TriPoint Interactive (TPI) Virtual Business Services address the needs of companies who want to enter the US market. TPI leverages it's operational, IT and supply chain expertise to help clients with:

• Market Exploration
• Virtual Managed Presence

When a business wants to enter a new market, one that is on a different continent, is part of a different business culture, and may be in a different stage of maturity, then the business faces a tremendous uphill battle. Understanding the market, the market dynamics, the dominant players, the best practices, and the regulatory requirements takes a long time, and requires significant management attention and capital investment.

TPI's team of seasoned executives (former CEOs and executive managers) has developed the TPI Managed Services to facilitate the market entry, the customer acquisition, the building of partnerships, and the creation of a successful US subsidiary.

Market Exploration Services help understand the market, the business opportunity, and the necessary investments in the US and in the home office. The service produces a multi-year business plan that covers people, process, profitability, and infrastructure aspects.

• Helping a SaaS Software Provider Understand the US Market Opportunity
  Click here for a short client case study
• Market Exploration —the first step to understand a new opportunity
  Click here to learn more about TriPoint's market exploration services.
• Managed Virtual Presence — a cost effective way to manage the risk and maximize the ROI for the entry into a new market
  Click here to learn more about TriPoint's Managed Virtual Presence services.
• Brochure: Virtual Business Services
  Click here for a complete description of the Virtual Business Services

The Market Exploration Services combine reviews of existing sales materials, interviews with executives and European customers, market research, executive focus groups with target customers in North America, collaborative sessions to develop a new positioning, and joint business plan development sessions.

Depending on the specific needs, the market exploration services can focus on the US, or take a broader view across the larger market created by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

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Managed Virtual Presence allows companies to enter the market in a graduated fashion, keeping the investment in line with the returns. Traditionally entering a new market means setting up an office, recruiting a general manager, hiring a sales/business development person, supported by a sales engineer and an office manager. The general manager will spend the first few months setting up the legal entity, the accounting structures, state/local registrations, finding real estate, hiring the team members, defining compensation models, identifying PR companies, signing up systems integration partners - generally necessary and expensive activities that do not contribute to the bottom line. During the ramp-up period the team will try to establish a network of contacts, get visibility at tradeshows, engage with PR and marketing agencies, and start building a pipeline. At best, it will take several years before achieving financial break even. At worst, organizational issues, such as hiring mistakes remain undetected for a long time, as it is not clear whether a lack of sales should be attributed to 'slow growth' or a less-than-capable general manager or sales leader.

TPI created the Managed Virtual Presence to provide our clients a smooth entry into the US market, supported, accompanied and - where needed - managed by TPI executives.

The Managed Virtual Presence is a highly flexible and configurable service - once the client hires their own team, TPI can continue to provide administrative or managerial support functions, and when the client is ready, systems, data, information and records will be transitioned. Alternatively, the Managed Virtual Presence can also become a Value Add Reseller (VAR) or distributor relationship - all depending on the client needs and market opportunities.

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