Small Business Management Smart Book 4

brainstorming

brainstorming A group thinking technique where you ask participants about a situation or a product or service. You ask them to tell you all the things that come to mind when they think of that situation, product, or service. You can ask for specifics, like ways to make something better, or ways to create new versions, or ways to imagine how it would be used at other times or in other situations. In this group discussion, criticism is suspended in order to generate the maximum number of ideas

business model

business model A way to identify and organize key information on a business and how it achieves its goals. Business models can be analytic tools (like a business model canvas) or a way to do business (like the "razor and blade" business model).

casual model of entrepreneurship

causal model of entrepreneurship One of two approaches to thinking about entrepreneurship (the other is effectuation). The causal approach is one in which you want to create a particular product or service that does not yet exist, and to achieve that end, you have to cause the product or service to exist. This can mean you will have to learn new skills, or find others to help you achieve your end.

conversion rate

conversion rate The measure of how many visitors to your website (or people who click on your online advertisement) are actually willing to make a commitment to the product or service promoted on the site.

creativity

creativity A process producing an idea or opportunity that is novel and useful, frequently derived from making connections among distinct ideas or opportunities.

customer job

customer job The term given to what a potential customer is trying to do—perform or complete some sort of task, solve some problem, or try to achieve some outcome. The target of the job is often the key to what a proposed product or service is intended to help.

customer segment

customer segment A group or subgroup of potential purchasers that can be approached in a coherent manner.

design thinking

design thinking A customer-focused approach using interviews, observation, and exercises to create products and services that provide demonstrated evidence of solving customers' problems.

A/B testing

A/B testing A way to check customer reaction to websites describing your product or service

IDEO screen

IDEO screen A technique for conducting a fast initial analysis of ideas for their potential. An IDEO screen looks at three elements—market desirability, technical feasibility, and organizational viability.

SCAMPER

SCAMPER Substitute, combine, adapt, magnify or modify, put to other uses, eliminate, rearrange,

entrepreneurial alertness

entrepreneurial alertness A special set of observational and thinking skills that help entrepreneurs identify good opportunities; the ability to notice things that have been overlooked, without actually launching a formal search for opportunities, and the motivation to look for opportunities.

feasibility

feasibility The extent to which an idea is viable and realistic and the extent to which you are aware of internal (to your business) and external (industry, market, and regulatory environment) forces that could affect your business.

feasibiity study

feasibility study Evaluates the potential of a business opportunity by studying five primary areas in depth: the overall business idea, the product/service, the industry and market, financial projections (profitability), and the plan for future action.

freemium

freemium An approach to pricing, and a business model, that connects free and premium products or services. Typically a free version is offered and users have the option to pay to move up to premium features.

gain

gain Any sort of outcome (a product, service, outcome, or situation) customers or potential customers would like to encounter or be able to depend on. It is one of two driving forces of creating new products or services, with the other driving force being pain.

imitative strategy

imitative strategy An overall strategic approach in which the entrepreneur does more or less what others are already doing.

incremental strategy

incremental strategy Taking an idea and offering a way to do something slightly better than it is done presently.

landing page

landing page A small (often single-screen) website which describes a product, service or offering to prospective customers, users or clients, usually including a way to solicit a micro-commitment from the viewer, such as giving their email to learn more when the product launches.

license

license A legal agreement granting you rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property.

licensee

licensee The person or firm that is obtaining the rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property.

licensor

licensor The person or organization that is offering the rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property.

opportunity recognition

opportunity recognition Searching and capturing new ideas that lead to business opportunities. This process often involves creative thinking that leads to discovery of new and useful ideas.

pain

pain Any sort of problem, annoyance, source of aggravation, shortcoming, or suboptimal situation customers or potential customers face. It is one of two driving forces of creating new products or services, with the other driving force being gain.

painstorming

painstorming A group thinking technique where you ask participants about a situation, product, or service they experienced. You ask them to tell you all the things about that experience that were suboptimal—what was wrong, what didn't work well, what caused pain or discomfort, what could have been better. Their results can help describe how to improve the product, service, or situation, or possibly even provide alternatives to the original.

pilot test

pilot test A preliminary run of a business, sales effort, program, or website with the goal of assessing how well the overall approach works and what problems it might have.

radical innovation strategy

radical innovation strategy Rejecting existing ideas, and presenting a way to do things differently.

royalty

royalty A payment to a licensor based on the number or value of licensed items sold.

social innovation

social innovation The process of developing solutions to social, societal, and environmental problems through the application of design thinking principles in a widely collaborative manner, involving those facing the problem as well as those with expertise and other interests.

target market

target market A marketing term (also called serviceable obtainable market, or SOM ) that refers to the group of customers in the area you plan to serve who would be likely to be interested in your product, or those of competitors. Target markets can refer to individuals or market groups called segments.