Marketing for Sustainable Entrepreneurs

This book discusses marketing and public relations activities for sustainable entrepreneurs and emerging growth companies, an area that is concerned with supporting the efforts of the sales group to promote the company's products to prospective customers, collecting and analyzing information regarding the requirements of customers and their perceptions of the company and its products, identifying ways in which the company and its products can deliver value to customers and managing the planned communications by the company to each of its stakeholders. Regarding sales support, the marketing group has traditionally been involved in core activities such as advertising, promotions, collateral development, data collection and analysis and training. However, successful emerging companies understand that marketing departments must be empowered to think and act strategically and participate in fundamental decisions regarding product development, identification of target markets and management of customer relationships. The book begins with an overview of the typical activities in the marketing area, including basic marketing tactics; and includes an overview of relevant legal issues, including the "truth-in-advertising" rules enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and its rules and regulations pertaining to advertising practices, state and local advertising statutes and regulations, and private advertising and marketing guidelines. The book then discusses various issues relating to strategic planning for marketing activities, including methods for organizing and managing a company's marketing activities and resources. The book continues with an overview of the issues that should be considered when planning internal marketing initiatives, including the development and implementation of a product marketing plan. The book also covers management of arrangements with outside providers of marketing-related services, including public relations firms and advertising agencies, marketing of sustainable products and services, and online marketing activities.