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HEALTHCARE
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GENERAL
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| Welcome to:
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Our Mission:
With the support of our International Marketing Consultants, we help overseas companies assess the potential for the distribution of their goods and services in the U.S. market.
The American Link was developed by The
Rogovin Group, a marketing/management consulting firm.
Through the years, we have also provided Business and Marketing Coaching Services to senior managers from many overseas companies using our proprietary Brainstorming Methodology, a cost effective and uninhibited way to creatively evaluate, develop and eventually penetrate the dynamic U.S. marketplace.
Introducing: The Test America Consortium
Developers of industry specific market research consortiums that help offshore companies to cost-effectively determine the potential for their products in the U.S. market. Test America, offers a special opportunity to groups of 5 or 6 companies that share the same nationality and operate within a common industry (e.g. food, apparel footwear, furniture, technology…) to explore the appropriateness of their products from the perspective of both U.S. end users and retailers/ distributors.
For more information about this low cost market research program, please contact: Ioannis Voutsadakis at ivoutsadakis@rogovingroup.com
Click here to download a Test America Powerpoint presentation.
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Among
the non-U.S. companies with whom we have worked in
this special marketing capacity are: |
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| Reebok Footwear, UK |
Vancouver Island Hemlock,
Canada |
Istel Software, UK |
| Supercart Shopping Carts, S.Africa |
Bodega Hermanos Wines, Spain |
Gaggenau Appliances, Germany |
| Asahi Pipe And Valves, Japan |
The Hotel Palacio, Portugal |
Desmond & Duff Scotch, UK |
| Sigarms Firearms, Switzerland |
TAP Airlines, Portugal |
Epic Kayaks, South Africa |
| OrthoView Digital Templating, UK |
Zoofilia Pet Supply Centers, Greece |
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Additionally,
our experience in working with close to 150 U.S. Companies,
operating in a wide range of industries, provides us
with invaluable marketing and distribution perspectives
that should prove to be highly beneficial for your
entry into the American market. Some of these organizations
include: |
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| Hyatt Hotels |
Glenmore Distillers |
Boston University |
| RCA |
Textron |
The Christian Science Monitor |
| Whirlpool |
Playboy Apparel |
National Gypsum |
| Salada Tea |
Tensor Lighting |
Howard Johnson |
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Through the various proprietary techniques
outlined in the enclosed Business Strategy Planning Process
(BSP), The American Link helps companies to: |
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1. Develop their
customized Projected Success Quotient Analysis (PSQ-A).
This essential analytic tool includes a market entry feasibility
audit that must be properly executed well before a significant
investment is made in: |
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| Inventory |
Packaging |
Shipping |
Legal Services |
| Warehousing |
Display Material |
Trade Shows |
Import Agents |
| Sales Literature |
Websites |
Advertising |
Sales Promotion |
| Public Relations |
Sales Travel |
Personnel |
Offices |
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Each customized
PSQ-A provides such important information as: |
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- A complete competitive overview
- Market research that tests the feasibility
of a new product/service
in the minds of key distributors, trade buyers and end
users
- Investigation of appropriate sales
and distribution channels
- A review of U.S. customs and duty
regulations
- An examination of shipping and warehousing
logistics
Note: This PSQ-A program is more fully
described in the Projected Success Quotient Analysis
section below. |
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2. Development of
the Business Strategy Plan (BSP).
Assuming the PSQ-A indicates that there is an opportunity for
your product/service to succeed in the U.S. market we would
then proceed with the creation of the BSP plan. This document
would include: |
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- Clear and obtainable objectives
- Realistic and cost effective strategies
- Sound distribution concepts
- Conservative sales forecasts
- Well targeted marketing and sales
approaches
- Pragmatic budgets and cash flow projections
Note: The BSP program is more fully
described in the Business Strategy Planning section
below. |
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When this plan has been
fully developed and enthusiastically accepted by you
and your management team, we will then proceed in one
of the following ways:
We will implement the accepted
business strategy program including the close supervision
of all marketing and sales functions.
and/or
We will be responsible for the
full search process that will lead to the discovery
of qualified joint venture and/ or financial partners.
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The
American Link’s Commitment: |
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Understanding Our Client
Before The American Link begins
to bring its U.S. market expertise to bear on its
client’s business issues, we must clearly
understand the nature of the client’s business.
While we cannot expect to be totally knowledgeable
about a new business in just a few weeks, we have
consistently demonstrated our ability to quickly
grasp the essence of a clients business model.
We are also capable of rapidly judging under which
circumstances the client has the best chance for
success.
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Reliability And Trust
We are always in close contact
with our clients, providing them with complete
updates of our activities on their behalf. Although
we want to help our clients to achieve their U.S.
marketing objectives, we will insist on confirming
that these objectives are attainable well before
we start a new project. |
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Value For The Money
We are dedicated to the highest
standards of performance. We do not allocate a
specific amount of time to your project…we
simply spend the time it takes to get the job done
properly. Our fees are in the form of fixed monthly
retainers that are fair, reasonable and competitive.
We do not take any additional mark-ups on materials
ordered on your behalf and we pass along all earned
commissions and discounts that we are able to negotiate
on your behalf.
