4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 1/9MODULE 5.2Launching the VentureIntroduction:All of the work completed to date identifying an innovation, assessing themarket, understanding the customer, business planning, obtaining criticalresources including funding all bring an entrepreneur to this most criticalpoint; launching the venture! No matter how much eàort has gone into theventure up until now, the launch strategy will aàect whether the market willaccept the product or service and ultimately if they will decide to purchaseit. In this module we will consider some components which should formpart of or support the launch strategy.Situation AnalysisA key component of launch is an assessment of the current situation. It isimportant that the entrepreneur understands the nature of the customerneed, pain or gain (Module 2) being met and the category in which this willbe done. A lot of the literature refers to situation analysis as the analysis ofthe Four Cs, referring to the four major components that should beevaluated. Martin (2016)) explains these Four Cs as:1. Company An analysis of the internal workings of the organisationincluding its short-term and long-term goals and objectives,2. Customer this includes customer demographics as well as theirdecision processes4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 2/93. Competitor in this stage you should identify strengths andweaknesses of your competition and how it will impact yourorganisation,4. Collaborators these are indirect parties, which could have an impacton your organisation. They include distributors, suppliers,consultants, subsidiaries and joint ventures, to name a few.Adoption ProcessBeing able to forecast initial sales through to adoption for your new productor service is a really diÞcult task for the entrepreneur. The adoptionprocess is a way in which can start to better understand the customeracceptance process (Hisrich, 2014). There are four key stages from when acustomer hears about an innovation to the point in time when adoptionoccurs. These stages may happen before or even after the actual adoption.Bhasin (2018) explains these stages as:1. Awareness this is the area where major marketers spend signiÕcantamounts of money. If your customer is not aware of the product, theyare never going to buy it,2. Interest and Information Search once your customer is aware, theywill start to learn about it and understand the beneÕts to them,3. Evaluation / Trial this is where the product is trialled or tested,4. Adoption the customer decides to purchase adopt/purchase theproduct.Hisrich (2014) goes on to explain that rejection of an innovation can alsooccur after an individual has adopted it. This behaviour is calleddiscontinuance. He says that this is quite common nowadays and as such,it is important to deÕne adoption as a function of the commitment to theproduct/service.Market PositioningThe Strategic CFO, (2018) deÕne market position as the consumersperception of a brand or product in relation to competing brands or4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 3/9products. They go on to deÕne market positioning as the process ofestablishing the image or identity of a brand or product so that consumersperceive it in a certain way. For example, a car maker may position itself asa luxury brand. Whereas a battery maker may position its batteries as themost reliable and long-lasting. A fast-food restaurant chain may positionitself as a provider of cheap and quick meals.According to Smartling, Marketing Positioning Strategy Guide (2018), marketpositioning follows seven basic steps listed below:1. Drafting a positioning statement this involves understanding whatyour brand stands for, who the target customers are, how you willmeet their needs and what your competitors are doing. Thepositioning statement is the result of plugging those facts into a basic,formulaic sentence structure.2. Compare and contrast to identify your own uniqueness Diàerencesbetween your own messaging strategy and communication channels,and those of your competitors reveal openings in the market thatyour positioning message should address.3. Competitor analysis Investigating and analysing the competitionhelps to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your ownbusiness measured against the competition. Understanding thediàerences between a business and its competitors is central toÕnding gaps in the market that can be Õlled.4. Determine current position Determining your existing marketposition is every bit as vital as any competitor analysis. That isbecause you have to understand your own market position to be ableto properly compete for your share.5. Competitor positioning analysis An addition to the competitoranalysis, competitor positioning analysis identiÕes the conditions ofthe market that inÖuence how much power competitors are able toexercise.6. Develop a unique positioning idea you should now have a betteridea of who you are, who you are not, and who your best audience is.It is time to make a statement about those facts.4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 4/97. Test the eàectiveness of your brand positioning Testingmethodology will consist of qualitative and quantitative datagathering, mainly determined by the steps prior to this, but may alsoinclude focus groups, surveys, in-depth interviews, ethnography,polls, etc. The results of the testing should then be analysed tounderstand the impact on your organisation.First Mover AdvantageThe Corporate Finance Institute (CFI)) deÕnes the Õrst mover advantage asthe advantage gained by a company that Õrst introduces a product orservice to the market. This allows an organisation to establish strong brandrecognition and product/service loyalty before other entrants. Even when acompany cannot build a durable Õrst-mover advantage, it may obtain somebeneÕts from early entry.The CFI (n.d.) described the key advantages and disadvantages of being aÕrst mover as:Advantages:Establish their product as the industry standard,Being able to tap int
