strategic plan

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Overcoming the Hurdles to U.S. Market Entry

U.S. market entry is a rite of passage for many international scaling firms—particularly those in advanced technology. An outcome of globalization and the rapid pace of technological advancement, entrepreneurs and manufacturing businesses of all sizes from around the world see extraordinary opportunity here. Such trends have also fueled increased competition, in turn creating new (and exacerbating old) challenges for international firms vying for economic prosperity. For insight into how these, and other U.S. market entry pioneers capitalize on new opportunities while navigating the challenges of the North American marketplace, we spoke with American manufacturing market-entry guru Lance Scott of Alliance Technologies. Lance founded Alliance Technologies with a mission to help international advanced manufacturing companies accelerate strategic growth in the American market through direct operational management and expert guidance. With 30 years of experience supporting international companies in their efforts to establish, enhance or accelerate growth in the Americas, we asked Lance about the challenges these firms face. Misjudging the geography Misjudging the geographic landscape, scale and scope of the U.S. market is the first challenge faced by international scaling firms. Specifically, Lance described how many firms underestimate the size and diversity of the U.S. due to our shared language. Additionally, because certain geographic areas are renown for concentrations of particular industries, scaling firms tend to overlook other highly viable regions for doing business. “Everyone knows that California has a tremendous market in Silicon Valley but in fact, out of all the R&D spending in the U.S., about two-thirds come from eleven states. While California is the largest, seven states in the Northeast account for $75 billion. That’s not insignificant.” This is not meant to imply that the middle of the country is a barren wasteland. As Lance points out, there are a number of key markets with major players and influencers throughout the U.S. and all of North America. Finding your first home in the U.S. market In light of these challenges, we asked Lance about the primary variables he uses to help scaling firms make their first location decision. For manufacturing firms, Lance emphasized the importance of region-specific industry knowledge. In other words, where are the key accounts and influencers located? Specifically, he works with clients to unpack cluster trends. “The medical device industry is a great example. While the U.S. has clusters in Connecticut, Boston and throughout New England, Minnesota is a critical region for this industry that people might not think of at first.” How much of a concern is the high cost of doing business in the U.S.? Firms often cite the high cost of doing business in the U.S. as a major challenge to U.S. market entry. Lance doesn’t discount this challenge but encourages his clients to take a more nuanced perspective. “I try to help our manufacturing clients understand that over the past 20 or 30 years there’s been a massive shift of high-volume manufacturing to low-cost regions. It’s critical that high-volume manufacturers know that even though a lot of the decision-making happens in the U.S., high-volume production does not.” That said, Lance discourages his manufacturing clients from basing their scaling decisions on where they can find the lowest upfront costs. “I don’t want to discount the cost of doing business but I think it’s dangerous to choose your location simply based on where you can find the lowest entry costs such as building leases or salary rates. Sure, these might be lower somewhere else, but if you’re not close to your customers, there will be other, potentially higher startup costs like travel. Lance recommends considering factors like time zone—ensuring there is some overlap with your target customers and the availability of a skilled workforce in weighing the U.S. market entry decision. One U.S. market entry hurdle not to worry about Ensuring a readily available, skilled labor pool is a critical factor for any scaling firm. From Lance’s perspective, this is one hurdle that U.S. market entrants need not worry about. “I know people complain, but in helping advanced manufacturing companies scale in the U.S., I’ve always been able to find skilled workers or add additional training when needed. Finding a labor force that meets your needs is certainly possible just about anywhere in the U.S.” For more expert advice on overcoming the challenges of U.S. market entry, check out our interview with Lance Scott titled: Navigating the Challenges of the American Market: The Impact of a Vast Geographic Territory. To check out all MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About
 MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no-obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

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The Trick to Getting Past Gatekeepers in B2B Sales

