Samenvatting

This final project explored the functions and services of the export
consultancy firm Zet-Group and focuses on OOO Zet-Group, the Russian
division. Furthermore, it lists the obstacles that Dutch SMEs experience when exporting to Russia so that Zet-Group can develop its services to make them fit with the demands of Dutch SMEs. The central question is: What are the obstacles for Dutch SMEs when entering the Russian market and how can Zet-Group adjust its services to offer better help to overcome these problems? If more suitable assistance is offered, new clients can be attained. Obviously, this is beneficial for the company in terms of revenue and network. This project analyzed the difficulties involved for companies when exporting to Russia. It is concluded that exporting to Russia costs
more time and effort compared to doing business within the European Union or with other countries. Nevertheless, Russia is a huge and attractive market but an exporter must acquire knowledge, experience and a proper strategy. To make use of a consultant is a common solution since a consultant has the experience and knowledge to develop and implement a successful strategy.
This document contains reviews of several cases. Two of them relate to Dutch SMEs and their export to Russia. One company is successful and the other enterprise had to retreat from the Russian market. The lessons that are learned from their mistakes and accomplishments are valuable for Zet-Group in the way that the services are evaluated with regard to these cases.
In general, the services of Zet-Group match well with the obstacles that are met by Dutch SMEs. However, the Dutch export consultancy market is very competitive. Zet-Group has not yet experience, references and a network on the Dutch market. The possibilities to cooperate with (non-) governmental instititutions are limited, since strong relationships are established already with other commercial consultancy firms. The recommendations in this project do not advocate drastic change of Zet-Group's services but advice
about how to present and whom to target with the services. It is argued that cold calling is not the appropriate method to find new clients. Instead of spending a lot of time on contacting as many companies as possible, Zet-Group should search for aspiring exporters, which should meet the criteria: satisfy an identified need and specialized niche exporting. Before potential clients can be contacted, the firm should do research on the Russian market to detect chances regarding unsatisfied needs. Only after
that, the right SMEs can be targeted.