ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the importance of developing marketing and sales capabilities to achieve competitive advantage. The resource-based view asserts that firms gain and sustain competitive advantage by developing and using the organisation's resources. The chapter discusses how different capabilities are required for survival (customer discovery and validation) and growth (customer creation and company development). The chapter explains marketing's contribution to different business processes. Although research supports the positive effect of marketing and sales capabilities on firm performance, for start-ups a more detailed perspective is useful. Start-ups need to focus on survival before they can focus on growing their business. The chapter identifies a total set of marketing capabilities. The simple marketing and sales plans used at the beginning of the development of the start-up will slowly but surely become more elaborate and detailed.