Gatekeepers are hired to protect C-suite executives. While not the Queen of England, the myriad of responsibilities juggled by C-suites requires someone to filter, grant or deny access to them based on their credentials. C-suite executives themselves are also gatekeepers to B2B sales in that they control the budgets. As a result, salespeople must have a targeted strategy for gaining access to the C-suite that accounts for the role of their vetting administrator. For some expert advice on how to get past the gatekeepers in B2B sales, we interviewed appointment-setting guru Bob Good, CEO and founder of Good Leads. Good Leads provides executive-level warranted business introductions and B2B business development services for technology-centric firms, professional service entities, and government economic development agencies. What is the number one mistake salespeople make when approaching gatekeepers? The number one mistake, according to Bob, is sounding like a telemarketer. “It’s the kiss of death. Gatekeepers are trained to identify telemarketers. They can hear it in your voice.” Even if it’s the 80th call of the day, salespeople must take the preparatory steps to sound composed, engaged, and knowledgeable about whom they are reaching out to. In essence, all the things telemarketers do not do. Are there ways to engage gatekeepers with content? According to Bob, breaking the ice with a provocative question is a great way to engage gatekeepers in conversation and demonstrate your expertise. Questions that start with: Are you aware of [X]? [X] is happening down the street, how has that impacted you? Did you know [X] company saved [Y] company [$ amount] this year? By asking gatekeepers questions, you are allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge and to feel empowered. With a natural inclination to help, it may also compel them to get you more information on this topic. Leveraging your most current social media or print ad as a primer for the call can also be a useful strategy, according to Bob. Whether it’s via live phone call, voicemail or follow-up email, using a recent marketing investment as a reference strategically helps to build credibility. For example: “Did you see our recent ad in the Wall Street Journal?” For more on how to prepare and leverage every opportunity when endeavoring to set C-suite appointments, check out this post. Strategically using email in B2B sales B2B sales require multiple touchpoints. In addition to phone calls, which Bob still uses as his primary method of outreach, email is an important tool to leverage as well. According to studies, the best time to send an email that will be read is between 4-6 PM. Bob also recommends carefully using subject lines and short headers that will catch your gatekeeper’s attention in what is sure to be a very full inbox. And remember, barraging gatekeepers or C-suite execs with any form of communication, whether it’s email or voicemail, is never a good idea. While persistence is critical, so is presenting a calculated approach. And on the topic of persistence, putting in place a system to provide constant feedback on the status of an outreach effort is always helpful. Because the timeline on B2B sales is particularly long, it’s critical that your sales team stay engaged and accountable to the process. While the gatekeepers at Buckingham Palace may not smile, they are human. So are the C-suite admins on the other end of the line. Using techniques to help them understand your unique value proposition actually makes their job easier. What is the trick to getting past gatekeepers in B2B sales? Help them help you. To check out all of MEET’s interview content with leaders in the B2B sales, marketing, and soft-landing space, visit our YouTube Channel and subscribe. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no-obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

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Setting C-suite Appointments like a Boss

