Project implementation steps (practical steps from idea start to project end in 2021)

Project implementation steps (practical steps from idea start to project end in 2021)

Project implementation steps 

A lot have ideas, but who's doing it? Who can tell if this idea is right for the market or not? And you'll find an investor who adopts her? Here's this article that explains in detail the steps of project implementation from idea to continuation or exit.

Let's start with the project implementation steps:

1. Making sure your project idea is successful

Successful project ideas often have one or more of the following characteristics:

Solving a market problem.

Take a chance and need in the market.

Offering a product that affects society positively.

If we apply this to, for example, dotcom, which is one of the biggest online shopping platforms in the Arab world, it finds its chance at:

Big market: A lot of buyers online.

Entry barriers: She has no competitors.

Strong Task Force: He has leadership, technical skills and passion.

Plenty of capital.

Strong communications network: They were able to reach all parts of the Arab world.

Knowledge: Marketing, finance, management, technology... etc.)

How to develop your project idea

Talk to the agents. This step is very important at the beginning, and it is also important in any step of project implementation.

Product experience on the market in small quantities.

Experiment and exploration.

Is your idea  able?

Whether you have the money to do the project, or do you need an investor to finance your project? Ask some investors if they can invest in it? The investor evaluates the idea based on:

Risk-dividend balance

Trust

Implementation capacity

Financial assessment

How do you evaluate the idea through the business model?

Rather than a business plan, Business Model Canvas is a tool for designing Business by answering several questions:

What product or service do you offer?

Who are the clients?

What does the client benefit from this product?

How do you get to the clients?

What are the company's revenue sources?

After making sure your project idea is a good one... You need to move on to the next step of project implementation.

2. Understanding the market and customers

The second step in implementing the project is to segregate the market through:

Demographics.

Social and economic background.

Geographical background.

Behavioral background.

After studying all these backgrounds, it adds the "proposed value concept," which is the indirect value of the product; Like cars, their primary function is to deliver from place to place.

But there's an extra value to every brand... The fastest vehicle is BMW, the one that doesn't break is TOYOTA, the safest car is VOLVO, the luxury car is Mercedes and so on.

How do you understand your client?

You can understand your client by:

Secondary data: collected by others, such as government bodies or the World Bank; For Market Research, also marketing company reports.

Preliminary data: like questionnaires, search for keywords used by potential clients.

What's the size of the competition in the market?

Markets that are difficult to compete in, such as telecommunications and iron companies, are "specific markets" and there are easy-to-enter markets such as dairy and clothing, which are "fragmented markets."

Do you work in a growing or mature market?

What's your competitive advantage? Is it a price reduction? Or do you recognize the product?

How big is the market?

What's your market share of it?

How do you get to your client?

One of the most important steps to implement the project is to reach the target customers (distribution channels), so if you're going to sell directly to you by building your own distribution channel.

If the sale was indirect, it would be through distribution companies for an additional cost to bear. Are you following the attraction strategy or the payment strategy? By advertising or by a broker recommending this product?

3. Project funding

Financing the project is the step that awaits you from starting to read the project's implementation steps, so we will give it to you in detail and clearly, with the addition of many sources that you can use later.

First is a list of the most important traditional sources of financing for projects.

Personal money.

Family and friends.

Personal investors.

Incubators and accelerators.

Banks.

Government funds/funds.

Second, non-traditional sources of project funding

1. Reduced expenditures: You can initially work from home with a small team, and use knowledge for certain services.

2. Supplier finance (term financing): persuade suppliers to reduce or cut in instalments.

3. Client funding: Request for payment from clients before receiving their services or products.

4. Public funding: Like Skekra, which invests in start-ups or small companies.

Preparation of the funding strategy

In order to prepare this step of project implementation, you have to ask yourself several questions:

How much funding do you need?

When are you gonna need this funding?

What do we do with this funding?

What are the best sources of financing for your company type, so if you have assets you can turn to banks as asking for guarantees like this, and if your idea solves environmental problems that exist in society or offers another solution you can turn to small and medium fund projects.

Who are the funders who want to invest in this idea or this sector? How do you negotiate investment terms? So I understand your investor well before turning to him.

