Are you looking to achieve growth for your SME, create a winning strategy and adopt a smarter, more successful way of marketing? Birmingham City University (BCU) and Aston University have joined forces to deliver a series of free innovation workshops, hosted at BCU. The workshops are designed to give you expert business advice and guidance to identify the challenges to your SME, create a long-term business strategy and forge lasting partnerships.
Why should you or your business attend our Innovation Workshops?
The challenges the workshops focus on are relevant for many SMEs, but even small to medium sized businesses that don’t immediately recognise them as challenges should consider attending. “Many SMEs may feel they have a strategy that works, but in actuality less than a third of organisations have a watertight strategy,” explains Mark Gilman, Professor of SME Growth and Development at Birmingham City University, and one of the business experts overseeing the workshops. “It’s important to outline what you want to achieve and how you will achieve it. Building strong relationships with your clients, upskilling your workforce and using innovation are key drivers for success.”
Professor Gilman also stresses that utilising marketing in a smart and efficient way is important. “The most frequent request I have from SMEs is that they need more marketing, as they relate this to increased sales,” Mark explains. “However, marketing is just one piece of the puzzle. If you only focus on getting the orders in, you’re neglecting other areas that are essential for growth. Think about where you want your business to be in five years’ time, building plans to be sustainable but also achieving growth.”
What do Birmingham City University’s Innovation Workshops cover?
Taking place on the 3rd, 17th and 23rd October 2019, respectively, from 9.30am – 5pm at Birmingham City University’s Millennium Point campus, the workshops cover a range of relevant topics. The first workshop, Envisioning Growth Through Innovation, will help you to understand and explore your environment, and how you can utilise this to develop your strategic outlook. You will then carry out an engaging exercise to help build a long-term business strategy, helping you to better understand and highlight your business’ vision and values.
The second workshop, Strategy And Leadership For Innovation, highlights the need for quick responsiveness in an ever-changing business environment. With the onset of advanced technologies, the workshop will inform you of how to successfully utilise them in order to achieve growth and improve your leadership.
Finally, the third workshop assesses Marketing For Innovation. With most SMEs always seeking increased sales, it’s important to think intelligently and creatively – who is your target market? Why should they make the decision to buy now and not later? Can your business handle the increased workload? This workshop looks into these questions, as well as the behaviour of your consumers, in depth.
Long-term business support for your long-term business goals
The Innovation Workshops are just one component of Birmingham City University’s business support provision, and Mark is keen to build long-term relationships with SMEs. “It’s imperative the University forms long-lasting relationships with small businesses. It’s not just about inviting you for the workshops and then sending you on your way. It’s about understanding your business’ problems, where you are going and outlining how BCU can help.”
Mark and the University offer a toolbox of support for SMEs and are able to tailor support depending on your business’ needs. “We assess the challenges you are facing and point you in the right direction,” he explains. “This could be anything from workshops and one-on-one facilitator sessions, to student work placements and knowledge transfer partnerships.”
Want to revolutionise your business and achieve long-term results? Attend our free Innovation Workshop to begin your journey.
