Alan Hall says he took an “incredible risk” when he launched a company in his office garage in 1988. He had a wife and six kids, and one business had already bombed. The tech startup, which involved sharing printer information, wasn’t able to expand despite angel money.
“We didn’t know how to take it to market, so we thought, ‘Why not evangelize the product to Ma and Pa computer stores?’” says Hall, a Utah resident and Brigham Young University graduate.
While his approach worked for a while, the IT field was changing so fast that those on the retail side couldn’t keep up. Hall says he failed because he still hadn’t figured out marketing.
With his next venture – which eventually became MarketStar, a global marketing and sales company – he focused on setting realistic goals that put the customer first. It was the key to taking his company out of the garage and into 100 countries.
Goal 1: Know What Your Customers Want – and Give It to Them
“I had an idea that came out of need and I hit the right spot at the right time,” says Hall, who saw that many IT processes should be simplified. Various customers couldn’t adapt to the rapidly changing IT climate, told him why – and he paid attention.
“You need to understand your customer well,” Hall says. “That goal for us hasn’t changed over time.”
Eventually, his processes got the attention of Lotus and other major concerns, and MarketStar took off. Today, the company provides retail, channel and direct sales services.
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