Tailor-Made Strategies: Giving SMES a Leg Up
For many SMEs, trying to make the most out of their limited resources can be a daily struggle. For some, the task is so onerous that it consumes all the owners’ time and effort, leaving them with no energy to strategise for the future. Neither can they spare the resources to engage external parties to tell them how they can do better. Often, this is compounded by the belief that “I am the boss, I know best”, or “Consultants are expensive and they don’t understand what small companies need”.
Having good strategies can mean the difference between stagnation or worse, and sustainability. If there are no viable plans to bring the company forward, how can it hope to succeed? If your potential customers do not know about you, how do you grow a steady customer base and ensure your survival?
In this issue, we showcase three SMEs with the shared goal to differentiate themselves from their competitors, although they deal in very different products – bed linens, water purifiers and electronic insect killers. While the latter two companies have a commendable presence in the industrial and commercial sectors, they want to expand their footprint into the consumer sector. The bed linen company, which has been in the consumer mass market for a while, is looking to raise its brand profile.
Through the UOB-SMU Asian Enterprise Institute (AEI)’s flagship Consulting Programme, the SMEs underwent a brand audit, and received a comprehensive report with a set of recommendations tailored to their individual brand profile and objectives.
The Consulting Programme projects are carried out by teams of student-consultants, supervised by industry veterans acting as project advisers. They may be students but their work is of high quality – a comment that features prominently in feedback from the hundreds of SMEs which have benefited from the programme; their proposals are relevant, practical and fall within the SMEs’ budgets and resources.
Read about how the three featured SMEs have taken the first step to rise above the competition. We can help you to do the same. Come talk to us, and let us discuss how we can partner you in your growth journey.
Cosy and Comfortable: Epitex International Pte Ltd
Epitex International Pte Ltd is a home-grown bed linen company whose products have found their way into the homes of a large clientele. Founded in 1997,...read on
Live Safe, Love Life: Loyal LLP
Loyal LLP specialises in the retail of electronic insect killers (EIKs) and lifestyle desktop aquariums.For more than a decade,...read on
A Drop above the Rest: Tami Systemtenik
Tami Systemtenik was established in 1996 to provide one-stop system solutions to drinking water contamination problems using a combination of filtration,...read on