6.1 What Marketing Is All About LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define marketing. Explain why marketing is so important to small business. Explain the marketing concept, the societal marketing concept, and the holistic marketing concept. Define customer value and discuss the role of marketing and delivering it. Explain market segmentation, target market, marketing mix, differentiation, positioning, marketing environment, marketing management, and marketing strategy. Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the… Read More »What Marketing Is All About

Chapter 6- Marketing Basics Max and Mina’s Homemade Ice Cream and Ices Source: Used with permission from Max and Mina’s Ice Cream. Growing up in the 1970s, Bruce and Mark Becker loved ice cream. Their Grandpa Max used to create all different kinds of ice cream for Grandma Mina and the boys to try. Grandpa was an organic chemist and loved to create some interesting flavors. Years later, after Grandpa… Read More »Marketing Basics

5.3 Building a Plan LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand that before starting a business and before writing a formal plan, individuals should ask themselves some specific questions to see if they are ready for the challenges of small business ownership. Understand that any solidly written plan will require information about the competitive environment. There are many publicly available sources of such information. Understand that plans are future-oriented documents that require forecasts. Forecasting can… Read More » Building a Plan

5.2 The Necessity for a Business Plan LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand that the probability of running a successful business is significantly increased with a formal business plan. Understand that although many small business owners express reasons for not planning, they do themselves a great disservice by not having a formal plan. Understand that businesses that seek to secure external funding must produce a formal plan. An intelligent plan is the first step… Read More » The Necessity for a Business Plan

The Business Plan Consolidated Industries’ Hammer Forge Source: Used with permission from Consolidated Industries. Consolidated Industries represents one of the thousands of small manufacturers that exist throughout the United States. It has been in business for more than sixty years, specializing in the forging of ferrous, nonferrous, and exotic materials. Its prime customer base has been the aerospace industry, but it has also expanded into other industrial customers. Originally a… Read More »The Business Plan

4.3 E-Commerce Technology LEARNING OBJECTIVES Explain what an e-commerce platform is. Discuss the importance of a CRM solution to a small business. Explain m-commerce and why small businesses should consider incorporating it into their e-commerce strategy. Explain the significance of Web 2.0 to a small business. As discussed in Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business”, digital technology has put small business on a more equal footing with its larger competitors. Although it… Read More »E-Commerce Technology

4.2 E-Commerce Operations LEARNING OBJECTIVES Explain the issues associated with whether a small business should buy or build its website. Explain some of the legal issues that are relevant to e-commerce. Discuss the need for an ethical website, particularly in terms of security, privacy, and trust. Explain why order fulfillment is such an important part of successful e-commerce. There are multiple parts to the creation of an e-commerce website: the infrastructure… Read More »E-Commerce Operations

4.1 E-Business and E-Commerce: The Difference LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define e-business and e-commerce and explain the difference between them. Understand that there are several different types of e-commerce and that a business can be engaged in more than one type at the same time. Explain what a business model is and why the model that is selected is so important. As stated in Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business”, e-business and e-commerce are… Read More »E-Business and E-Commerce: The Difference

Chapter 4- E-Business and E-Commerce Vermont Teddy Bear Company Source: Used with permission from Vermont Teddy Bear. In 1980, John Sortino got the idea for making teddy bears. He was playing with his young son, Graham, and noticed that none of Graham’s 38 stuffed animals was made in the United States. This inspired John to make a teddy bear for Graham—named Bearcho. John then went on to make others, falling… Read More »E-Business and E-Commerce

3.2 Family Business Issues LEARNING OBJECTIVE Explain why communication, employing family and nonfamily members, professional management, employment qualifications, salaries and compensation, succession, and ethics are important issues for all family businesses. Looking at the vision and hard work of the founders, family businesses “take on their unique character as new members of the family enter the business. At best, the environment can be inspiring and motivating. At worst, it can result… Read More »Family Business Issues