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A Final Thought
Our many years of experience
in marketing and sales has shown that a strategic
marketing and distribution program is an important
capital asset that should be built with as much
care as a factory and abandoned with as much reluctance. |
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The
American Link’s
Projected Success Quotient Analysis (PSQ-A)
A Comprehensive
Business Evaluation Concept |
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PSQ-A is a proprietary
market assessment tool that must be skillfully applied
and expertly analyzed well before a significant investment
is made by an offshore company in the areas of U.S.
marketing and distribution. From our point of view,
it is imperative that a PSQ-A program be adopted
well before a company thinks about introducing its’ goods
and/ or services into the large, complex and highly
competitive U.S. market.
The PSQ-A program is divided into the following
two stages:
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1. Database and
Published Research Investigation
An analysis of existing U.S.
products or services that are viewed as competitive
to those of your company. This analysis will include
careful investigation in all or some of the following
areas:
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| Rival brand investigation and ranking |
A competitive packaging analysis |
Estimated rival company share of
market |
| An analysis and evaluation of identified competitor’s
pricing structures |
A review of competitive special promotion programs
to include on-pack, in-store, joint promotions,
piggyback promotions, cause-related promotions,
sampling… |
Customs and duty issues |
| An examination of rival brand distribution
channels |
Rival company histories |
Shipping and warehousing costs |
| An audit of competitive advertising to include
the message, the media, and an estimate of actual
media budgets |
Estimated rival company sales volumes and gross
profits |
Other information that might arise from this
competitive audit |
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2. Customized
Market Research Design And Execution
New product market research
that will target respondents who are wholesale
buyers and/or end users of competitive products
or services. This study would explore such significant
topics as:
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| Their degree of overall interest
in the general product category |
New product evaluation, based on
providing the interviewees with suitable product
samples and a sufficient period of time for them
to use and/or assess these new items |
Attitudes regarding the proposed pricing structure
for these new products |
| Competitive product evaluation provided by
wholesale buyers |
Attitudes around the new product’s brand
name, positioning, packaging, sales literature,
advertising… |
Suggested product changes, improvements or
line extensions |
| The respondent’s degree of interest in
the potential new brand. This would be based
on presentations of the new products’ unique
attributes |
Attitudes about the country of origin |
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Timing |
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We estimate that it will
take approximately twelve to sixteen weeks from the
beginning of the project for us to do all of the PSQ-A
analysis, the customized market research and write
the report that will include specific recommendations.
This report will then be presented to you in a
meeting, or if necessary, during a telephone conference.
Either way, copies of this confidential report
will be in your hands before our planned meeting
date. |
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Costs |
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The cost for this proprietary
two stage PSQ-A analysis, will be $35,000, U.S. with
one half being paid at the beginning of the project
and the final payment being made concurrently with
the completion of the actual report. |
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Possible Assumptions Based
on the Study |
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Assumption 1
If your PSQ-A report indicates
that you have a product or service that could be
successful in the American market, we would want
to proceed with the development of a Business Strategy
Plan (BSP). A brief outline of this plan is presented
on the next page. |
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Assumption 2
If your PSQ-A report shows
that there is an opportunity for your product to
succeed in the U.S. market if suitable changes
are made to the product, the packaging, the pricing
structure… we
would want to work closely with you in making these
adjustments before the BSP development process. |
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Assumption 3
If our PSQ-A report indicates
that there is very little interest in your product
or service by U.S. buyers and end users, we would
be prepared to offer some alternative recommendations
for your company in other markets. |
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The
American Link’s
Business Strategy Plan (BSP) |
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Once we have completed
the Projected Success Quotient Analysis (PSQ-A) and
there are reasonable indications that there could
be an opportunity for your product or service in
the American market, we would want to proceed with
the development of a business strategy plan. This
customized plan would include such steps as: |
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| A careful review of all of the
information that we developed for your customized
PSQ-A initiative |
The development of realistic and
cost effective marketing and sales strategies |
The design of highly measurable
test market programs |
| In depth meetings with senior members of your
management and sales team |
The investigation and establishment of highly
flexible distribution channels (retail,
direct response, business to business, e-commerce…) |
The establishment of realistic marketing, sales
and distribution budgets including possible funding
considerations |
| The establishment of clearly defined objectives
for the distribution of your product in the U.S.
market |
The development of conservative sales forecasts
for each of the marketing and sales programs
that we might recommend |
The supervision protocol for the necessary
marketing and sales initiatives |
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All of this information
would be included in a Business Strategy Planning document
that would be presented and carefully reviewed by you
and your senior management team. If changes are necessary
they will be quickly made well before the implementation
of the program. |
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Timing |
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We estimate that it will
take approximately four months for us to complete the
Business Strategy Plan (BSP). Clearly, this plan cannot
be developed until the PSQ-A analysis is finished.
Thus, the combined developmental work that must be
completed before we can properly launch your new product
into the American market will require at least eight
to ten months of concentrated work. |
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Costs |
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The cost for the development
of this special Business Strategy Plan (BSP) will be
$40,000 U.S. with one half being paid at the beginning
of the planning process and the second half being disbursed
when the plan is completed. |
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Conclusion |
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We firmly believe that
without the type of careful analysis and strategic
planning that we have described in this document, an
offshore company could seriously be putting its U.S.
export program at risk. However, by investing a relatively
small amount of money in a PSQ-A feasibility study,
you could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in
the execution of the wrong program, at the wrong time
and in the wrong market! |
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