KEY POINTS:
The Beachheads programme is the practical way that Trade and Enterprise is assisting New Zealand companies to branch out abroad into new markets. Greg Cross is Chair of the New Zealand Beachheads Advisory Board.
He explains his role in this Q and A session:
Q: What are some of the issues New Zealand companies face in operating internationally?
GC: Exporting products to markets on the other side of the world presents our companies with a raft of challenges that need to be understood and dealt with - I like to summarise them under three key areas:
* Focus
Agreeing what market niches and geographies to target and succeed in is critical. Keep it simple, pick one, go after strong market share and then use that as a platform for further growth.
* Leverage
Build a strategy to make the most of opportunities that can drive exponential rather than incremental growth - in markets like the United States your local competitors will understand this really well.
* Marketing
New Zealand is a relatively small and simple market in structure which means our companies often don't develop or value the disciplines of marketing required to succeed in larger and more complex market. Having the best product is no guarantee of success. Building the best marketing team is the best way to underwrite your success.
Q: How important is it to have a local presence in the market?
GC: For companies that have high growth aspirations the presence of an experienced executive in market is one of the absolute must-haves. Even in today's highly connected world it is still very difficult in most sectors to build meaningful customer relationships from the other side of the world or even across the Tasman for that matter. If we look closely at the critical success factors of some of our successful exporters (like Bendon for example) one of the things they did really well was to recruit the best fashion Industry executive they could find to lead the development of their North American operations.
Q: How can the Beachheads Programme help?
GC: One of the oldest sayings in business is 'its not what you know but who you know'. Building a network of executive level contacts in a new market can take a very long time and having a network that can provide introductions, market insight, and a pool of skill and experience to draw on can be the difference between success or failure. Very simply the Beachheads Programme is focused on providing our high growth exporters with faster access to executive level networks that are ready, willing and able to assist with their market entry and growth plans. Visit the Beachheads website to get an idea of the number and calibre of advisors available to assist our client companies.
The New Zealand Beachheads Advisory Board is made up of experienced CEOs and Directors whose careers have been focused on exporting. They have a wide range of backgrounds across a range of sectors including food and beverage, specialised manufacturing, ICT, biotechnology and creative. They have been there and done it themselves! Beachheads companies and prospective companies begin to benefit from their experience and international networks from the very first engagement with the programme.
Q: How do you work with the offshore advisory boards?
GC: The interaction with the offshore boards is critical. Making sure we send them New Zealand exporters with great potential is the key. This ensures we keep our board members engaged and highly motivated to help where ever they can. We also provide networking events in New Zealand and in-market to bring the Beachheads advisors together with Beachheads and prospective Beachheads companies and to get the most value for New Zealand companies from their expertise.
Q: What does a typical Beachheads company look like? What does a potential Beachheads company need to demonstrate to the New Zealand Board?
GC: Typically a Beachheads company will be over $5 million in revenue and have high growth aspirations. We really want to engage companies that see they have the opportunity to grow to $100 million in revenue, and have a robust, well thought-through plan to achieve this. Having said that we have in a few cases had very early stage companies join the programme because they have been able to demonstrate the key ingredients:
* an in-depth understanding of their target market
* a strong, experienced management team with key resources located in market
* a balance sheet that can support the investment required to be successful in their chosen market, and
* an understanding of the importance of governance and a board of directors.
Q: What makes a successful Beachheads company? How can companies make the most of the programme?
GC: Maximising the value your company gets out of the Beachheads Programme ultimately comes down to one main point - what you get out of any network is generally determined by the time and effort you put into the network - by far the most successful Beachhead clients have really understood this basic principle. Listening to the experience and advice provided, following through on introductions in a timely and professional manner - pretty simple stuff really.
Q: How can I get onto the Beachheads Programme?
GC: Take a look at the more detailed information available on the website (see above). If you think you meet the criteria, you should talk to your NZTE client manager or contact the Beachheads team for an application pack. You will then need to present to the Advisory Board.
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Top tips on getting ready for Beachheads
Invest in getting to know your target market and your competitors in as much detail as possible. This can't be done by browser - you need to be there.
Focus - keep your market entry strategy as simple as possible. Pick a discrete niche and geography as a starting point.
Be prepared to recruit an experienced executive in your target market who can bring their own skills, expertise and networks to your organisation.
Don't be afraid to document your growth aspirations and how you will achieve it. New Zealand needs more $100 million+ exporters.
Establish a formal board of directors - managing strategy and governance are even more important when you are doing business on the other side of the world.
Consider putting together an advisory board in your export market to provide additional market insight and networks.
Take every opportunity you get to build and extend the breadth and depth of your networks - you don't know what you don't know.
