Marketing Tools Are Company’s Best Friend
When establishing the new company Safari to produce cardboard packaging, Executive Director Nadir Huseynov did not expect to have trouble identifying buyers. In fact, there were a number of reasons that he anticipated a viable long term future for the cardboard production plant. First, the company had no competition in the northern region of Azerbaijan; the other two similar producers were located in other parts of the country. Secondly, the ongoing economic development of the Guba district in northern Azerbaijan—noted for its produce, which is sold in Azerbaijan’s cities and exported abroad—had created a significant demand for cardboard packaging. Guba farmers primarily used wooden boxes, a heavier and more expensive option than cardboard packaging. The company also identified another potential group of buyers—broiler companies—recently established in the north.
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Within six months of implementing a new marketing plan, Safari was able to double its number of employees
Photo Credit: IRC/Yuliya Gureyeva |
However, Huseynov’s initial theory did not translate in practice. In June 2005, the company successfully started its operations during a busy harvest season and worked steadily with few clients, fruit exporters and a single broiler company. Unfortunately, in the early stages of the company’s operations, it faced the end of the harvest season and registered a significant decrease in demand from the broiler industry, due to cases of avian flu in Azerbaijan. Within a few months, Safari faced serious challenges: a significant decrease in demand from its primary identified buyers and decreased operational capital as a result of outstanding debts on the broiler contract.
To move forward, company management acknowledged a need to reconsider their initial strategy and applied for assistance to the USAID Azerbaijan Business and Agricultural Development Program’s Marketing Center located in Guba. After doing gaps analysis at the plant, Marketing Center business advisors concluded that Safari needed to elaborate a marketing strategy focused on diversification of potential buyers, making the company less dependent on the harvest season or tied to a specific industry.
The Marketing Center worked with Safari to create a marketing brochure which presented company and product information in an attractive, user-friendly format. The Center’s business advisors acted as sales agents, linking the company with other ABAD clients and business leads in both the northern and southern regions of Azerbaijan. In addition, the business advisors recommended that Safari open an office in Baku to facilitate increased, easier interaction with clients based in other regions of the country.
Within six months from adopting the new strategy, Safari diversified its range of cardboard packaging to meet the demands of newly identified clients. At present, the company works with 50 companies representing diverse industries, such as food processing, confection production and shoe manufacturing. Safari managed to enlarge its geographical coverage and now has clients outside of northern Azerbaijan. Thanks to the support from ABAD, the company has increased its sales tenfold and doubled its number of employees.
Huseynov is thankful for the assistance Safari has received from ABAD. “Before, I did not realize the value of marketing and thought that personal connections were enough to keep the business vital. But those connections are very much dependent on market fluctuation, and it is better to work with many buyers rather than concentrate on a few. Now I know that marketing tools are the best friends that sustain the future of the company.”
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