Solutions
Solution: a virtual subsidiary
PowerQuest Corp. (now part of Symantec) was already known for its flagship product, PartitionMagic, when they set out to extend their worldwide presence through a network of companies like EuroTech Marketing, who were able to let them quickly expand across the globe.
From early on, PowerQuest knew that in order grow internationally they would have to rely on outsource partners who could quickly introduce them in a country without the full weight of budget such an operation usually entails when creating their own subsidiaries. EuroTech Marketing was chosen to represent PowerQuest Corp. in the Benelux as their virtual subsidiary.
Being based in Utah, PowerQuest had learned from other IT companies in that state the importance of speaking the native tongue, literally as well as in their approach to the market. Willing to invest in marketing, they had already put in place ad campaigns in each country represented, quickly building brand recognition. Their PR department was geared for international action too, supplying local press with dependable information in cooperation with the local virtual subsidiary.
PowerQuest also started to move away from enduser software, like PartitionMagic and Drive Image, and went into recovery tools for system administration as well as tweaking their products for the OEM market, creating indispensable tools for system builders.
So what did EuroTech Marketing do to grow PowerQuest’s business? Broadly speaking, PowerQuest’s market approach could be divided into three parts: endusers, IS professionals and OEM sales.
For each, we helped PowerQuest translate material, such as advertisements, white papers and presentations. We were in contact with the appropriate press contacts. We advised on advertising, both in content and in contracting. But most important, we put in place channels geared towards selling those particular product lines. We then kept on top of the players in each channel.
On the enduser side we put in place broadline distributors capable of selling volume into retail. The recovery tools were sold though a number of high-end VAR’s, combined with our direct input, such as visiting systems houses and VAR’s as well as organising seminars. The OEM market was developed by contacting and visiting system builders, and building a partnering relationship with Microsoft which allowed us easier entry.
Needless to say, a Dutch web site was created as a port of call for Dutch-speaking customers, and a dedicated phone number was put in place that handled pre-sales inquiries as well as first line support.
As it is in the nature of a virtual subsidiary, once the market was developed, PowerQuest could put in place their own employees. Suffice to say that in the course of us working for PowerQuest, EuroTech has grown their business from US$ 100K to well over 2.5 mln in three years.
Solution: Corel's reseller channel
In its heyday, WordPerfect had a market share of over 90% in the Benelux. But after being taken over by Novell, it went into a steep decline. Even a take-over by Corel did not stem the downhill tide. What’s more, with all the troubles Corel had at the time, even its flagship CorelDRAW was in danger of sinking.
What with al the cutbacks, Corel shut up shop in the Benelux, hoping to be able to run things from over the water. Realising this did not work, and with money becoming more available as the tide was slowly turning, Corel re-established itself in the Netherlands. EuroTech Marketing was drafted in to re-establish a reseller channel, the pillar 
on which the old Corel and WordPerfect sales were based.
The message to be given out was clear: “We’re back. We’re here to stay and help you sell the products you relied upon in the past.” A new basis of trust needed to be established as the channel had felt abandoned.
Over a period of three months, EuroTech visited over 90 resellers, from small shops to the big retailers, all over the country. This field research annex sales drive helped Corel make an inventory of the reigning attitude regarding Corel.
For the staff of the large retailers a roadshow was set up where the shop floor personnel received product demonstrations targeted at their specific situation. This was done in conjunction with a Point-of-sale roll-out with displays and special advertising.
Next phase was a roadshow for resellers, where a demo seminar was set up in 5 regions. All resellers who attended would receive NFR software and a Corel Reseller Certificate. In all, over 220 resellers attended and thus a country-wide reseller channel was established.
Solution: European trade show management
Harbinger Inc. (now Peregrine Systems) wanted a solution whereby a third party took on the responsibility of
- designing and creating a flexible trade show stand, that would be able to be exhibited as a whole, or in parts - for different stand sizes in different countries,
- shipping the stand to various countries, scheduling its availability and keeping it in mint condition.
Design
EuroTech had a complete trade show stand made out of the well-known 'pop-up' or 'nomadic' materials. To underline the solidity of Harbiner's e-commerce solutions, as well as to play down the plastic and metal materials, we chose a combination of wood print and Harbinger's own blue company colour.
This stand consisted of a number of separate units, which could be combined in hundreds of ways to adapt itself to different floor spaces and demonstration needs.