Setting appointments with CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, CMO’s and other organizational leaders are the lifeblood of B2B sales. Top sales professionals must battle gatekeepers, voicemail, email filters, their fears, and a variety of other obstacles to get the attention of these executives. The process is often inefficient and frustrating. Sometimes even demoralizing. On August 20th we chatted with appointment-setting guru Bob Good of Good Leads to learn more about the common challenges sales leaders face in setting C-suite appointments and how to overcome them. Good Leads provides executive-level warranted business introductions and B2B business development services for technology-centric firms, professional service entities, and government economic development agencies. Bob’s entire business model is based on a very real problem that all B2B companies face in acquiring new customers: the challenge of setting appointments with C-suite executives who are the gateway to customer acquisition. As CEO and founder with 25 years of experience, we asked Bob what are some of the challenges that sales professionals face that draws them to Good Leads for support. Why do B2B firms need help with C-suite introductions? Bob identified three primary challenges faced by firms in their pursuit of appointments with the C-suite. Lack of Maturity: For companies that are young and inexperienced, it is difficult for salespeople to relate knowledge with confidence while on the phone. Call Reluctance: There are salespeople in every company that fear of picking up the phone; those who lack experience feel nervous about reaching out to executives at this level. Lack of Persistence: Recognizing that it sometimes takes 10-15 calls at different levels within the organization before you get an answer, giving up too soon is a common barrier to success. The first step to overcoming these challenges is recognizing their frequency. No one likes the feeling of rejection and yet effective salespeople rebound from rejection all the time. The key is to build confidence—in yourself and the company—so that these hurdles are internalized as simply part of the process of setting appointments. Help your salespeople see persistence and rejection as a part of the process, not personal. What modes of communication work best for setting appointments with executives? We asked Bob which modes of communication Good Leads uses to set appointments for its clients. Are phone calls still the way to go? Bob made clear that, while various modes of communication are utilized for setting C- suite appointments, phone calls still reign supreme. “While phone calls are our primary mode, we do follow-up via email. We also leverage various modes of customer marketing such as recent ad campaigns to connect with particular buyer personas.” With multiple phone calls come multiple opportunities to leave a voicemail. Is voicemail also a communications tool that can be leveraged? How to leverage voicemail Bob recommends leaving one or two voicemails with the appropriate script for each. “You don’t want to barrage people with voicemail. You also don’t want to sound like an offshore cold calling company.” Voicemail should be used strategically as a branding touchpoint. It allows you to build awareness with your target persona as well as others in the organization. Clearly and concisely articulating how you are working to provide a solution to their problem is the best way to entice a callback. Use voicemail strategically as an opportunity to deliver your unique value proposition. Preparing your team for success is an investment. We asked Bob about the steps his team takes before reaching out to an executive. How to prepare for a C-suite call Bob shared three valuable ways to prepare for a C-suite outreach. Do your research Make sure you have some knowledge of them, their company, and a key issue that would be important to them to improve your ability to relate. Rehearse your script Rehearse (and even role-play) what you’re going to say in different scenarios depending on their response. Winging it rarely makes a good impression. Relax! Make sure that your speech is slow and clear. Speaking too quickly often gives the impression that you’re nervous due to inexperience or lack of confidence. C-suite appointments are the bread and butter of B2B sales and marketing. Investing the resources to maximize your return on these efforts will not only deliver revenues and profits but also a happier, more sustained team. Stay tuned for more from our interview on C-suite appointment setting with CEO Bob Good of Good Leads. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward. Contact Bill Kenney for a no-obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

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Steps to Ensuring High-quality Conversation at Trade Shows

High-quality conversations at trade shows and in-person events are like buried treasure. It’s rare that you stumble upon them. It is worth every investment of time and resources to evolve a map to ensure that you find them. First, let’s define high-quality. High-quality conversations deliver value—whether in potential customers, partnerships or referrals. They represent the unique and unparalleled benefit to trade shows and in-person events in that by nature they deliver greater returns than other marketing strategies. As your event selection improves the pool of possible people to meet improves. They also require work. Devising an annual trade show strategy plan (which includes careful show selection and marketing practices) serves as a map. The next step is to uncover the best route. For more on how to build an annual trade show strategy plan, check out our Special Report: How to Maximize ROI with a Trade Show Strategy Plan, or reach out to us today. Key steps to seeking out high-quality conversations Trade shows are finite opportunities. Just like fruit at the market, they are perishable opportunities. You’ll never get this same mix of people with the same mix of needs in one room again. Taking the steps to ensure that your time and resources are used efficiently to maximize ROI is critical. Here’s what we recommend: 1. Stay focused  Know your targets before walking into an event. Having specific targets in mind—companies or people, industries or types of professionals, helps to ensure that you are making the most of the time and resources you have committed to being there. Know who you want to meet by name or discipline. 2. Be prepared While some events use nametags, the vast majority do not. We recommend doing your pre-event homework by researching attendee lists. If you’ve participated in this event in the past, take the time to review your database for insights. We also recommend scheduling meet-ups with your highest priority targets before the event. Once you have those meetings in place, fill the rest of your schedule with key opportunities (e.g. speaking and networking events) where you anticipate similar personas will be in attendance. 3. Leverage all available resources With 75+ years of trade show and in-person event experience, we’ve learned that one of the least utilized resources are the hosts themselves. Not only are hosts well aware of attendee demographics, but they also have a vested interest in your satisfaction and success at the event. Whether you contact your hosts ahead of time or as soon as you arrive, it’s helpful to inform them of whom you’re aiming to meet at the event (whether it’s by industry, geography, or name) and request introductions. Having a trusted third-party help you facilitate introductions can help to immediately break the ice and build rapport with target prospects and partners. Don’t be afraid to leave the booth. Devising a divide and conquer staffing approach will help to ensure that you are maximizing all your available resources so that everyone on your event team is fully leveraged. Unlocking the greatest value You’ve managed to find the treasure, which is great! Now how do you make sure you’ve got the right set of keys to unlock it? The key to unlocking high-value conversations at trade shows and in-person events is having a list of good, thoughtful questions. While a scripted self-introduction is important, it’s not what you say but what you learn that drives strong connections. For more on the value of good conversation skills and specific questions to ask potential prospects and partners, check out this post. The beauty of using an inquiry-based approach is that it puts you in a position of power to determine whether someone is truly a resource or prospect. By uncovering someone’s top three priorities, you will easily be able to identify whether or not they are a good partner or prospect, as opposed to relying on their own self-assessment and potentially misinformed impression of your services. Treasure abounds at trade shows and in-person events. It’s why we’ve chosen to make them the focus of our work. But showing up is only half the battle. Taking the steps to uncover and unlock these rewards requires planning and preparation. Fortunately, help is out there. For more on this topic of strategic engagement at trade shows, check out our recent webinar: How to Start Conversations and Identify Opportunities at Events. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no-obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

