Case Studies

The following case studies provide just a small selection of the export and general sales and marketing projects we have worked on. We handle small projects and large, so please contact us if you would like more information on the work we carry out for our clients, or you would like to discuss a project you have in mind.

A leading biotechnology instrumentation company
One of the UK's leading specialist biotechnology instrumentation companies provides monitoring products for laboratories and manufacturers of pharmaceutical products. The company suspected that a fundamental shift in its market was coming, and saw that this shift could profoundly affect its prospects - providing a potentially great opportunity on the one hand, or elimination from the market on the other, depending on the way in which the company handled this shift.

The company asked Metamarketing to to find out:

• whether this shift was going to take place, and what the nature of that shift was likely to be;
  
  
• the market size and growth rate of the market as this shift took effect;
  
  
• price points and technological requirements of the sector which the company would have to meet to be successful; and
  
  
• whether this shift would provide the opportunity to make the company's monitoring products standard fitments rather than options, thus multiplying the market opportunity by many times, and if so, how what the company would need to do to take advantage of this opportunity.

Metamarketing devised a market research project and contacted all the leading technical decision-makers and experts in leading biotechnology companies around the world to find out the answers to these questions. We were then asked to recommend a strategy for the company on the basis of these findings and present them to the board.

The company adopted Metamarketing's strategic recommendations and two years later, the company has just launched its new range of products based on the work we did. The products have been launched to great acclaim and it looks likely that the company's products will be standard fitments in the sector, leading to significant growth for the company.

Archives and Records Council Wales (ARCW)
ARCW is the umbrella organisation for the more than 20 archive organisations in Wales. It is seeking to modernise the service and provide better access to archived records for the people of Wales. This involves increasing the means of accessing information held in archives through, for example, digitising records and putting them on the internet.

ARCW required a strategic overview of their situation from a marketing perspective, and asked Metamarketing to provide it for them. Metamarketing was involved in carrying out a literature survey, an internet survey, and face-to-face interviews with key personnel, to determine the best means of positioning archives in Wales and expanding access to those archives.

Metamarketing wrote a 15,000 word report outlining its findings and giving recommendations for the future development of archives in Wales, and then entered into discussions with the client regarding implementation.

This contract was won by Metamarketing through public tender.

A manufacturer of specialist equipment used by the printing industry
A manufacturer of quality control equipment fitted to large printing machines worldwide was looking to diversify into manufacturing control and information systems.

The company asked Metamarketing to help them through the initial stages of deciding what the product offering should consist of, what the target market should be, and how best to launch the product and penetrate the market.

Metamarketing carried out a full survey of the market including the competition, and devised a market entry plan, a coherent set of products and product modules to answer market needs, a set of price lists, and a marketing communications plan for the six months after launch.

The product was successfully developed and launched in line with Metamarketing's recommendations and is establishing a position in the marketplace.

A specialist food supplier
A food supplies company in Wales was considering entering the premium sector for branded Welshcakes using an e-commerce strategy, and was looking for help in starting a company and entering the market.

Metamarketing provided the company with consultancy which ranged from issues related to business start-ups, the export and labelling of foodstuffs for key export markets, the e-commerce site itself, and even the product range the company should offer initially.

The company, guided by Metamarketing, launched the product range and is now trading successfully in the UK, the USA and selected countries around Europe.

A building products supplier
A supplier of specialist sound-proofing products to the building sector was considering how best to generate sales of its products outside the UK.

It asked Metamarketing to establish a) whether there was a market outside the UK, b)which countries should the company focus on first, and c) how best should the company enter those markets.

Metamarketing determined that success in the UK was based on ever-tighter building regulations, and success overseas was likely to depend upon similar building regulations with regard to sound insulation.

A survey of building regulations relating to sound insulation was carried out in the USA, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Spain and in the EU generally. This was followed by a survey of the supply chains in each of those countries, to best determine the preferred route to market for the company.

It was found that the UK's building regulations were not replicated elsewhere, and there was no meaningful EU mandate for increased sound insulation in buildings across Europe. On this basis a market-entry strategy was recommended to the client for selected countries in Europe, together with a series of suggestions for partners and routes to market in those countries. The company is in the process of implementing these recommendations.

Nietzsche, 19th c.

Nietzsche was one of the most fearless thinkers of the 19th century, following his arguments to their conclusion no matter how far those were from orthodox opinion.

In business, the ability to develop and then keep focused on properly-reasoned strategies and see them through to their practical outcomes is highly important.

Follow the herd, and you will get the same results as the herd. Think your way to a new strategy based upon a thorough examination of the facts, and you will get ahead of the herd.