New Opportunites For SMEs

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“Today Reaching A Mass Audience Is At Lower Cost Than Ever Before.”

THERE IS A DEMAND FOR NICHE BRANDS AROUND THE WORLD You

may have been running your company for years dreamt of exporting to the far-east or emerging markets like Brazil, but quickly dismissed the idea because you are faced with one or more of the following challenges common to SMEs:

UNABLE TO CHALLENGE BIG COMPANIES W i t h m a n y i n d u s t r i e s a r e dominated by large multi-­‐national organisations with marketing teams the size of some your entire organisations, may be thinking there is no way to compete. Maybe not, I think the key is to not think competition. These companies have a global presence, spend millions of dollars of marketing and public relations and have extensive distribution.

There are advantages of being smaller and the presence of large corporations can create new opportunities for your small company. Though commercials i n A l u e n c e b u y e r b e h a v i o u r, c o n s u m e r s a r e b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g ly d i s c e r n i n g a n d interested in unique, rare and hard to Aind quality brands that still offer personal relationships and Alexible service.

You should focus your efforts on providing a niche products and a strong focus on personal service and quality. Creating virtual networks will also assist you in building a resource database and create opportunities to share ideas, interactions with a wider market and opportunities to tap into European Union funding that is sometimes only available to groups of producers/service providers. To survive in this climate you need to have the right networks and support.

but the company must look to ways o f i n c r e a s i n g r e v e n u e a n d implementing long-­‐term growth a n d s t a b i l i t y m e a s u r e s .

U n d e r s t a n d i n g y o u r t a r g e t audience, product positioning, distribution and pricing strategy and what makes it unique from the offering of competitors, is key to successfully growing your brand locally or in new overseas markets.

BARRIERS TO INNOVATION While most founders/owners may have the creative styles to produce the goods and services their not have the Ainancial resources to hire full-­‐time research and development personnel and marketing strategist that can drive innovation and market growth in the company.

Failure to tap into the right resources can have a negative effect on your company’s growth.

LACK CLEAR GOALS AND STRATEGIES Many SME’s fail to create a roadmap that will deAinite how their business will grow and who will buy their products and services. Further, m a n y c o m p a n i e s d u r i n g a downturn are quick to slash cost or c u t b a c k o n m a r ke t i n g a n d promotion for the company. This may be important in the short-­‐term

Though the expertise may be in-­‐ house for developing the products, a lack of understanding of the market trends and needs combined with inadequate sales skills can have an adverse effect on your business. Today, with the Internet, social media and many outsourcing possibilities, SME’s with a clear road map can tap into the resources they need to like never before.

Seashell Consulting Inc. | hanna@seashellconsultinggroup.com | www.seashellconsultinggroup.com

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LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF MARKETS: You may be faced with questions such as: “how do I find buyers for my brand and build export markets to leverage risk and increase sales?”

“How do I find the financial resources need to expand and provide the necessary in-market support to develop the brand?” Faced with the challenge of competition from global brands with billboards and glossy adverts on every corner, SMEs can become overwhelmed by the prospect and some fail to try.

For many European companies rumours and misconceptions of foreign markets have also contributed to what a European Commission survey (2007) found to be only 8% of European Union SMEs are exporting. With the current downturn in Europe and new emerging markets around the world, failure to take advantage of building export turnover can have an adverse effect on the survival of a SME. Customers around the world are always interested in quality products and services.

There are opportunities out there and with the right resources and partners in each

market, combined with promotional effort using social media, public relations and other online and offline media to draw awareness to the brand, SME’s can grow successfully internationally. There are many ways of promoting products and services to a mass audience at low-cost, selecting the right media will be determined by your strategy. You don’t have to be a billion dollar enterprise to play like one!

Small and medium companies can operate with a big business attitude and achieve success internationally. It is important that you undertake a proper marketing audit of your brand to assess existing and potential gaps, ensure that your branding is appealing to your target audience and develop a a clear strategy engaging the right resources that will support your strategy.

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“Small and medium companies can operate with a big business attitude and achieve success internationally.”

Promotion and public relations will be key to creating awareness for your brand and you don’t need a multi-million dollar marketing budget to do it! We live in an era where communicating and selling to a mass audience is more accessible and faster than ever before!

Seashell Consulting Inc. is a boutique marketing firm helping companies develop new international markets, strategic roadmaps for international growth, international market insights, branding strategies.

Seashell Consulting Inc. | hanna@seashellconsultinggroup.com | www.seashellconsultinggroup.com