Fast-Improvement Program Assists
Businesses To Enter New Markets
In the current economic environment, there is significantly more pressure on companies to diversify into new markets and applications for their products. And to do it fast. Unfortunately, entering a new market comes with risk and cost, and companies may not have the business expertise to manage that successfully.
But there are proven methods that experienced companies use to manage the process with better odds of success and lower cost – and those methods are now available in a new fast-improvement program from Phimation Strategy Group.
Phimation, a leading small-business strategy firm in Ann Arbor, Mich., now offers Diversiphi – Bootstrapping Into New Markets, a new one-day program that enables businesses to enter new markets and gain access to public or private funding by diversifying their product mix and better leveraging their existing personnel and skills.
“This program equips a company’s own people with a practical methodology to enter any market,” explained Dave Haviland, principal of Phimation. “In addition, the company learns how to enter several markets at the same time, so they do not put all their eggs in one basket.”
The Diversiphi – Bootstrapping Into New Markets program is designed to complement the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC’s) Manufacturing Diversification program. “MEDC has done a good job putting together a program using experts in four different markets,” Haviland said.
"Phimation's program is complementary to the MEDC program - offering a market-independent approach that leverages our expertise in the process of entering new markets on a shoestring budget. In addition, Phimation's program is open to all companies, involves less investment in time and money, occurs on a much faster timeline and does not involve a qualification process before or a reporting process after the program."
The Diversiphi – Bootstrapping Into New Markets program is divided into two segments. The first half of the day provides the “playbook” for assessing and entering new markets. The second half of the day is a workshop focusing on the first one or two markets companies have identified. “Our clients leave the program with a practical, actionable plan that identifies the shortest paths to market entry, leverages the resources that the company has available and manages the risks of entering new markets,” said Haviland.
Phimation’s program will also help companies tap additional public funding, such as MEDC’s Manufacturing Diversification program for market-specific training, the MEDC’s new diversification loan fund, Federal Recovery funding and SBIR grants. In addition, if stimulus money is on the way to support Michigan’s economic diversification, then companies will be well-served to have already started the process. “Phimation’s Diversiphi – Bootstrapping Into New Markets program is an effective, fast and inexpensive route to becoming ‘shovel-ready’ for government programs that support diversification of the economy,” Haviland said.
For more information on the Diversiphi – Bootstrapping Into New Markets or other programs, contact Haviland at 734.717.4955.