues in planning about content and platforms which has to be choose so that it covers
wide range of audience and produce effective results. Such businesses are not able to keep their
marketing activities constant due to lack of budgets which is also one of issues in marketing.
Small and medium businesses lacks in research and development activities which hinder its
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marketing activity as it is not bale to cope with trends and technology that are used in
promotional tools and methods.
Discuss SMEs and entrepreneurial theory and critical evaluation in regarding to marketing
practice
Peter Ducker's View of Entrepreneurship describes entrepreneurs as agent of change as
they exploits marketing opportunity prevailing in present marketing environment. This theory
defines that entrepreneurs can become innovators with the help of systematic hard work and
guidelines for exploiting innovation related opportunities in marketing environment. This theory
states that entrepreneurs can shift resources from lower productive are to highly yield business
which brings economic growth in country and increases employment (Cacciolatti and Lee,
2015). According to this theory, innovative entrepreneurship can be enhanced by society with the
help of government facilities. The importance of this theory is that it brings innovative
entrepreneurs as responsibility of society and government so that more and more opportunities
are provided to increase small and business. It suggests that innovation can be inherited with
systematic guidelines and hard work and exploits opportunity present in marketing environment.
Criticism is also there for this theory which explains that innovation can not be learnt or inherited
with some guidelines or hard work either it is inherited or one of personal attributes that any
individual have. Another criticisms is that government and society does not play that important
role either it is just a helping hand in growth of small and business enterprises.
As per Max Weber Theory of social change it is clear that there is requirement of some ethical
and religious beliefs which people have to understand with the help of which individuals are able
to maintain culture. There are some values and ethical considerations while conducting
operations as small business enterprise (Rezaei, Dana and Ramadani, 2017). In order to access
fundamental concepts, there is requirement of understanding marketing concept and analyse
demand and supply of products. There is requirement of earning profits and good image, there is
requirement to consider some vertical values as per this theory and if there is change in ethical
prospects, then this affects business growth in society. With this theory, there is relevant
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information, then it is important because of understanding culture and ethical values. Negative
aspects in this theory is that it is not easy for understanding cultural values of individuals and
sometimes due to differences in cultural values, possibilities of conflict arise among them. There
is requirement of complete and specific information with the help of which entrepreneurs and
able to understand changes which are taking place. There is specific information about culture
and this creates conflict among business values and cultural values (Pane Haden, Kernek and
Toombs, 2016).
The Uncertainty-Bearing Theory of Knight suggests that profits are reward of uncertainty that
entrepreneur bear including risk, losses and challenges. Entrepreneurship in general nature is
associated with risks and uncertainties which are classified into insurable and non insurable
types. There are some risks can be predicted and its impacts can be reduced with effective
measures. Their occurrence can be measured with statistical tools so that its impacts can be
reduced. On the other hand, there are certain risks which can be estimated and have negative
impact on small and medium business and its operations. According to this theory, entrepreneurs
earns profits as results of uncertainties that they bears. All such risks and uncertainties and its
level can be reduced by technique of consolidation with the help of tools and other instances.
Criticism is that role of entrepreneurs is not considered in failure or success of small and medium
business. It considers profits as only outcomes of efforts and risk they bears and other aspects are
not included while calculating success. Uncertainties can not be calculated with any statistical
tool or measures so that its impacts can be reduced on processes. Marketing environment of any
business is ever changing and its factors can not be predicted so that uncertainties can be
calculated.
Schumpeter's theory of innovation, Joseph Schumpeter has given very well known innovative
theory of entrepreneurship. According, to Schumpeter's thinking entrepreneurs change circular
flow of economy by bringing new innovative products. Role of innovation is given to
entrepreneurs by Schumpeter and said that entrepreneurs are not people with normal abilities but
people with different and entirely new ideas and thinking (Hendijani Fard and Seyyed Amiri,
2018). Innovation can involve anything in it like new products- something which is entirely new
for people and which is never traded in market, new processes- means new and different way of
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producing or manufacturing a product, discovering entirely a new market to sell or make goods
for and many more activities. Schumpeter has also defined innovation and inventions differently.
Innovation is making some changes in existing products and processes and taking something
new out of it and inventions means something entirely new has brought up by entrepreneurs
which was never present or known by anyone before. Some criticisms are also there for this
theory made by other researchers. They say that this theory is based on unrealistic and
undesirable assumptions which are not applicable in given market situations (Kumar and
Yakhlef, 2015). Some researchers also find this theory invalid as they do not suit to different
market conditions.
CONCLUSION
Small business entrepreneurs need to have a strategy while running their business. Each
and every entrepreneur has specific theory for achieving the organisational goals and objectives.
There are various marketing strategies that are developed by entrepreneurs for promoting their
product and services in an effective manner. There are various methods for advertising products
such as word of mouth, innovative products, being opportunistic, etc.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cacciolatti, L. and Lee, S. H., 2015. Entrepreneurial marketing for SMEs. Springer.
Hendijani Fard, M. and Seyyed Amiri, N., 2018. The effect of entrepreneurial marketing on halal
food SMEs performance. Journal of Islamic Marketing. 9(3). pp.598-620.
Kumar, N. and Yakhlef, A., 2015. The effects of entrepreneurial marketing strategies on the
long-term competitive sustenance of born global firms: examples from the Indian
knowledge-intensive services industry. In Entrepreneurship in International
Marketing (pp. 45-72). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Lodish, L. M. and et. al., 2015. Marketing that works: how entrepreneurial marketing can add
sustainable value to any sized company. Pearson Education.
Miles, M. and et. al., 2015. Exploring entrepreneurial marketing. Journal of Strategic
Marketing, 23(2), pp.94-111.
Nijssen, E. J., 2017. Entrepreneurial marketing: an effectual approach. Routledge.
Pane Haden, S. S., Kernek, C. R. and Toombs, L. A., 2016. The entrepreneurial marketing of
trumpet records. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. 18(1).
pp.109-126.
Rezaei, S., Dana, L. P. and Ramadani, V. eds., 2017. Iranian entrepreneurship: Deciphering the
entrepreneurial ecosystem in Iran and in the Iranian diaspora. Springer.
Whalen, P. and et. al., 2016. Anatomy of competitive advantage: towards a contingency theory
of entrepreneurial marketing. Journal of Strategic Marketing. 24(1). pp.5-19.
Whalen, P. S. and Akaka, M. A., 2016. A dynamic market conceptualization for entrepreneurial
marketing: the co-creation of opportunities. Journal of Strategic Marketing. 24(1).
pp.61-75.