4. Management of the organizational structure of the company

At the beginning of your establishment, you have a small number of employees, and the size of the company is 10 to 30 people, where you can divide it into a department (marketing, finance, accounting, production).

By increasing from 50 to 100 people, each team is headed by a leader to manage it to specialize in particular departments or focus on certain products if you produce more than one product.

So if you find the company growing up and the team complete, specify the rules of work such as the status of:

Job Description or Job Description.

One communication channel.

Performance Measurement Rates or KPIS.

You'll definitely have an inevitable problem with this move, which is how to attract talent?

Initially, you will not have enough capital to pay a rewarding salary; So attract them by other things like freedom of movement, giving them good experience, a comfortable working environment.

By grading and increasing sections, the problem of not getting the problem right in any section will be addressed; So you and each department better have one grade, that's better.

Technology is one of the most important sections to be found in start-ups or small companies, because it provides a lot of money; In large companies it takes 3-4 years to implement.

But with cloud systems, cloud COMPUTING can provide some management systems. Such as resource management systems (ERP), customer relationship management systems (CRM), distribution and inventory systems and distribution outlets (SCM), accounting systems, project management systems

5. Marketing and promotion

The marketing and promotion of start-ups is very important in the project implementation steps; Because marketing involves not only promotion as some believe, it starts with the start of product formation and exit, and even the successful completion of the sale.

Marketing is a comprehensive and integrated management process, economic and social, continuous and dynamic, which is also important for non-profit enterprises.

You cannot tell the steps of project implementation without knowing 4p's or elements of the marketing mix, especially in the case of small and emerging enterprises.

Here's an explanation of the four elements of the marketing mix.

The term 4Ps is given to the marketing mix because it consists of four elements, all starting with the P:

product

price

place

promotion

Here's an explanation for each of them:

1. Product

One of the most important components of the marketing mix is the basis for the rest of the mix, which in small enterprises is preferred to be an innovative product that can solve a problem in society or meet a need.

There are 4 types of consumer-oriented products:

1. Soft product category

They are many varieties that we buy from frequent, inexpensive places that are in close proximity to housing, such as soda and ice cream, which need not be compared much with other products.

2. Shopping products

This type requires thought and comparison between many alternatives and multiple brands, such as furniture, clothing and computers, which are less frequent in terms of purchasing them (there are spaced periods).

3. Special products

They are special products that require special purchasing effort, long planning and high price, and there is no comparison between prices, such as watches and luxury cars.

4. Unsolicited Products

They are products that are not thought of by the consumer until the company stimulates the need for the drug, such as party services, insurance and psychiatric clinics.

A product goes through a life cycle called Product Life Circuit (PRC). You start with presentation, then growth, then maturity, then decline, and it's very important to know the product in any of the stages? To amend and take the necessary measures to amend.

2. Price Price

It is the cash units paid by the buyer for the purpose of obtaining the product or service within a certain period of time and is one of the most important steps in the implementation of the project; It is the only revenue-generating element opposite to the rest of the marketing mix requiring increased costs.

The price varies according to the life cycle of the product and is directly related to the term value; Since (value = interest and benefits - cost), value is the total return the customer expects to receive in exchange for payment of money.

The benefits or benefits are all that they can receive now or in the future. as a response to end the procurement process (product itself, satisfaction of the customer's needs and wishes, satisfaction, after-sale services and other services).

Costs are all efforts to obtain that product. We mean effort, cost, time, risk and opportunity or missed cost. Competition prices must also be taken into account.

3. Place Place

Here we're talking about delivering the product to the end consumer or the industrial buyer, and he finds two ways:

Direct distribution: There is no intermediary between producer and consumer, such as the provision of telecommunications services or high-priced goods.

Indirect distribution: There is one or more intermediaries between the product and the service provider and the end consumer.

The importance of distribution is that it connects the customer to the product with the time, location and quantity desired by the consumer, and provides the total options so that it can meet the total needs of the customers.

4. Promotion 

It is all marketing communications made by the company to inform the target groups, remind them or persuade them to buy, or recommend that existing customers inform others of the product (Word of Death).

Its objectives are:

Introduction of product to consumers

Deepening loyalty

Convincing target or potential clients

Providing new company information to customers

Informing consumers of the company's aims and purpose.