Logistics
EuroTech created a special homepage that the different Harbinger countries could consult about the design possibilities of the stand, the available dates for the different parts and they were able to book the stand on-line.
Solution: seminars - large attendance, low cost
Two affiliate Dutch distributors, Interdata BV and Mensys BV, had been selling professional software for a number of years. Although they were seen by existing enterprise customers as knowledgeable, too much of their sales process was taken up by repeat sales to existing customers either via the website or telephone, which did not add to them being perceived as a knowledgeable, high-end partner.
One of the remedies was to put in place a series of seminars which would serve both as a sales platform and to put the companies on the map as a software partner for system administration.
As the companies were small-sized, it was necessary to create seminars that would appeal both in content and in setting, yet would still be budget-neutral. Two factors worked in their advantage: their target customers were system administrators, thus easily reached via e-mail, and secondly, they had a large database of potential customers.
The content of the seminars consisted of four different vendor slots, centered around a single theme. It was rather technical and the demonstrations were to be strictly hands-on, thus creating an appealing mix for this target audience. Furthermore, we chose a number of venues that had the fun factor, such as a theme park, an aviation museum, a casino, etc.
As for this target audience it was not necessary to produce printed matter, we were able to set up a sequence of announcement, invitation, on-line registration and confirmation at low cost and a very fast turnaround time.
Every attendee was requested to fill in a questionnaire with their opinion on each individual speakers as well as the organisation of the seminar itself. Invariably, 95% or higher stated that the seminar met their expectations and 75% thought the organisation good to excellent.
What with vendors buying a speaker slot, the seminars were budget neutral, while a good time was had by between 75 and 100 attendees per seminar.
Solution: a Ducth web presence in 24 hours
We've seen it once too often. Go to a US website, find "International", click "The Netherlands" or "Benelux" and what do you see? Yes, the same English web pages you've been staring at before. Probably giving pricing in US$ too. Well, this is in itself not condemnable - you can't be everywhere, right?
Now for you, it might not seem that important, but for a non-English speaker trying to figure out your complex server product specs or extensive TCO studies, this is a major obstacle. Leave well alone the feeling of not being cared about as an overseas customer. So that is one more customer lost - or at best, a customer that needs a lot of winning over on the phone.
So that's where we come in.
We 've done it so often that we've become quite the experts in "ripping" a web site. This consists of copying everything worthwhile for your business in this region, translating this and then uploading it - either to a subdirectory of you main website, or preferably, to its own Dutch domain name that we will have registered for you (only Dutch registered companies are allowed a ".nl" domain name).
What is included in a 'rip'?
Usually we start off with translating the home page and a number of pages that feature your most important products or services. All other links are directed back to your original stite. If needs be, e-mail links or forms that generate leads are redirected to your office on the ground.
What does this cost?
Very little! Within just a day you can be up and running with your own Dutch homepage - and your own local domain within the week.
Examples
See some home pages we made for different customers. As some of them are nog longer updated by us, we direct you to copies of the Dutch homepages only.
And yes, the site you are currently looking at was built in-house, of course.
Solution: from presentation to instructional program
The Dutch province (county council) of Noord-Holland uses a form that is filled in over 15.000 times a year. Every motion that is to be passed through the council needs to be accompanied by this form, stating purpose, explanation, routing, etc. for the proposal. Naturally, the council wants to make sure this important form is filled in properly, as mistakes would severely hamper the proceedings.
The council requested an instructional presentation to be made. After consulting with us, we instead proposed creating a whole instructional program. The nature of the form was such that the filling in depended on what level the proposal was made. This created the need for branching instructions which was difficult to get across in a presentation that is based on a single story line. Also, an instructional program would allow for an easier roll-out across the organisation and staff would be able to get instruction on one or several specific topics, when and where they needed it.
It was decided that Delphi was the best platform, allowing for quick development and easy incorporation of all the graphics needed. Also it was easy to create a branching program based on the user’s input.
We hired a cartoonist to give personality and a face to the province’s first governor, back in the 19th century (baron Van Tuyll van Serooskerken van Vleuten, no less!). This character livened up the program and made it easier to memorise where one was in a certain branch.
In all, a full program was delivered that gave information about the form’s different compartments, gave extensive background documentation about the procedures, a comprehensive help file, whilst always taking care a user could keep track of where in a branch he or she was. The actual text used was brought outside the program so the province was able to make changes as they were needed.