INCREASING COMPETITIVE SKILLS IN FOREIGN MARKETS FOR BRAZILIAN EXPORT SMES • 11
The preliminary results indicate that the participating companies have achieved substantial improvements in their export activity. Specifically, SMEs now appreciate the need for a higher degree of formalisation of the international planning process, the assessment of potential customers and distributors in foreign markets, and they realise the benefits of balancing investment in different strategic areas of the export firm. Additionally, directed by Durham University Business School research, these firms have also implemented managerial tools to correctly assess the degree of adaptation necessary for their marketing strategies to be effective in foreign markets, which has helped them to tailor their export ventures’ international marketing programmes to better meet customer needs.
From a macro-environmental perspective, it is relevant to mention that the communities where the participating companies operate have also benefited from their increasing international performance as more jobs have been created, helping to further invigorate the local economy.
Some of the participating SMEs had never previously been involved in exporting. Their participation in the project has not only brought new challenges, but new possibilities of growth. As stated by the CEO of one of the companies involved:
In view of this, Durham University Business School will support me in hosting an international three-day seminar in November this year, during which future avenues that can be explored to improve the competitiveness of export SMEs will be discussed. During this seminar, Latin American and British authorities, industry federations, researchers and export firms will consider how public policies can support SMEs’ international activities. Attendees will explore the main drivers of international success in small and medium export companies. Given the evolutionary nature of policy-making, it is anticipated that the seminar will kick-start a series of influences at the political and policy-making levels, and within society at large, that will focus on supporting SMEs’ export activities.
“In 2016, I decided to enter foreign markets with export products, however I did not know where to start. Being part of this project made a big change in the company. At the beginning we screened some potential foreign markets in Latin America using the managerial tools that researchers from Durham University Business School presented to us. Since then, we’ve hired one dedicated manager and a sales representative to expand our activities to other countries. During the project, we learned how to assess foreign markets and balance our investments in different strategic areas across the company. For a micro company with no previous experience, the results we achieved at the end of the project were remarkable. The company and its culture have significantly changed. We’ve gained a global vision that we did not have before, and we are more confident to face the challenges international markets bring.” Mr Diogo Tomazzoni, CEO, Serralog Electronic Solutions, Brazil.
The project’s success has allowed the Business School’s team to take a step further in its collaboration with SEBRAE and the Brazilian authorities - a new project which began in January 2018 seeks to develop an international market risk assessment index, the RI-Index. Fifty export SMEs from Latin America will participate in the project to design and test such an index for use by small export firms.
Image: Mr Tomazzoni - Serralog
