TURNKEY MARKETING: Idea2Product4Profit J. CAFESIN—INSTRUCTOR TURNKEY MARKETING: Turn Products Into Profits BUS 34; Stanford Continuing Studies Preliminary Syllabus (Subject to Change) Have an idea for an app, a product or service (or think you may in the future)? Want to turn an idea into a startup? Want to grow your existing company? Get financing? Go global? Takes more than an idea to realize this vision. It takes marketing tools and strategies to produce and use them! This course teaches students how to take their ideas from their head, to the whiteboard, then develop a brand—face and voice for a product or service, and/or company, and create marketing tools and material with which to launch. Students will learn how to assess benefits to define their target market. Hands-on learning will teach students how to use visual design, copy writing and content creation, as well as social networking strategies to launch their new venture. 1. Learn methodologies of Productization—defining company's features and benefits, and what need/s they fulfill. 2. Discover target audience/s for your product/service/idea/message. 3. Perform Competitive Analysis—finding your companies differentiators from your completion. 4. Develop Branding—company name, identity/logo, tagline...etc., directed at target market/s. 5. Examine effective content for online marketing—websites, blogs, advertising and more (including SEO—Search Engine Optimization for better Google placement). 5. Create marketing content, from video and digital photography to web copy that reflect the product/service [and character] of company to its target market. 6. Explore the myriad of sales tools such as websites, videos, email blasts, collateral material, and classic advertising available, with insight to creating these tools at low cost, as well as guidance selecting professional resources. 7. Learn Social Networking strategies to build awareness of your brand and help promote your company. _____ Students Requirements: • Laptop with wireless connection for in-class use (or computer access with broadband connection outside of class) • Cellphone with camera or digital camera (or access) • Photo editing software (or access)—MovieMaker/iMovie/CS6 or equivalent • Computer proficiency in: a. Word processing program—MSWord/Open Office b. Creating and maintaining a filing hierarchy c. Experience navigating the internet _____ ©2015 J. CAFESIN 1 TURNKEY MARKETING: Idea2Product4Profit J. CAFESIN—INSTRUCTOR Grading For Student's requesting a letter grade, the final grade is based on attendance, student participation and project completion: ►Class attendance and participation: 50% ►List of [at least] 10 (ten) product/service features and benefits- 15% ►List of [at least] 3 (three) [potential] target markets (with demographic, geographic and psychological profiles for each)- 15% ►List of [at least] 3 (three) vertical, and 3 horizontal markets- 5% ►Startup [projected] name and tagline- 15% ►Three complete pages of startup website- 10% -or- (►Branded company pages on FB, Google+ and Twitter- 10%) _____ TURNKEY MARKETING: Turn Products Into Profits WEEK 1: Introductions/Class Networking Students with [or without] a product/service/message in mind will learn to develop and build a face/brand/company around their idea. (Students without a product/service they're interested in launching will be assigned one, i.e. 'You are the proud developer of a game app, and it's better than Call of Duty;' or, 'You bake the best pastries on the planet, and you want to turn people on to your passion;' or...the possibilities are endless!) 1. Marketing [anything] Foundation and Basics Marketing, advertising, PR, graphic design, copy writing, collateral, communications are, [or should be] developed as tools to SELL products/services/ideas/message. Marketing must sell BENEFITS that continually fulfill NEED/S to successfully develop, and ultimately grow any business (beyond the freakish, short-lived fad). a. Effective marketing practices: Ready, Aim, Fire (IN ORDER!) • Ready—Identify company's offerings and markets, competition, horizontal and vertical targets for product/services, and what mediums to communicate this message. • Aim—Brand company to target market/s, Define the medium on/in which your message/content will be published (radio spot is very different than a Facebook ad.) • Fire—Engage CTA (Call To Action) oriented marketing. b. Psychology 101 Using the principles of psychology to discover what motivates people/individuals. Create Desire—the difference between Need and Want ©2015 J. CAFESIN 2 TURNKEY MARKETING: Idea2Product4Profit J. CAFESIN—INSTRUCTOR Objectivity (truth) vs Manipulation—using marketing techniques to funnel viewers towards an objective, usually to buy, or buy into an idea/message (also referred