When talking about strategies, it is thought that only large companies apply, that when you have a direct competitor, it is time to develop a strategy to get a market share or advance to it, that strategies need a great investment to be carried out, etc.
The strategies are tools and those tools are adjusted or adjusted depending on the objective or size of the company, a very simple example would be to do a well. If you have great means and possibilities you will use sensors that detect underground water currents and then a backhoe, but if your means are more limited you will look for a zahorí and a shovel.
Any of the strategies, business and marketing, can be applied to your entrepreneurship project, the only thing to do is reduce it to your particular situation.
How examples, we will use the BCG matrix of products to establish entrepreneurship products. The BCG matrix is a marketing tool is a graphic representation that analyzes the growth of the company’s products portfolio with respect to its market share (in front of competitors) and their growth potential (which allow possible customers).
In this representation, the products are classified as star products, questions, dairy cow and dog. And the references to establish the classification of the products in each of the quadrants depend on the growth rate; It consists of the demand that may arise in the market, that is, the capacity to increase the number of customers over a certain time
Relative participation; It consists of the market share in the face of all competitors has the company and its projection over time.
In an entrepreneurship project it is difficult to speak in these terms and establish a BCG matrix for its product portfolio because it has just started or has not yet begun.
But taking up the example of the shovel and the backhoe, which can be raised an entrepreneurship is to develop a product portfolio based on the number of sales that can be made and the margin/benefit of each product and/or service.
Dog products; It would be those products and/or services that have an almost null or zero margin/benefit, of which we are going to sell little.
Dairy cows; It would be those products and/or services that have a minimum margin, of which we can sell a lot or at least every day.
Star products; It would be those products and/or services that have a high margin/benefit, but we sell limited amounts over a period.
Questionsare those innovative products and/or services that have just been launched, but we still do not know what benefits or sales they will report to us.
The big problem of entrepreneurship projects is that they always think about generating product project projects. These types of products are true that they eventually become well -recognized projects and examples for many entrepreneurs (Facebook, Paypal, Google, …) but they are also the ones with a large rate of failures when undertaking. How any disruptive innovation project need large economic investments and with a very long term recovery.
There are many other ventures that by mistake in focus, questions, lose great market opportunities and, after all, become a company. That is why there are Lean and Agiles techniques that help you detect that they demand or want possible customers, and develop that portfolio of products and/or services that will make your entrepreneurship become a company sooner than later.
Make a market hole discovered and customers request a product/service that can be a star product. The sale of that star product will generate sales and a margin that may be enough to keep you, but not to grow since you sell few, even if they are with a great margin.
The ideal would also have to have a milk cow product, which you know you have a minor margin, but when selling every day it will provide you with constant income that can help you incorporate new people in the equipment or even consider investments that will help you grow. But you know that if you do not have a history of references or customers, very few company or possible customers will trust you so that you are your supplier, for this reason you must include some or several dog products that serve as a hook.
Those hook products that having an amount under the possible customers can risk hiring yourself, so they know you and when you check that you meet their expectations and surpass them open the doors to sell them the products dairy cows and stars they need.
Now you will wonder, what about the questions? Do I have them or not? If that question product does not demand much investment because we talk about innovation in processes, products/services and/or management, have them. There are always customers, which are known as Early Adopters, who are willing to buy the latest in new technologies and future trends to be the first to have them.
If we talk about a disruptive innovation, first feel the income and future growth bases with the first three typologies of products and, when you have them, start looking for investors for that question.