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Getting in the Mindset for Trade Show Success

At MEET, we focus on helping B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. By using time-tested strategies to identify prospects, select shows, align marketing techniques and measure outcomes, MEET works to de-risk the scaling process by ensuring a steady stream of high-quality prospects for our clients. Why do we focus on trade shows? For B2B companies, most marketing dollars are spent with the hopes of someday getting face-to-face with target prospects. When optimized, trade shows deliver the most efficient way of achieving this goal. They provide the venue and the audience for these transactions. They also provide a number of other unique opportunities to improve your position in the market and connect with key stakeholders. For companies looking to scale to the U.S. market, trade shows represent a vital opportunity to meet target customers, test value propositions and offers. The beauty of this approach for scaling firms is that they can begin before investing major resources in infrastructure and staffing in the new market. Trade shows are also exhausting and represent a huge commitment of time and resources, which is why we recommend taking every step possible to guarantee your ROI. Even steps that may seem a bit less tangible. Mindset matters Psychologists have spent years studying the impact of one’s self-beliefs on their success or failure, and have proven that mindset does, in fact, play a significant role in determining achievement. At MEET, we believe that taking the steps to get in the right mindset before and during an event helps to ensure that every other investment in that opportunity is fully leveraged. And having participated in close to 5,000 events in our collective 75 years of experience, we’re pretty familiar with what it takes to achieve that trade show mindset. Here are the steps we recommend to help get you in the mindset for success. Take a pause Whether you’re coming off of a busy morning, a crazy travel schedule or a full day in the office, take a moment to refocus and re-energize before walking through those doors. We all have different rituals for shifting gears. Here’s what works for us: Find a quiet spot where you can be alone. This might be your car, a park bench, or a nearby café. Use this time to remind yourself why you’re attending the event and what your explicit goals are. Make sure to remove other activities and responsibilities that may be a distraction or inhibit you from reaching those goals. For example, if your goal is to find resources for your company and existing customers, put aside your sales pitch. Similar to fishing (where using the wrong bait will scare away the fish you’re aiming to catch) a misapplied sales pitch can easily scare away target contacts. Take steps to ensure that your strategy matches your audience and your goals, and remove all other barriers. Channel your role models We all have someone we admire for his or her networking skills. Having a clear picture of a person whose skills you’d like to emulate in a networking situation is a great way to gain and maintain focus throughout an event. Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, events can be taxing, particularly those that last for several days. We all have behaviors that we revert to when we’re tired or feeling overwhelmed. Looking at technology, sitting down, or socializing with friends should all be avoided. Having a role model in mind can help you in those moments. Instead of reverting to these behaviors, think about how your role model would behave in the booth or while engaging with trade show participants. Whether it’s encouraging people out of the aisle to have a conversation, or simply not sitting down, it’s helpful to have specific qualities in mind that you’re aiming to replicate during an event. There’s a lot that goes into maximizing ROI from a trade show event. If pre, during and post-event strategy weren’t enough, there are the steps you must take to ensure that your mindset (and the way it causes you to behave) is aligned with the success you worked so hard to achieve. That said, there is no comparison to the connections, relationships, and targeted exposure gained from trade shows and in-person events. So get on your game face. It’s worth it. For more on this topic of strategic engagement at trade shows, check out our recent webinar: How to Start Conversations and Identify Opportunities at Events. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel.   About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.  

