Benchmark International Announces Winner of AFSIC Lucky Draw

If you are considering selling your company, planning your retirement or succession plan, or seeking a growth or exit strategy, you have quite a few options. You can find a buyer and pursue a deal on your own.

As the owner of a Software as a Service (SaaS) company, there are several strategic steps you can implement in order to drive growth and maximize the value of your business.

1. Expand Geographically

As globalization becomes more common in our world, many businesses are choosing to take advantage of the growth opportunities that lie in expanding into new markets. But expansion can be a significant undertaking for small and middle-market businesses, with many moving parts. As a business owner, you need to fully assess and understand the risks and rewards that expansion can present for your company. The following steps outline areas on which you should focus, and which elements of your business you should have ready in order for an effective expansion into new markets.

Impact Assessment

Before expanding your company into new markets, you must have a comprehensive understanding of what the overall impact on your business will be. Conduct market segmentation and product gap analyses to assess whether your product or service will sell in the target market and do a SWOT analysis to see how it stacks up against local competitors. You need to know if there is a need for your company and if anyone will buy what you are selling. You will also need to consider how large the market is and how long it may take to reach your target sales numbers.

If your business is successful in your geographical region, it could be time to look at moving into new markets. Expanding your company into new markets can be a powerful solution for creating growth for several reasons. If your business is based in the United States, just stop and consider the fact that 96 percent of the world’s consumers reside outside of America’s borders. Globalization is becoming more and more common for brands, and it is here to stay.

Gain New Customers and Boost Revenue

When a business is performing well, it is not uncommon for its growth opportunities to become exhausted within its home market. By turning to expansion strategies, new markets open up significant potential to reach a broader customer base, in turn increasing sales and revenue. In fact, reports show that 45 percent of middle market companies make more than half of their revenue overseas.

Diversify

By taking your company into new markets, you have the opportunity to diversify, making revenue more stable. Say your domestic market is slowing. By being in a more global market, you gain the advantage of having it as a protective measure during slower economic times at home.

Enhance Your Reputation

When you provide your product or service to customers in new markets, it bolsters your reputation both abroad and at home. A favorable reputation inherently attracts new customers. Expansion also builds name brand recognition and gives your business more credibility on a larger scale.

Get a Competitive Edge

This one is simple. Get into new markets before your competitors do. This is especially important if you are operating in a saturated market. If you get there first, you get the customers first and can take measures to retain them. This is much easier than being the second or third in the new market and trying to lure customers to switch to your business for similar products or services. This is why it’s no surprise that nearly 60 percent of middle market companies include international expansion into their growth strategies.

Access More Talent

More geographical reach means a bigger talent pool. It also means adding valuable advantages such as language skills and varied educational backgrounds. It also allows you to employ local talent that has the expertise to effortlessly serve and communicate with your customers in the same time zone. This can be a key strategy if your company is older and has decades of experience operating in your home market.

Save Money

Believe it or not, expanding can actually lower your company’s operational costs and save you money, especially if your business involves manufacturing. In other markets, you may find lower costs of labor and more affordable talent. Also, advancements in e-commerce and logistics have lowered the cost of doing business overseas. And lets not forget about taxes. Several countries around the world offer tax incentives to companies looking to expand internationally because it brings new business opportunities to their homeland.

Contact Us

If you are a business owner looking for ways to grow your company, talk to our M&A experts at Benchmark International. We have extensive experience, a massive network of global connections, and plenty of great ideas. You can take comfort in knowing that everything we do is predicated upon doing the right thing for you and your business.

The art of starting a small business is a craft to which not every business person is well suited. It involves countless late nights, blood, sweat and tears, to turn an idea into a thriving small business. But, you’ve done that.  You’ve successfully turned a one-bedroom or small machine shop, and spark of inspiration, into a community staple with a name that will outlast your time in business.  But, you’ve also reached a point where your talents have been exhausted. And, you’re not sure what the next step is in taking your business to the next level.  Once again you have an idea, but this time you need outside help to turn that vision into a reality.

Many businesses reach this point at which they feel that they are unable to further increase the scope of their operations.  They find themselves turning away business or not able to expand into new and lucrative markets.  Perhaps, what is holding you back, it is a lack of cash on hand, or a deficit in managerial expertise.   Whatever the reason, bringing on additional investors is a key, and proven strategy through which a business is capable of gaining an infusion of needed capital and knowledgeable partners capable of taking a company to the next level.

Your passion is your business, and your clients have come to cherish your services.  Bringing in new partners with an influx of capital is an excellent way for you to continue doing what you love while growing your company’s client base and expanding the services you offer.  New partners may sound like dirty words you never thought you’d speak.  You might think of new partners as greedy investors who will come in and milk your business dry without care for the name brand and quality you are known for. 

That’s not always the case, and that’s where we at Benchmark International come in.  You can rest assured that Benchmark International will help you find new partners that care about your business as much as you do. Partners who can bring the capital and experience you need in order to keep your business growing and thriving. These new partners could bring in experience in managing larger organizations, or experience in advertising a small business to a new market, they might even have connections to customers who could grow your client base.

In engaging Benchmark International, you can expect our deal preparation and transaction teams to present your business to the market and find the perfect fit to take your business to the next level.  First, our deal preparation team will delicately craft marketing materials which accurately reflect the successes of your business and its potential for growth. After your approval of the marketing materials, the deal transaction team will take over and bring your company to the market.  Whether a trade buyer or a fellow competitor, the team will work tirelessly to find the right partner to help you grow your business.  This will ensure, that you take your business to the next level, without losing the heart of the business you painstakingly grew from an idea into a name synonymous with quality.

The process of staying onboard after a sale of your business or an injection of new capital is typically referred to as an elevator deal.  For more information on how elevator deals function, please see.

Author:
Patrick Seaworth
Senior Associate
Benchmark International

T:   +1 (512) 861 3314
E: Seaworth@benchmarkcorporate.com

Benchmark International is delighted to announce our expansion into Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville has become a hotbed of mergers and acquisitions activity, and it is one of the fastest growing cities in the US.

Additionally, Benchmark International is growing exponentially, with four new regional offices opened domestically and internationally. So, it was only logical for Benchmark International to expand to this territory and be a part of this growing business culture.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce that after an exciting year of growth, we are expanding our international reach to Ireland.