It was another round of learning, for Founders, at the Founder Institute, Lagos, session, for the first cohort, held at the premises of GoDoHub at 53, Oladipo Bateye Street, GRA, Ikeja.
The previous class, saw Founders treated to the legal angle of establishing a business start-up and this session, also, saw mentors giving thorough explanations to Founders, on the strategies on marketing, captioned, “Go to Market planning”.
Wande Adelemo, one of the Directors of Founder Institute, Lagos, gave a short introduction to the topic of the day, but re-emphasised, majorly, on the importance of the Founders, to the Institute, in relation to their ideas.
Before the mentors commenced the class, another brief, three-minute pitch session, for some pre-selected Founders, took place and once again, they got scrutinised, thoroughly, in earnest preparation, for the real market.
Doubling as the panelist and mentors, for the day were; Uzo Anekwe, Head, Business Development, Connect Nigeria, Nkiru Balonwu, Managing Partner, RDF Strategies and Afolabi Olamide, Co-Founder, Sanwo Touch2Pay.
Taking the first stage, Uzo Anekwe, commenced the session on, why the, ‘go to market plan’, must appear important to start-up businesses, as it is the most essential plan that, guarantees the inflow of cash.
“A go to market plan’ is, essentially, the most important part of any business, as it ensures customer acquisition, retention and upgrades, to advocacy”
According to Uzo, once a start-up business has a well-detailed, go to market plan, it would be easier to attract investors into the venture.
“A lot of businesses, have raised funding in the past, but soon ran out of business. With a good, ‘go to market plan’, however, your business is assured of sustainable growth”, Uzo stated.
Think about your consumers, as they are the most important persons in your ‘go to market plan’, it is not about your product”
A good, ‘go to market plan’, assures potential investors of your ability, to make money from your start-up business.
“The customer is not the output in your business, your consumer is the main focus. You need to know where they are, how to engage with them and keep them”, Uzo opined.
Nkiru Balonwu, as the second speaker, on the other hand, described the ‘go to market plan’, from the aspect of the business Founder.
“A ‘Go to Market, (G2M), strategy’ is, a tactical action plan that outlines the steps necessary, to succeed in a new market, or, with a new customer”, she stressed.
She stated the need, for a start-up business Founder, to be the most important product, in business.
“You shouldn’t start a business if you are not exceptional; what are your skills and what is your selling point? Having these understanding, defines your ‘go to market strategy'”
An effective, ‘go to market strategy’ is; specific, comprehensive and dynamic and it serves two key purposes, for a business organisation; reach its target audience and achieving a competitive advantage.
Nkiru listed some effective, ‘go to market strategy’, for the Founders;
- Identify your value proposition
- Understand your value chain
- Map a value matrix, to each persona
- Create a risk management framework
- Adopt a mixed strategy growth model
- Segment the market: Identify the buying center and personas
- Develop a messaging strategy and identify your marketing channels
Finally, the last mentor to speak, at this session, Olamide Afolabi, identified what to consider, when planning a ‘go to market strategy’, he mentioned the elements of a good market planning, which included a 5 C component structure; customers, cash, company, country and competition.
“Your ‘go to market strategy’, have a structure that sees things, through and executes it”.
He rounded off, by emphasising on market segmentation, product pricing and social network.
Featured Image: (L-R) Uzo Anekwe, Head, Business Development, Connect Nigeria, Nkiru Balonwu, Managing Partner, RDF Strategies and Afolabi Olamide, Co-Founder, Sanwo Touch2Pay.
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