Return on Investment

Why Good Conversation Delivers ROI

The art of making good conversation has been studied for centuries. And while everyone seems to have their own twist, there is clearly some agreement around the makings of a master conversationalist. According to common wisdom, those with good conversation skills show interest and curiosity in their counterparts. They ensure balance and give and take, and have something interesting to say. Finally, they demonstrate knowledge without proselytizing or being too pedantic. So much of successful networking comes down to mastering good conversation skills. And yet, one of the biggest mistakes we witness at networking events such as trade shows is that people seem to break all the rules of good conversation. Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, maximizing your investment in trade shows and in-person events with a finely tuned networking strategy is worth the effort. Here are our tips for ensuring that good conversation translates to good ROI. The value of a good question Trade shows represent a large investment of time and resources. As a result, the pressure to ensure ROI can feel overwhelming. Sadly, it can also manifest into a bad strategy. At MEET, 75 years of experience in trade shows and in-person events have taught us that it’s not what you say as much as what you learn at events that allows you to connect and build relationships. It’s not what you say but what you learn that drives customer relationships. Having a list of good, thoughtful questions to ask those you hope to meet at an event is an important place to start. Simple ones like: Tell me about your company? What’s your role? What are the biggest challenges you’re facing? What are you hoping to accomplish at this event? Are there certain people that you’re hoping to meet? Answers to these questions will help you build relationships with potential prospects and make resource referrals for existing customers. Asking these questions will also help to ensure that you are practicing good conversation skills and strengthening your networking capacity. For more on the value of matchmaking at trade shows, check out this post. Moving toward the center of the room Similar to those high school dances we’d all care to forget, you don’t want to find yourself along the periphery of an event if your goal is to make good connections. Again, whether you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert, it’s important to recognize that quality connections are made when we push ourselves to engage with folks in the center of the room in tangible ways. Understanding the need for this level of investment in relationship building requires a staffing strategy that empowers your salespeople to leave the booth and flex their talents. Ensuring they are equipped with good conversation skills will help to guarantee their results and maximize ROI. Setting goals to conserve your resources All businesses and most households start the year with a budget. Budgets tell you how to manage your effort and what resources you need to apply. Goal-setting your trade show strategy acts in a very similar way. It helps you manage your effort, and know when you’ve achieved what you set out to achieve. Setting clear goals helps you measure ROI There are many occasions when, one to two hours after finishing up an event, we see people chatting away, trying to make connections. While in some instances these conversations are productive, in most situations these individuals are simply having a hard time knowing when they’re done. People have a hard time leaving an event if they fear they’re leaving money on the table. The more work you do to prepare for an event by setting measurable outcomes, the better you will be at conserving your resources and applying them where they will deliver the greatest return. For more on this topic of strategic engagement at trade shows, check out our recent webinar: How to Start Conversations and Identify Opportunities at Events. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

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Build your Bullpen to Maximize Trade Show ROI

