- Marketing and sales strategies devoted to attracting new customers
- A continuous stream of innovative new products and services
o Lean Product Development
o Eureka! Winning Ways
SCMEP supplies small to mid-size South Carolina companies with the training, tools and processes you need to be more competitive. This means being responsive – globally minded, market driven and customer focused - with the ability to meet your changing needs.
If your company is like many others in South Carolina, you’ve spent considerable effort to become more efficient and cost competitive. You may be realizing, however, that you can’t continue to save your way to future prosperity. You need to grow your top line to break out of the commodity trap you may find yourself caught in.
In tune with prevailing economic trends affecting small and mid-size companies, and in answer to their increased interest in growth and innovation, SCMEP is bolstering our top-line growth services with expanded offerings in both:
- Marketing & Sales
- New Product Innovation
In its 2006 Next Generation Strategic Plan, NIST MEP outlined a shift in emphasis for the MEP Program:
The Future
The needs of manufacturers include not only cost reduction solutions, but how to grow their businesses. With success in the marketplace dependent upon product differentiation, service innovation, and speed to market, MEP is prepared to position manufacturers to compete through services that are grounded in business strategy development, advanced marketing techniques, new product development, etc.
*Source: Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Next Generation Strategic Plan - “Think globally, act locally, and innovate together,” 2006
While there are many best practices followed by leading small and medium manufacturers, there are several common characteristics that are key to success
- Stay in touch with customers, talk to them about their needs and look to them for new product ideas.
- Differentiate products and services to better define and develop a competitive advantage.
- Devote the necessary time and energy to marketing; develop a distinctive product and marketing strategy; expand and diversify your customer base.
*Source: The Future Success of Small and Medium Manufacturers: Challenges and Policy Issues, by The Manufacturing Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers and RSM McGladrey, Inc., 2006
In order of importance, rank how the following can positively impact your company’s growth.
- 1 Development of new or improving existing products
- 2 Improvements in manufacturing processes
- 3 Improvements in marketing and selling other than IT
*Source: National Association of Manufacturers 2006 Small Manufacturers Operating Survey of small and medium size manufacturers.