Export marketing and branding

    Overview

    ITC’s brandsConnect Programme brings critical marketing and brand reputation skills to building differentiated market positioning and connecting producers with market opportunities through digital and traditional channels.

    Without effective brand management and communication, many small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are unable to build up their reputations and communicate their unique value. This can limit their chances of finding and developing market opportunities, and force them to accept lower prices for their goods and services. This in turn reduces their ability to invest, grow and become competitive on quality.

    brandsConnect’s approach is incremental: a research phase proposes innovative market research and buyer surveying approaches; an advisory phase structures the collective and individual strategies of the sector and enterprises and designs promotional materials; a training and coaching phase covers topics such as marketing, branding and communication, negotiation and selling across cultures; a connecting phase, uses online and in person sales events, websites and social media and digital marketing activities.

    The Access to Market approach adopted by the brandsConnect programme is based on our R3 approach to Reach markets, Realign business and Raise together.

     

    Build impactful communication and sales capabilities for MSMEs’ immediate priorities.

    At its simplest level, brandsConnect works with groups of enterprises to address their immediate goal of reaching new markets and buyers. The focus is on building basic skills and developing tools to promote each enterprise online and offline

    Create a pivotal and lasting change for micro, small and medium-sized businesses or MSMEs

    The focus is on tackling two fundamental issues: lack of a good marketing strategy and lack of strong skills to execute that strategy effectively. This component includes training/coaching managers and marketing/sales staff in marketing management and operating in a disruptive environment; assisting MSMEs to define their business values and vision, and a value addition marketing and branding strategy that identifies, positions on and accesses new markets; and accessing a network of experts for information sharing, coaching and assistance.

    Develop a sustainable marketing and branding approach for an entire sector.

    This component focuses on defining a sectoral branding and marketing strategy and the design of a governance structure for collaboration in its execution. Depending on the objective, the sector may implement a shared label, linked to quality and sustainability standards and develop the groundwork for eventual status as a “geographical indicator”.

    ITC contact

    brandsConnect Programme
    Email
    brands [at] intracen.org