Published March 2nd, 2010 by Brendan Fay
In February, Enterprise Ireland organised 2 workshops for clients planning to export into the North American market. These workshops were held for clients from all sectors from Life Sciences and Clean Tech to Software and Services companies.
On the day, clients heard real-life case studies of technology companies who are doing business in the North American markets and both the pitfalls and successes for companies were highlighted. The First Flight programme highlights to start-up companies how Enterprise Ireland can assist in their markets of interest through the following routes:
- Validation of Market opportunities through desk-based research and in-market itinerary development
- Assisting with market positioning in advance of market entry
- Conducting competitor analysis studies
- Proactively delivering market intelligence on key areas of opportunity
- Identifying and assessing distribution channels
- Providing customized in-market itineraries
- Providing access to external market expertise
- Undertaking post market visit assessment and follow up
Enterprise Ireland is subscribed to a large number of databases and research houses that provide key up-to-date information on the majority of market sectors. If the information is not available through these sources, Enterprise Ireland can prepare an individualized report on a particular market sector. Enterprise Ireland can work with companies to identify target customers and identify and assess distribution channels. This type of work is carried out on a one-to-one basis and is specific for each company.
On the day client companies received an understanding on how to:
- Uncover what could hold their business back from achieving profitable export sales
- Formulate and action a plan to target key risk areas
- Benefit from the expertise of experienced exporters
- Received a brief overview of some key factors to consider when exporting to North America
The first flight programme is a very beneficial workshop for start-up companies and can greatly assist companies in targeting new export markets. Other first flight workshops have also been conducted in Enterprise Ireland for the China and UK markets. For more information on this and other EI programmes, look at the First Flight page on the EI corporate website.