to as “false logic”). Using Storytelling to Sell—creating fiction to sell [usually] idea/message, but sometimes product/services ('tweeking' the truth). Self-interest—at the core of human motivation and evolutionary development to date. Examples of motivators to get people to act: --To be liked --To be appreciated --To be right --To feel important --To make money --To save money --To save time --To make work easier --To be secure --To be attractive --To be sexy --To be comfortable --To be distinctive --To be happy --To have fun --To gain knowledge --To be healthy --To gratify curiosity --For convenience --Out of fear --Out of greed --Out of guilt 2. Productiztion I*—Defining product/service/message [basic] FEATURES (1st draft) What product or service, or combination of both do you want to sell? a. Define product space: ♦ Software • Application Software—software programs directed at a specific function, i.e. Photoshop, Word, Quicken, Angry Birds, Call of Duty, Hulu, Amazon. Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox are application software written for internet browsing. • System Program—enable the computer hardware or system to run (without these the computer as a whole or parts of it's functionality would not work), used to direct the operation of a computer, ©2015 J. CAFESIN 3 TURNKEY MARKETING: Idea2Product4Profit J. CAFESIN—INSTRUCTOR i.e. Cisco's Networking Software, device drivers, iOS/Linux/Windows operating systems. • Mobile App—Smartphones only? Tablets, e-readers, mp3s? Platform/s: iOS, Android ? • Industry—entertainment, social networking, information/media/communications, employment, creative/organizational/lifestyle • SaaS/HaaS (cloud platforms)—mobile and/or pc based such as GoogleDocs, Salesforce, online gaming, web hosting, systems operations such as Cisco, and development platforms from Microsoft and Amazon, (also review LaaS and PaaS) ♦ Computer Hardware • Consumer—computers, laptops, tablets, flash drives, gaming systems, connector cords, electronic devices...etc. • B2B— routers, switches, adapters, chips, CPUs, servers, cash/credit card registers...etc. ♦ Services • Brick & Mortar (may or may not include products)—schools, restaurants, psycho to massage therapy, lawyer, bed & breakfast (hospitality), real estate broker, doctor, dentist, ad agency • Itinerant (traveling)—education enrichment programs, consultants, personal sales/solicitation (politics/religion), mobile library to neighborhood vaccinations, dog walking to in-home childcare/babysitting • Online Service Provider—Virtual Education, Wikipedia, website/email/blog hosting, web portals, search engines, magazines/media/newswires, gaming/entertainment, social networking ♦ Real Products • Consumer Goods—retail and wholesale from food (markets, cafes) to cutlery to electronics to skin care products, selling brick and mortar, and/or online – Merchandise—housewares, clothing, furniture, electronics, vehicles, building materials – Commodities (product lifeline)—food, beverages, alcohol/home brews ♦ Idea/Message • Non-Profit Organizations (as opposed to Corporations)—Red Cross, religious, political, social welfare advocates * Startup offerings may include two or more categories, such as Apple that sells products, services, hardware and software, and a very specific idea/message. --- ► In 1 to 2 sentences maximum state: What Your Product/Service IS (Does—its purpose)? ► What is the #1 job function of any CEO. (Hint: #1 is not on any of the links below.) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-8-crucial-tasks-of-a-ceo/ http://managementhelp.org/chiefexecutives/job-description.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer http://startupguide.com/entrepreneurship/startup-ceo/ ©2015 J. CAFESIN 4 TURNKEY MARKETING: Idea2Product4Profit J. CAFESIN—INSTRUCTOR --- 3. Target Marketing 101—The Basics What does your product/service provide, and why should anyone care? What need (or desire) does your product/service fulfill. For who? a. Target Market: a group of existing and/or potential customers that a company aims its marketing efforts, and ultimately its products/services and merchandise towards. • Built-in perimeters for target marketing—from product/service FEATURES list, derive potential target customers. (Example: iPad/android game app like Scrabble may be for kids and adults, but it's still a game, and should be marketed as entertainment, even if it's “Entertain Your Brain and Get Smarter!”) • Low-hanging fruit—first go after customers who are most likely served by your product/service. (Apple users are generally fanatics, and if you have an app that works on iOS, you have a built-in target market of [at least] a percentage of Apple followers.) 4. Productiztion II—Identify startup's [basic] characteristics of projected target market/s