When sales leaders are asked where they get their referrals, close to 100% will answer from past or existing customers. When asked why they attend trade shows and in-person events, these same individuals will say that they expect to build new relationships that will drive referrals. What is the best way to secure a strong referral pipeline? How can trade shows and in-person events bolster these efforts? At MEET, we support our clients in all aspects of trade show strategy, from prospect identification to marketing and messaging, to building a cadre of resources that build credibility with future and existing customers. We’ve found that one of the most effective ways to drive referrals is to focus your attention on building a strong bullpen of customer resources. Securing a strong network of resources and activating on these relationships to support the full scope of needs your customers face sends the message you are fully committed to finding new and better ways to serve them. In other words, strengthening the bullpen equals more runs scored. How is this done? The value of trade shows The first step to building your resource bullpen is to understand the primary purpose of attending trade shows. At MEET, our goal in working with B2B companies is to ensure that trade show investments are targeted toward high-quality prospects. What do we mean by high quality? In contrast to high volume, high quality is determined by the degree to which a prospect meets three criteria: they possess a NEED, the RESOURCES to fulfill that need, and URGENCY for a solution. For simplicity, we refer to them as NEED, MONEY, NOW. Understanding the unique value of trade shows compared with social networking events comes down to distinguishing quality from quantity. A well-designed trade show strategy identifies assumptions around who these high-quality prospects are and where to find them and sets concrete goals for the number you are aiming to meet. Putting a number on your goal will not only help to measure the utility of a particular event, but it will also help your team in setting their own performance targets.  For more tips on how and why to set measurable targets for your trade show team, check out this post. Building your network at trade shows Executing on your trade show strategy requires close attention to staffing. At MEET, this is something we refer to as the divide and conquer approach. It’s critical that every member of your trade show team has a clear mission, measurable goals, and feels prepared to execute on these responsibilities. That means that your booth team (a.k.a. transaction professionals) is focused on separating prospects from the general audience and inviting them to enroll in your marketing funnel with a strong call to action. Meanwhile, your sales team is working the trade show floor, nurturing relationships with existing customers, and prospects, gaining exposure to new industry knowledge and resources, and forging new partnerships. Questions on how to implement a divide and conquer approach? Contact us today. Similar to that memory game you played as a kid, going to events is very much about making matches on a crowded game board. Beyond identifying new customers, trade shows are an exceptional way to strengthen that referral pipeline by improving your value as a networking partner. Finding ways to help your clients become stronger advocates for you is always a good investment. Own your self-introduction Finally, ensure your team is well scripted. Whether they’re in the booth performing transactions or walking the floor securing intel and resources, it’s important that every member of your trade show team is well-trained in how to deliver your call to action and goal for being in attendance. Part and parcel to a good introduction is also knowing your audience. That means having a clear picture of who you are aiming to meet by researching the attendee list and arriving at the event with a clear understanding of the needs you are aiming to fill from your existing customer base. A well-scripted self-introduction makes it easier to build initial connection and credibility, which in turn will help to foster more valuable relationships. Trade shows are no minor investment. Taking the steps to maximize ROI however, can deliver exponential results, particularly when it comes to building that referral pipeline. For more on this topic of strategic engagement at trade shows, check out our recent webinar: How to Start Conversations and Identify Opportunities at Events. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no-obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Return on Investment

Market Entry and the Art of Staying Nimble

The famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky was once asked by a reporter: “What makes you better than other players on the ice?” “Other hockey players go where the puck is,” he answered. “I go where the puck is going.” Every CEO is trying to stay ahead of the game, to anticipate market trends and pivot points, and remain nimble enough to respond rather than chase the competition. How can firms endeavoring market entry think (and perform) like hockey players? Better yet, one of the greatest hockey players of all time? For advice on this topic, we spoke with Michael Vigeant, CEO of Greatblue Research. We interviewed Michael in a webinar on June 25th, 2019 titled: What You Don’t Know Can Kill Your Business: Nailing Market Research for U.S. Market Entry. What is the first market entry task for a scaling firm? All scaling firms, whether they are startups or well-established global companies, need to start by understanding the audience they will be servicing in the new market. As a market researcher, Michael’s first step is to understand from his client’s perspective who the firm will be servicing and what is their strategy for reaching them. “What types of channels do they use in their existing market, how do they advertise and communicate their brand, and does it resonate with that audience.” For startups, where an audience needs to be identified from scratch, Michael assists in this process by using a number of market research methodologies such as phone and digital to identify the personas they are targeting. For an explanation of the full range of data collection methodologies that Michael uses and why check out this post.  The importance of testing We all operate on a set of assumptions based on our own personal knowledge of the world. What made hockey players like Gretzky so great isn’t that he operated on fewer assumptions or that he was naturally more intuitive. Rather, he built a strategy during each game based on knowledge gained from testing those assumptions. At MEET, we believe strongly in maximizing every opportunity for our clients to test their assumptions. We then work with them to collect and use that data to constantly refine and inform their strategy for reaching their target market. At Greatblue Research, Michael employs a similar approach. Once he understands who his clients believe they are targeting in the new market, Michael develops a testing strategy that will validate (or invalidate) these assumptions. From a market research perspective, the key lies in how one frames the question. “If you ask the right questions in the right way and you build them in an independent, objective fashion, they’re not going to lead you to the answer that you hope for. They’re going to lead you to the answer that is accurate.” Staying ahead of the puck Great CEOs have vision—but strong vision can be a double-edged sword. For some CEOs, those same qualities that keep them firmly committed to surmounting the persistent challenges to market entry can blind them from recognizes shifting trends that require a change in strategy. Willingness to test one’s assumptions is often not enough. CEOs must have the foresight and the courage to remain nimble in the face of new knowledge about the market—even when it feels like a shift away from a previously desired endpoint. From Michael’s perspective, true leaders are looking at information, being humbled by it, and saying “the data is telling me it’s time to move.” A well-designed market research strategy will indicate which direction to head next. Maintaining your balance Striking the right balance between attained knowledge and new data is fundamental to the art of remaining nimble. In Michael’s experience, there’s a happy balance between getting too excited by new data and potentially making a wrong move, and keeping patient while not missing the boat completely. Maintaining your vision while remaining open to change is not easy. Everyone, even Gretzky, has to work at it. Fortunately, there are great coaches out there to help. Interested in learning how MEET can help you devise a validated market entry strategy? Contact us today. For more insights from Michael Vigeant, CEO of Greatblue Research, check out our entire interview here. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Return on Investment, Uncategorized

