A well-established and maximally exploited market niche can afford a company a robust and dependable asset. Conversely, an underexploited niche can lead to missed market opportunities. Samuel Associates partnered with a Canadian-run maritime industry company to advise on avoiding this pitfall and to leverage its signature offering—a product with no other domestic manufacturer—to advance the federal market within eleven months.

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Leveraging a Niche

The firm occupied a unique position. As the sole Canadian manufacturer of a critical maritime product, the company played a vital role in the sector’s ecosystem and had an enviable market edge. Despite strong sales, the company was looking to capitalize on its advantage, form new partnerships, and create novel opportunities within the Canadian maritime sector and abroad.

To achieve this objective, the firm needed to renew its business strategy. The attributes that made the firm’s product an outstanding fit for clients’ needs, particularly those in Canada and the public sector, did not show through its internal communications or external relations. This minimized the company’s efforts to differentiate itself and grab the notice of clients.

A government relations strategy emerged as another challenge. The firm needed to translate engagement into market opportunities at a rate that reflected the quality and uniqueness of the product. This limited sales in a sector critical to furthering the company’s long-term growth.

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Promoting a One-of-a-kind Product

Engaging with Samuel Associates helped the company recognize that its flagship product’s uniqueness and importance to national security remained underexploited. The clear and significant value that the firm brought to the Canadian maritime sector needed sharpening and emphasizing. Accordingly, we led the company through foregrounding and amplifying this point in a reimagined communications package.

Our team complemented the communications strategy by collaborating with the company to devise a fresh and imaginative approach to government relations. We generated a customized blueprint for deepening the firm’s engagement with public-sector stakeholders. The strategy reinforced current relationships and opened pathways for new connections.

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A Larger Profile and Expanded Partnerships

The strategy raised the company’s profile and sparked a noticeable interest in its operations. The company experienced a promising uptick in visitors to its production facility. These increased contact points allowed the company to market its product’s uniqueness and brought about productive conversations with a range of stakeholders and potential clients.

Significantly, the interactions that Samuel Associates helped to facilitate and shape improved the firm’s business. A host of business-to-business meetings resulted in partnerships with some of the most recognizable names in the maritime sector. With the company’s value now clearly and publicly established, they have also been approached for merger by some of the largest naval manufacturers in the industry.