Proactive Marketing Training Sets Stage for Growth   

Enterprise Minnesota has developed a service called Proactive Marketing, to help manufacturers use the principles of strategic marketing to grow their business.

"Companies tend to focus inward when they develop marketing plans, considering only the attributes of the products they sell," explains Enterprise Minnesota Business Growth Advisor Deb Bly, a program instructor. "Proactive Marketing helps them look outward to define their ideal target markets, their competition, and how to differentiate their companies from their competition."

Much of the program's value lies in its group format, which gathers representatives from six to seven different companies for four half-day sessions over three months. Similar to Enterprise Peer Councils, company representatives learn from each other by sharing their experiences and challenges with the group. In between each group session, Enterprise Minnesota travels to each individual business to coach them on applying what they learned. In the fourth session, representatives from each company come forward and present a marketing plan around a specific opportunity that they would like to pursue in their business.

Bly says the 20 companies that have completed the program within the past year now have a clear vision of what is important to their customers.

"They understand that while growth can come from new markets or new customers, it can also come from winning more business with existing customers. They focus on delivering value, and they do it by looking at their business from the customer's point of view," she says.

For more information about how Proactive Marketing can benefit your business, visit www.enterpriseminnesota.org

PLEASE JOIN US TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CENTRALLIA 2012

Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Dave Angus, co-chair of Centrallia 2012, and the Canadian Consulate of Minneapolis, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Minnesota, GREATER MSP, and the Minnesota Trade Office invite you to join them for lunch and presentation on opportunities to connect with potential customers and/or suppliers outside the U.S. and especially those in Manitoba.
 
WHEN: Monday, May 21
TIME: Noon - 1 p.m.
LOCATION:  Canadian Consulate in Minneapolis (Canada Room), 701 4th Ave. S., 9th floor

Centrallia 2012
is a global business forum being hosted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from Oct. 10-12, 2012 (www.centrallia.com). More than 600 companies are expected to attend from more than 40 markets worldwide.

Described as "speed dating" for business, participants are matched and provided up to 14, one-on-one meetings of 30 minutes each over the course of the 2½ day forum on international trade, investment and business development. The forum also includes a trade show and optional tours and seminars.  Minnesota business will have the option of arriving a day early for pre-arranged meetings with potential Manitoba customers and/or suppliers.

This is a chance to:

• Explore many types of opportunities - import, export, joint venture, distribution, supply chain, outsourcing, investment, R&D, technology transfer, and more
  
• Gain valuable market insight that could save your company thousands of dollars (e.g. price points, competition, branding, messaging, business culture.)
• Develop new strategic alliances - forge a partnership with a local company to increase your capacity to go out and compete in new markets.
  
• Foster innovation - see what your counterparts are doing in other countries, find new processes or technologies to improve the way you do business.
  

Follow-up surveys of Centrallia 2010 participants indicated:

• 83% anticipate new business will result
  
• 90% rated the B2B model format highly effective
• 92% would come again
  
• 97% would recommend this type of event to other   companies
  

To register for the May 21st briefing contact Wendy


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