Beating the Competition as a Scaling Firm

Understanding your competition and how to differentiate in a new market is critical for any scaling firm. Beating the competition, on the other hand, requires much more. As any swimmer will tell you, the key to winning a race is to keep your head down and focus on your strengths. While every scaling firm needs market knowledge, we were curious about the return on investment for competitive research? To what degree can (and should) it be used to beat the competition? For some expert insight on the topic of competitive research, we spoke with Michael Vigeant, CEO of Greatblue Research. We interviewed Michael in a webinar on June 25th, 2019 titled What You Don’t Know Can Kill Your Business: Nailing Market Research for U.S. Market Entry. We started by asking Michael how much emphasis scaling firms should place on competitive landscape analysis. Where and how to begin with competitive research Competitive research is a fundamental input to gaining a full view of the opportunity that a particular geographic location presents. Without it, scaling firms find it difficult to verify the benefits of selecting one region or city over another. For a full list of factors to consider when selecting a geographic region to scale your company, check out this post. Michael suggested approaching market analysis and competitive research, particularly for the U.S. market, from two perspectives. First, you want to use market analysis to better understand the opportunity in one market versus another. For example, purchasing practices, investment trends, startup costs, and infrastructure. Next, Michael suggests that you’ll want to understand who else is offering a competitive product or service in that market and what your competitive advantage is with target customers. These early investments are important for scaling firms. But how much should companies invest in competitive research beyond these initial phases? How much value should be placed on competitive research? As a market research expert, Michael believes that understanding your competition to a certain degree is important, but recommends not going overboard. Beyond using market research to help you determine where to look for target customers, how your pricing compares, and what your differentiators are, Michael recommends investing in learning how to better serve them. “At the end of the day, particularly in the B2B world, your measure of success will be whether you can stand in front of your target customer and say: this is what we do, here is our experience, and this is how we can solve your problem. At that point, they are either going to believe you or they’re not.” “I really believe that if you spend time focusing on understanding the needs of your target customers and how you can deliver an authentic solution, you can overpower any competition.” Is there such a thing as too much competitive research? Too much of anything is never a good thing. The same is true for competitive research. “There’s such a thing as paralysis by analysis,” Michael suggests. Over-investing in competitive research prompts many CEOs to pivot too much, in turn detracting from their authenticity. “The key to beating the competition is knowing what you do well and not being too generic about it.” Where is the greatest ROI in market research? We’ve established that market research is necessary at the early stages of entering a new market. The greatest ROI, however, lies in testing your solution, or your hypothesis, directly with your revenue source, i.e. your target customers. “You could spend tons and tons of money on market analysis, or you could invest those resources in the time and energy it takes to do your homework with your audience.” Getting in and getting to work in determining how you can deliver an authentic solution as a scaling firm will deliver the greatest return on investment. Michael suggests thinking of it as MVP versus end goal, in which case your investment in research is far more internal than external. Keeping your head above water to monitor the competition will not only slow you down, but it may also end the race completely. On the other hand, try remaining focused on cultivating your strengths, authenticity, and relevance with your target market. You may find yourself, leagues ahead of the competition. For more insights from Michael Vigeant, CEO of Greatblue Research, check out our entire interview here. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft-land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no-obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

