It’s easy to tell people how to market their product overseas; it’s another thing entirely to offer the service after doing it yourself. That’s how The European Marketing Agency (TEMA), which is based in Salt’s Mill in Shipley, was created.

The company provides sales and marketing services for companies looking to break into Europe and was set up just 12 months ago by managing director Jim Hart.

“Five years ago I set up Europlus Direct, a company that sells IBM services across Europe,” he says. “We’re still doing that but I decided to use the knowledge we got when setting that up to help others sell and market themselves into Europe.”

TEMA offers four main services: translation into European languages, language recruitment such as sourcing French and German speakers for UK companies, pan-European telemarketing and direct and digital European marketing.

Breaking barriers

It sounds simple enough but the key to this business is the language barrier. TEMA employs 35 European native language speakers at its offices in Yorkshire to take calls on behalf of clients or operate sales and marketing campaigns abroad.

“Most of our clients want to go to the big countries first and it’s absolutely essential in the middle of southern Europe that you are talking in the local language.”

“They need our help from a linguistic point of view because it’s not as straightforward as it first appears,” says Hart. “Most of our clients want to go to the big countries first and it’s absolutely essential in the middle of southern Europe that you are talking in the local language.”

The company has so far registered 12 clients across the UK, seven across Yorkshire. The sectors covered are varied including healthcare, IT and a business that “provides wrist bands for concerts”.

Confidence is key

So how is the company doing? The first few months were about building the brand and promoting ideas to potential clients. Now, it’s about building a long-term client base. Hart says: “From our first contact to actually starting the business, there could be a gap of four to five months. There is a lot of hand-holding to make people confident they can break into Europe.”

But confident or not, now is the time to explore the option. The rate of the euro against sterling is attractive for companies selling in pounds. Hart claims enquiries are up 35 per cent but says the current climate is still a barrier for promotional activities.

“I get the impression business will be pretty flat until September or October,” he says. “At that point I think people will begin spending money on marketing.”

Turnover for the current year is expected to be in the region of £250,000 with the company turning a profit in the next “three to four months”. Hart claims the operation is unique: “When people come to TEMA, we are actually doing it ourselves through our sister company Europlus Direct. So we’re not just a bunch of consultants saying we think this is the way to do it.”

INSIDER - May 2009

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