Only one third of Lithuanian companies taking opportunities to expand

Most companies operating in Lithuania said that they continuously followed market trends for possible business development opportunities but not all act on that, according to a survey of Lithuanian businesses commissioned by Swedbank.

Almost 35% of surveyed businesses said they made good use of existing business development opportunities, more than a half (52%) of the respondents said their use of opportunities was satisfactory, while 10% of the respondents said they did not make enough use of existing business development opportunities.

Larger companies with more than 50 employees operating in the financial, telecommunications, IT and electronics sectors made the best use of development opportunities. Meanwhile, transport and logistics companies found developing new opportunities harder because in recent years they had to seek new markets in Western Europe as Eastern markets became partially or completely unavailable because of EU sanctions.

The survey shows that business development-oriented companies take a range of steps to seek out new business opportunities. For example, almost two-thirds of companies monitor their competitors and invest in plant and equipment, while around half of respondents carried out specialist research, and 46% maintained contacts with experts in similar fields.

Trade shows and special exhibitions are targeted by around half of companies to showcase their products or services and monitor similar business practices abroad. A third of companies are constantly looking for potential business partners in other countries.

More than a half of surveyed companies designate up to 5% of their annual budget to the search of new business opportunities, while almost a quarter of companies allocate more than 5%. Eight per cent of surveyed companies did not designate any funds for business development.