Uncategorized

How to Maximize ROI in Market Research

We’ve all been the target of market research. Whether it’s a prompt requesting you to remain on the line for a brief survey, a feedback card you receive upon exiting an airplane, or that pop-up web survey you just can’t seem to minimize. How do companies decide on a market research strategy for their company? What steps do CEOs take to maximize ROI? For answers to our questions, we spoke with Michael Vigeant, CEO of Greatblue Research. We interviewed Michael in a webinar on June 25th, 2019 titled What You Don’t Know Can Kill Your Business: Nailing Market Research for U.S. Market Entry. As someone who has been in the industry for close to 25 years, we asked Michael for some perspective on how market research strategies have evolved over time. How have market research techniques changed over the last 25 years? “Twenty years ago there was really two methodologies for quantitative market research: phone surveys and mail surveys. On the qualitative side, there were in-person interviews. That was really it.” All that was changed with the introduction of digital tools. “It gave us some big and much needed cost reductions for the industry to be able to go out and capture information. It also allowed us to do it much faster.” What are the primary considerations when selecting a market research strategy? “There are really three variables that come into play when making the decision about which market research methodology to use. It’s helpful to think of them as a three-legged stool,” shared Michael. The first leg is the audience that you’re targeting with your research. For example, are they CEOs or end-user consumers? Your target audience will immediately determine the language you are going to use and the most effective way to reach them. The second that Michael described is, based on that audience, which methodology will be the most effective for reaching them and be most effective at soliciting the type of information you’re looking for. The third variable has to do with your sample size, which will be determined by the relative reliability of the data. “Speaking to eight CEOs can be much more valuable than speaking to 800 end-user consumers or vice-versa,” depending on the data you’re looking for. Which market research methodologies do firms have to choose from? Michael provided this full scope list of market research methodologies, along with some insights into when certain strategies can be most effective: 1. Email and digital-based surveys Most used to capture feedback from end-user consumers. 2. Phone surveys Still very popular despite the fact that it is harder to capture folks by phone. 3. Mail surveys Recommended for consumers located in hard-to-reach areas with poor reception or Internet access 4. Focus groups Offer the unique opportunity to witness first-hand an audience’s reaction to a visual or prompt. Also allow for follow-up when you’re aiming to dive deeper into a particular area. 5. Home-use testing Used by many overseas manufacturers that are scaling to the U.S. market and want to be able to see how their products or technologies are being used and experienced. Determining the best market research plan for your firm depends on your goals. Just as important is determining which questions to ask. How to maximize ROI “Historically, we’ve seen folks think they need to ask as many questions as they can while they have a captive audience.” This, as Michael suggests, is not the most strategic approach. “In reality, you should be building your market research questions around the precise answers you need to address your most urgent business problem—for example, a specific market need, or how you are going to increase sales in a particular sector, etc.” Get the answers you need to help you make your most pressing business decisions, and move on. When you are strategic with your methodology and audience-selection and take time to select questions that will help you address your most pressing problems, “you compress the time that you engage with your audience and they’ll be more likely to communicate with you in the future.” We’ve all been the target of market research—but the field has evolved. Surveys have gotten shorter and more to the point. “Did we do did well in this specific area?” “How could we improve?” In the long run, this level of precision helps to maximize ROI while keeping consumers happy. In other words, it’s a win-win. For more insights from Michael Vigeant, CEO of Greatblue Research, check out our entire interview here. To check out all of MEET’s webinar content on how to successfully scale your company in the U.S. market and maximize ROI through trade shows and in-person events, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. About MEET (meetroi.com) helps international B2B growth companies soft land and scale in the U.S. through trade shows and in-person events. MEET’s processes help its clients ramp-up sales quickly and maintain a steady stream of high-quality prospects going forward.  Contact Bill Kenney for a no obligation conversation: bill@meetroi.com or +1 (860) 573-4821.

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