Lack of sales and marketing skills holding back tech sector

Trade

30 May 2012

New research from business consultants Select Strategies and Turley Communications has found that Irish tech sector’s sales and marketing approaches lag behind those of other industries. According to the study an emphasis on product development over market testing and the development of key metrics and employing a qualified sales department is blocking start-ups’ routes to market.

Launching the report Colm Lyon, CEO Realex Payments and founder Internet Growth Alliance (IGA), said: “There is real progress being made by Irish Tech companies in how they are adopting new business approaches to help them grow faster. We are seeing companies testing, validating and measuring repeatedly until they find the right product/market fit – the holy grail of building a successful company. Enterprise Ireland’s iGAP programme continues to fuel this. But there is evidence that we need to get smarter in the sales and marketing arena which is important for global success.”

Commenting on the Irish Tech Survey 2012, Jennifer Condon, divisional manager, internationally traded services and software, Enterprise Ireland, said: “We are delighted to see the survey highlight the importance of these new, emerging business models which are fundamental to building and scaling global internet companies. These trends reflect what we are seeing in our growing client base of software and services companies. In particular, we see the need for companies to have a strong focus on sales and marketing including how to build a repeatable cost efficient way of acquiring and retaining customers.”

The report was based on findings from over 50 Irish tech companies and was carried out via an online survey and face-face interviews.

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