Learn the essential marketing concepts and practical commercialization strategies to bring your new venture to market.
Marketing innovative products and services occurs in an ever-changing environment, and requires rapid decision making with incomplete information. These innovations are introduced at increasingly frequent intervals, and there are high mortality rates for products and services, and the businesses themselves.
Our course provides a practical, how-to guide for navigating these marketing challenges to bring innovative new products and services to market. With learning modules on product strategy, go-to-market strategies, and growth strategies, you will build your skills in understanding and applying the latest marketing strategies and tactics. We’ll explore how to develop an informed marketing plan that aligns with customer needs based on real market research.
Learn the latest strategies for customer discovery, interviews and focus groups, product design, product development, content marketing, social media marketing, and marketing campaign management. The course will provide a balance between conceptual discussions based on readings of concepts and practices, and applied, hands-on analysis with real projects.
Module 1: Introduction to Market Development and Commercialization
This module includes a welcome to the course, an orientation to our teaching approach and faculty, and an introduction to the marketing challenges for new ventures.
Module 2: Customer Development and the Chasm
Revisiting the Customer Development Process. Highlights from the Customer Development Manifesto. What Startup Market Do You Fit In? How Market Types Affect Marketing Strategy.
Module 3: Crossing the Chasm to Mainstream Customers
The Basics of Crossing the Chasm. What Customer Problem Are You Solving? Segmenting the Market.
Module 4: Creating a Product Marketing Foundation
Linking Products to Buyers. Defining the “Whole” Product. Customer Value: Tying Benefits to Features. Pricing Your Solution.
Module 5: Communicating Product Value to Customers
What’s Your Brand? Positioning Your Startup and Product. Eight Rules to Build a Strong Market Position. Corporate Positioning.
Module 6: Promoting Your Product and Startup
Influencing Customers with Market Messengers. Adopting Traditional PR Approaches. Developing a PR Plan. Bootstrapping Your PR Efforts.
Module 7: The Basics of Creating Customer Demand
Understanding the Customer’s Buying Journey. Driving Customer Awareness and Interest. The Buyer Persona. Creating a Buyer Persona.
Module 8: Acquiring Customers with Content Marketing
Connecting with Story Telling. Building a Credible Story. Content Marketing and Storytelling. Delivering Content.
Module 9: Creating Customer Demand with Inbound Marketing Tools
Key Elements of Your Digital Marketing Strategy. The Basics of Lead Capture. The Basics of Search Engine Optimization. The Basics of Paid Search.
Module 10: Creating Customer Demand with Outbound Marketing Tools
The Drivers of Marketing Automation. What is Marketing Automation. Email Campaigns. Nurturing Prospects to Become Customers with Lead Scoring.
Module 11: Extending Your Sales Reach
Developing a Sales Strategy. Understanding How the Channel Food Chain Works. Building a Distribution Plan to Scale. Developing Distribution Pricing.
Module 11: Extending Your Sales Reach
Developing a Sales Strategy. Understanding How the Channel Food Chain Works. Building a Distribution Plan to Scale. Developing Distribution Pricing.
Josef Hapli
Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute
University of Maryland
Digital industry leader and entrepreneur Josef Hapli is a lecturer with the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Josef is the founder and CEO of Ether, a digital agency that creates unforgettable web, mobile, and marketing experiences. With experience in advertising, marketing, and consulting, Josef has delivered award-winning work across various media for clients including Google, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Gallup, Healthcare.gov, and more. He specializes in brand storytelling and helping clients tackle their biggest problems with a “360” approach.
Josef holds bachelor's degrees in Communications and Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland. Supporting the inclusion of STEM studies and women in tech, Josef incorporates an educational approach into his work and mentorship. His family are native Washingtonians, avid travelers, and wine enthusiasts.
