Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wednesday: One-on-One Business Consulting (Day 2)

On Day 2, Demitrus led a session on marketing which included the "5 Ps of Marketing," product, people, place, price and promotion. To drive home this lesson, Demitrus showed attendees pictures of marketing examples from the U.S. and Haiti, and discussed ways they can use marketing principles to take their businesses to the next level. For example, utilizing the radio, which is popular in Haiti, is a strategy many participants should consider.

Demitrus also taught that they should brand their businesses in a way that captures a specific market. She explained why it is important to narrow their market and focus on their ideal or best customer by looking at how that person purchases, when they purchase, where they purchase, why they purchase, as well as that person's age and economic status.

Finally, Demitrus encouraged participants to think of ways they could sell their products to other people in Haiti as well as those in other countries.

Mark taught on pricing and financial statements. The participants were familiar with the concept of a business plan but had never created one of their own. The Team provided a sample business plan and participants were excited to learn about how to write one.


1 comment: