How Does a Technology Company Stand Out in the UK?
In the U.K., it’s safe to say the challenges have been many. On top of recent changes in leadership, the country also withdrew from the European Union, and the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) — the world’s strongest set of data protection rules — has generated mass confusion for organisations across the spectrum with hard-to-follow rules and regulations.
AZK Meets's founder and managing director Azadeh Williams dives into these challenges and more with Andy Gladwin, from CM Group.
Driving growth in the U.K.
According to a Tech Nation report, the U.K. is proving attractive to investment, with overseas investment increasing from 50% in 2016 to 63% in 2020. Impact tech investment is fast growing in the U.K. too, increasing 160% since 2018 when compared to the U.S., where it grew 15% during the same period.
Andy Gladwin of CM Group speaks with Azadeh Williams of AZK Media about what it takes to grow a technology company in a competitive market like the UK
Keen to get in on this growth with a U.K. expansion of your own? Then familiarise yourself with these three things, Gladwin says. “Number one, the U.K. is a very sophisticated and mature market when you look at digital marketing. Driving in today, I heard a great slogan: ‘You need to be large enough to cope and small enough to care.’
“That really applies in our market where you need to have the scale and sophistication of technology. But you also have to be small enough so customers don’t become numbers,” Gladwin explains.
How to grow a B2B tech business in the U.K. at a glance:
Be large enough to cope but small enough to care: You need to have the scale and sophistication of technology, but you also must be small enough whereby customers don’t become numbers.
Go truly local: Empower your team on the ground to provide the right resources and create relationships with local clients rather than trying to handle everything remotely.
Know the British consumer: The U.K. has witnessed a number of macro-environmental changes with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), the pandemic and Brexit to name a few. If you’re going to succeed in the U.K., you need to have local data centres, and you need to be able to provide and cater to local consumers
The second part, he says, requires going truly local. “Empower your team on the ground to provide the right resources and create relationships with local clients rather than trying to do things remotely, which doesn’t resonate in the market,” he points out.
And finally, Gladwin shares that it’s all about gaining a 360-degree view and understanding of the British consumer. “There have been a number of macro-environmental changes — GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), the pandemic and Brexit to name a few.
“If you’re going to succeed in the U.K., then you need to have local data centres. Beyond compliance, the commercials must also be tailored to the local market conditions and ensured that they resonate. In addition to this, organisations need to be able to provide and cater to local consumers' behaviours, which differ from other regions. The list goes on, but localisation is absolutely key to success,” he insists.
Watch the full video interview here.
Authored by Julie Cooper, Senior Content and Communications Specialist at AZK Media.
