Marketing for Start Ups and Small Businesses

This free practical training for entrepreneurs is aimed at startups and small businesses. This course take approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete, and will support you to develop a customised and relevant marketing plan, and to craft a marketing pitch. This course was produced as part of the Aga Khan Development Network’s Accelerate Prosperity initiative and is made available on the Aga Khan Foundation’s Learning Hub.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
LO1 Explain the purpose of marketing and distinguish between marketing and sales.
LO2 Identify the key components of a marketing plan and explain how they support wider business goals.
LO3 Describe how customer characteristics, behaviour, market research, competitors, and collaborators can inform marketing decisions
LO4 Explain the purpose of market segmentation and positioning and how they help businesses identify and communicate with target customers.
LO5 Describe the elements of the marketing mix and explain how they can be combined to create an effective marketing strategy.
LO6 Identify the factors that influence pricing and distinguish between different pricing objectives and strategies.
LO7 Explain the role of distribution, communication, and promotional channels in reaching and engaging target customers.
LO8 Describe how marketing activities, including social media, can be planned, budgeted, measured, and communicated through a marketing pitch.

Professional Objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
– Develop a practical marketing plan for a start-up or small business.
– Identify target customers and analyse competitors.
– Segment customers and position a business effectively within its market.
– Set appropriate marketing goals and translate them into practical actions.
– Make informed decisions about products, pricing, distribution, and promotion.
– Select appropriate communication and promotional channels to reach target customers.
– Develop a marketing budget and measure the effectiveness of marketing activities.
– Prepare and present a clear marketing pitch.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License. To view a copy of this license, go here.