The basis for promotion is changing opinions and beliefs or trying to convince consumers through new information, or any new change in the product, location or characteristics.

There is a so-called Promotional Mix and here are its elements:

1. Declaration

It is a non-personal means of providing ideas about goods and services by means of an informant for paid wages, and it opens channels of communication between the company and its customers.

The most important types of advertising are:

Visual Advertising

Audible Ads

Print.

On a smartphone screen.

On social media platforms.

The pros of the ad:

Coverage of a wide range

Low cost of single-unit consumer access

Repeat Message Ad Several Times

Use of sensory, audio and visual effects.

Negative advertising:

The absolute number spent on advertising is very high

The difficulty of measuring the effectiveness of advertising and its impact on products.

2. Personal sale

It is a direct connection between potential customers and employees with a view to making a deal, a transaction that meets customer satisfaction, and a winning relationship such as sales delegates and salesmen.

Personal sales pros:

Get a direct and rapid response

Feedback from potential client

Measuring the effectiveness of the methods used through dialogue with the client and reading his/her facial expressions.

Downsides of personal sale:

High cost of reaching one unit of target audience

It's hard to get high - quality sales delegates.

3. Politics and Public Relations

Public relations is a significant step in the implementation of the project, a planned program of policies and models of behavior aimed at building public confidence in the Organization and increasing understanding of the exchange between the parties.

Its goal is to build a good relationship with different public people, build a good enterprise image, deal with the elimination of rumors, explain the company's view of any accidents that could occur.

For students: It is a non-personal way of stimulating product demand; In order to disseminate data or information about it by one of the means sought, such as radio, television and television meetings.

Students are required to reach out to viewers as not advertising, which gives them more confidence and credibility.

4. Sales revitalization

They are all marketing activities other than sales, advertising and advertising, which stimulate effective procurement, and add value to the product for a limited period of time.

Stimulating sales is indispensable in project implementation, which relies on several tools such as:

Gifts with products

Certain discounts

Increase in the size of the packaging at the same price as before

Free samples to try the new product

Competitions

Offers to stimulate purchase.

Market targeting and strategies

We talked at the top about this step of project implementation, but now we explain it at length; Because this part is about marketing.

The market is a number of individuals or companies to whom the company directs all its efforts and operations and implements the optimal marketing mix to satisfy their needs and desires.

There are 3 market targeting strategies:

1. Macro-market strategy: It is a strategy used by enterprises that sell a single product to all consumers, using a single marketing mix for buyers with similar needs and desires, such as sugar, flour and shipping.

2. Focused targeting strategy: All of the enterprise's resources are directed towards serving a sector of the total market after selecting a single segment or market sector, and all marketing efforts are directed towards this sector at a price appropriate to buyers, such as Rolex watches and accessories.

Advantages: taking advantage of specialization, achieving a strong position in the market, providing process performance specialists.

Defects: Risk of falling demand at any given time, complete dependence on one commodity or group of consumers, difficulty moving to other markets.

3. Diversified market sector strategy: It is a strategy used by enterprises offering multiple products, and there are different marketing programs to satisfy the needs of different marketing sectors where it aims to serve a large sector of the overall market.

Advantages: Sales increase, operation at the right limit.

Defects: High marketing cost resulting from the diversity of marketing programs such as Naike

digital marketing

We talked about marketing in general, and now we're going to talk about digital marketing in particular, which you're going to need massively to make your project work.

Digital marketing is of great importance; It helps spread and reach customers, less barriers than traditional marketing, a marketing budget economy, a hand - to-hand marketing medium for all business categories.

Types of digital marketing

1. E-mail Marketing

After creating an official e - mail for the company, you create your own e-mail list, and then you send useful content and regular offers to customers on the list.

2. Content Marketing

With a view to attracting clients, increasing visibility and building a good reputation for the company by: Articles, blogs, videos, photos, ondographs.

3. Paid Declarations - Pay Per Click

It's the most popular and widely used online method, making adverts on search engines by setting a daily budget and giving content certain key words. The most important platforms for advertising are Facebook Ads, Bing Ads, Google Ads.

