Business Development and Marketing Strategy in Early‐stage Technology Start-­up Businesses: The Importance of Understanding the Customer

<p>The author sets out to explore the role of a marketer and the importance of the customer in an early-stage technology start‐up business when exploring the commercial options for a new technology or product. The author sets learning objectives around the use of an academic model to explore the development of the enterprise and the role of a marketer within a start-up team. In order to reach these aims, the author compares three strategic marketing models and draws on insights from academic and practice-­based literature to justify the use of Kotler and Armstrong’s Marketing Process Model. The author then implements Kotler’s model, detailing the practical elements of his role as the marketing and business development lead across three different projects, exploring the commercial potential for three different technologies/or products. The author recommends the use of Kotler and Armstrong’s Marketing Process Model for early-­stage start-up business teams that are exploring commercial options for a new technology or a product. He recommends a customer-­led approach to marketing within a technology start-­up team. The author recognizes the importance of a marketer’s role in establishing, maintaining and nurturing relationships with potential customers in order to drive and inform product development.</p>