Getting to a Billion or More in the SMB Market

The industry news is dominated by large, Tier 1 consumer goods (CG) companies, yet the majority of CG manufacturers are actually small to mid-sized companies (SMB) that must compete with giants for their share of shelf, wallet and mind. These SMBs often face the same challenges as their larger competitors when dealing with retail customers and end-consumers, yet have far fewer resources in terms of both dollars and labor, and cannot afford to experiment or fail.

What do these companies really strive for? How do they want to differentiate themselves and what is their ultimate goal? This month, CGT teams up with Clarkston Consulting and SAP to understand the challenges and motivation behind the SMB CG market and dig deeper into how they operate. We asked about long-term goals as well as issues that may impede the achievement of those goals, plus the tools they might need to get there. Our research only involved companies with less than $1 billion in revenue and the results are intriguing.