4. Social Media Marketing

Marketing through social media platforms is an important step in the implementation of the project, a system of electronic networks that allows the participant to create a website or account, linking it through an electronic social system with other members with similar interests and hobbies.

Stages of digital marketing

Phase one: Select the appropriate website.

The existence of a company website enhances credibility, so you have to have a clear idea of the Target Audition, and go back to the International Customer Profile. The website is the foundation and is supported by social media sites.

Phase two: Setting targets

What objectives would we like to accomplish through online media? What are the reasons? What kind of content? What's the performance score? Who's the target audience? And who's the stage person to speak for the company? (SMART Goals).

Phase three: Development of key performance measurement indicators (KPIS).

An important phase of digital marketing, which includes many measures:

Activity measures

Access Measures

Reaction measures

Acquisition Measures

Conversion measures

Measures of sustainability and support

Results measures

Phase 4: Configure your location file

It prepares a file that reflects the character of the company (name, time and date - a profile of the company - suggesting certain questions to the client with an auto-response feature.

Important tools to assist start-ups and small companies in digital marketing

Surely starting your project will not be able to cover all the costs; So it's important to look for effective tools to help you market your business free or low-cost.

Website:  Press (an easy tool for designing a website).

Financial matters: FreshBooks (provides you with an integrated financial and accounting system specifically designed for start-ups, a simple alternative to starting your career).

E-mail marketing: Mailchimp (will help you market through e - mail; it's a great tool; all you have to do is create a free account on it and start working).

Marketing via social media: Buffer (will help you manage your project pages on social media)

Graphic design: Canva (provides you with a very professional and fast design tool)

Project management: Basecamp (site interested in project management and task follow-up. They can give the team members the tasks assigned to them, and give the company manager the verification of the team's performance and completion rate).

6. Project risk management

Now we're talking about a step that little is known to deal with, which is managing risk properly, understanding the meaning of risk.

Project risk management is a step that can protect those projects and anticipate everything that can happen in the future, whether positive or negative.

It will give us an indication of the professionalism of the project manager and the task force, and at a ready level, the circumstances and events that can have a direct impact on the objectives and achievement of the project will be dealt with, and it will give the client a sense that the project is good and will reach what it wants by the agreed time.

There are two types of risks:

Business Risks (which is a potentially positive and potentially negative type of risk).

Business Pore (negative risks affecting Quality or Budget or Process)

5 Strategies for dealing with risks, particularly those with adverse effects

1. Escalation

This strategy is used when the risk is outside the project and exceeds the authority of the project manager, elevating it to higher departments.

2. Avoidance

If someone on your team cannot handle a particular section that needs high technology; It can be moved to another section to avoid the problem it can cause.

3. Conversion

Some risks you can't handle, so you can contract with some companies (meaning delegation) >

4. Mitigation

The task force is trying to minimize the risk.

5. Acceptance

You're preparing an emergency strategy to deal with that threat.

7. Failure Management

80% of start-ups fail in the first 3 years of their creation, for several reasons, including:

Imagine markets and big customers.

Management of financial flows (failure to manage funds properly)

Lack of expertise

You must have any kind of experience in your industry even three months, and it's also a reason for team differences, bad planning.

How to avoid failure

Managing working capital by reducing expenses especially in the initial phase, and we talked about it at the top at length.

Reputation management must have a good personal reputation even after failure, you might need to start another venture with a new investor.

Management of legal risks in terms of termination of contracts contracted with all obligations.

The ability to decide to stop as they say, "Fail Safe, Fail Fast."

If the company does not fail - develop and expand the project or exit

Public subtraction or subscription. International Public Exchange (IPO) put its shares up for sale for the first time on the stock market, with the aim of increasing capital.

Acquisition: Instagram, which was acquired by Facebook.

The sales stages are the sale of the company to a group of employees with experience in its administration.

Keep going especially if you're in the Cash Cow phase and you get a high financial share of the market, and make a lucrative profit.

Liquidation and closure.

And so we've finished explaining the steps of project implementation that will help you create your project with practical and thoughtful steps, from the beginning of the idea to continuing or leaving.

We hope that these steps will be sufficient for you to implement the project, and don't forget to visit and use the sites and tools we mentioned in this article describing the steps to implement the project.