o consumers Õrst and make a strong impression,which can lead to brand recognition and brand loyalty,May be able to control resources, establishing a premium contractwith key suppliers, or hiring talented employees,Can gain an advantage when there is a high switching cost forconsumers to switch to later entrants.Disadvantages:The Õrst mover may invest heavily in persuading consumers to try anew product. Later entrants would beneÕt from these informedbuyers and would not need to spend that much on educatingconsumers,Later entrants can avoid mistakes made by the Õrst mover,4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 5/9Later entrants can reverse-engineer new products and make thembetter or cheaper,Later entrants can identify areas of improvement by the Õrst moverand take advantage of it.Contingency PlanningEvery entrepreneur should consider the many diàerent scenarios, whichcould occur that, may impact the launch strategy and how they will respond.This is called contingency planning. Hisrich (2014) says that problems canoccur with downturns in the economy, other new products/services beingintroduced and/or changes in consumer tastes and preferences that canchange the market and disrupt the planned launch strategy of the venture.This weeks material should bring you to the end of the key components,which need to be considered for your third Assessment. It should alsocomplete the picture for you as an entrepreneur to understand therequirements for bringing an innovation to market successfully.References:Bhasin, H. (2018). Adoption Process. Retrieved fromhttps://www.marketing91.com/adoption-process/CFI. (n.d.). First Mover Advantage. Retrieved fromhttps://corporateÕnanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/Õrstmover-advantage/Cleverism. (2016). Ultimate Guide to Market Situation Analysis.Retrieved from https://www.cleverism.com/ultimate-guide-marketsituation-analysis/Hisrich, R. (2014). Advanced Introduction to Entrepreneurship, EdwardElgar Publishing Limited.Smartling. (2018). Market Positioning Strategy Guide. Retrieved fromhttps://www.smartling.com/market-positioning-strategy/The strategic CFO. (2018). Market Positioning. Retrieved fromhttps://strategiccfo.com/market-positioning/4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 6/94 hoursEssential Resources:Lake, L. (2017). Situation Analysis. Retrieved fromhttps://www.thebalancesmb.com/purpose-and-elements-ofa-situational-analysis-229575This article gives a simple explanation about the purpose of asituational analysis and the elements worth considering when lookingto develop one. It can be used to ensure that you have covered thekey areas for the situational analysis which you should develop forAssessment three, even if its just having thought of what the analysiswould include.Coke, A. (2002). Seven Steps to a Successful Business Plan.New York: AMACOM. Chapter 11: Contingency Planning:How to Prepare for the Unexpected. Retrieved fromhttp://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.laureate.net.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=66741&site=ehostlive&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_297This chapter provides a deep dive in to contingency planning bydiscussing the nine critical components of a successful contingency4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 7/92 hoursplan, the areas vital to a companys wellbeing and steps to diminishthe negative impact of a troubled situation.Mars. (n.d.). Introduction to Market Sizing. Retrieved fromhttps://www.marsdd.com/collections/introduction-marketsizing/Learn how to calculate the market size for any product in this video onmarket sizing and the fundamentals of market research.McCarthy, B. (2013). Marketing: Positioning, Diàerentiation,and Value Proposition. YouTube. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugYeT3sxuQwAn overview of marketing positioning, diàerentiation, and valueproposition.Learning Activities:Learning activities are not part of summative/graded assessment; however,they are designed to prepare you for incremental graded assessment andexpand your learning. These activities encourage a community learningexperience between peers, and provide opportunities for facilitators to oàerformative feedback, throughout a module, to the student cohort. Studentsshould spend 1-2 hours per module on learning activities.Learning Activity 5.3: DeÕning your Market PositionMapping the market involves identifying and staking out themost relevant customer segments. It enables you to establish and4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 8/9potentially control how your product is viewed in terms of beneÕt anddiàerentiation.Your task is to develop a market positioning template or story in onepage which contains the following for the product/service:Target customer or marketCompelling reason to buyProducts placement within a new or existing categoryKey beneÕt that directly addresses the compelling reason tobuyPrimary alternative source (that is, competitor) of the samebeneÕtKey diàerence or point of diàerentiationOnce this has been completed, upload your template in the Module5.2 discussion forumTo participate in the Discussion Forum, click here to scroll to thebottom of this page then click on the Module 5 DiscussionForum link.Learning Activity 5.4: Personal ReÖective JournalPlease go to the ReÖective Journal link in the mainnavigation menu and complete the activities in the journal instructionsfor Module 5.2.This journal is for your own personal learning. It is conÕdential andwill not be available to anyone except you. Your journal will be animportant resource for preparing your submissions for assessments.Now that you have reviewed the material for Module, 5.2; Do youthink it is necessary for all of these areas to be considered for asuccessful launch? There are other areas, which should be considered4/15/2021 Laureate International Universitieshttps://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_100594_1&content_id=_9717561_1&mode=reset 9/9to further support a successful launch, do any of these come to mindbased on what we have worked through in the materials for Modules1-5?