AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF START-UP ENTERPRISES IN MADHYA PRADESH: ANALYZING ENTREPRENEURIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Abstract

In order to survive and expand, start-ups have to invest in marketing; but, as they typically have a modest budget, small amount of capital, and no established customers, they struggle to compete with the major players in their field. By being more adaptable in the way they advertise than their rivals in the market, companies can turn their weaknesses into strengths and accomplish this. The aim of this study was to investigate, using entrepreneurial marketing as a framework, the marketing tactics used by Indian startups. The study uses a mixed research approach and is based on a sample of 67 startup companies that are active in Madhya Pradesh. A semi-structured questionnaire with both open-ended and quantitative questions was used to collect data. Both AQUAD 7.0 and SPSS 22.0 were used to examine the data. According to the research, start-up businesses view marketing as an essential component of their growth and sustainability. Businesses are prepared to use entrepreneurial marketing, and some of the strategies have already been implemented. We looked at the current state of the startup marketing environment. Both start-up business owners and practitioners of entrepreneurship may find that this research offers useful insights about the importance of their marketing-related activities. The study offers two distinct contributions pertaining to the marketing practices in start-ups: (a) Identifies the research gap within the existing research literature; (b) explains the marketing strategies by start-up companies. Keywords: Start-ups, small businesses, entrepreneurial marketing, marketing strategies, start-up-India.