Episode 5
Network & marketing
The previous episode focused on understanding your market. Now it's time to use that knowledge to choose your marketing approach and find a networking community. Networking is one of the most important aspects of growing your social enterprise, so figuring out how best to communicate your message in various scenarios to different kinds of people is something you should try to put a significant amount of time into.
Social Entrepreneurs Discuss
Further Reading
An accessible method of increasing your marketing knowledge is the 7 Ps of marketing —not to be confused with the 4 Ps of Innovation covered in a previous lesson. These 7 Ps allow you to consider seven key areas within the marketing realm. And guess what — yet again, they all begin with the letter P!
Product
What is your product or service? How would you describe it? Is there a social value attached to it?
Price
It is often difficult for social entrepreneurs to define prices, as they str...
(Read more...)
(Read more...)
An accessible method of increasing your marketing knowledge is the 7 Ps of marketing —not to be confused with the 4 Ps of Innovation covered in a previous lesson. These 7 Ps allow you to consider seven key areas within the marketing realm. And guess what — yet again, they all begin with the letter P!
Product
What is your product or service? How would you describe it? Is there a social value attached to it?
Price
It is often difficult for social entrepreneurs to define prices, as they struggle between creating a profit and creating services which are financially accessible to their beneficiaries. You may want to develop a sliding price strategy depending on the need, but we can discuss this further down the line. In setting prices, make sure you know your margins and that your services are commercially viable.
Promotion
How do you intend to spread awareness and promote your services? What channels do you intend to use? Do you have an advertising budget? How can you increase your reach?
Place
This is the easiest P. Where do your services take place, or where do you sell your product? This might be online, at a farmers market, at local shops…
People
Who is involved in spreading awareness/selling your services? It may just be yourself, or you might have volunteers or any other people who help you out. Make sure staff represent the brand well and are singing from the same hymn sheet regarding sales.
Process
The steps are taken to the point of sale. What is the process to get the service/product to market? What are the supply chain and logistics?
Physical evidence
Physical evidence refers to everything your customers see when interacting with your social enterprise. This includes the physical environment where you provide the product or service, labels and packaging, branding, brochures or pamphlets, social media and websites. It is important that all physical evidence is consistent and is on brand.
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Resources
Recent research has shown that those who speak a second language tend to develop dementia 5 years later than those of us who can only speak one. This level of prevention is greater than anything currently offered in the fields of medicine or pharmacology. Lingo Flamingo started in 2015, marrying a love of languages with a desire to promote life long learning. Their mission is to make language learning accessible for all and improve the lives of those living with dementia.
This resource is a guide to help you find the most appropriate e-commerce platform for your social enterprise, taking into account factors like whether you'd rather self-host or host on a cloud platform, what kind of order management system would work best for you and the kinds of extra features and integrations you might find useful.
Activities
Attached are two blank templates for you to fill in, the 7Ps of marketing and the marketing identity wheel. These will help you to flesh out all aspects of your social enterprise and develop a distinct and comprehensive brand identity so you can best market yourself to others and stand out from the rest.
As usual, click the text boxes on the digital slides to replace the prompts with your own answers.
As usual, click the text boxes on the digital slides to replace the prompts with your own answers.
Episode Summary
Your social enterprise should have a strong, recognisable brand and mission. When you begin to understand why networking and marketing are essential to your growth, it'll make it easier to develop your techniques. There are some universal tools and tips you can use, but having a distinct, unique identity and approach will give your enterprise that edge, so don't be afraid to take the path less travelled. Just make sure you're accounting for those across the spectrum of your demographic so that you're reaching all corners of your target audience.
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