Achieving ISO 9001 certification is a milestone for any business, and given the work, man hours, and finance involved this is especially true for any SME (small to medium-sized enterprise). Whatever the reasons for seeking compliance and certification, many smaller organizations fail to capitalize on the potential benefits that ISO 9001 certification can bring. These organizational benefits can include process improvements, reputational benefits, and cost savings, as well as ensuring consistency of product and delivering customer satisfaction. We have looked at some of the benefits of implementation in the article Benefits of ISO 9001 Certification implementation for small businesses; so, how can a SME take the benefits of achieving ISO 9001 certification and turn them into real positives by using them to expand its business?

Making the most of ISO 9001

The sooner an SME realizes that an ISO 9001 certification is actually a marketable tool, the sooner that SME will be able to expand its business using that very accreditation as a foundation. The SME should know that new markets are open to operate in that previously would have been closed, for example:
• Ability to tender for local and national government contracts. These opportunities will increase due to most entry levels stipulating ISO 9001 certification. However, these contracts will not come looking for the SME, your appropriate departments will need to investigate, register, and prepare the team for the bidding and presentation process ahead. Read more in the article The 3 key Challenges of ISO 9001 Implementation for SMEs.
• Ability to trade with larger businesses. Many blue chip organizations simply refuse to trade with SMEs that do not have ISO 9001 as a starting point. The SME will now be qualified to seek associations and partnerships with larger operations showing that it can not only provide added value to their supply chains, but can use ISO 9001 certification as proof of its credibility and commitment to customer satisfaction.
So, now that we understand the channels that may be open to the SME for the first time, how do we go about winning new business and expanding our company?

Using ISO 9001 certification as leverage in business

Presenting your SME as an ambitious and capable partner can be challenging; but, using ISO 9001 principles, it is a task you can embrace. Whether on a face-to-face level or presenting at trade shows, or even recording video marketing presentations – which is a modern, but effective marketing tool – the SME can promote the use of ISO 9001 quality management principles to advertise its qualities:
• Customer satisfaction – The SME can correctly claim that the desire to be accredited against ISO 9001:2015 certification comes from the intrinsic company ethos, which is to provide unrivalled quality of product and service to the end user.
• Customer focus – One of the advantages the SME can claim over larger conglomerates is better customer focus and service. A more timely and effective reaction to the customer and any problems can be seen as an excellent selling point, and utilizing examples of its customer feedback and corrective action processes, the SME can demonstrate an edge in this area.
• Emphasize your operational control – If you are in a service or manufacturing environment, almost nothing is more impressive than displaying operational control and consistency of product. Again, this is something that many larger organizations find more difficult to control, and whether providing non-conformity rates, displaying process documents, or offering facility visits, this is another area in which the SME can claim advantage over the larger corporation.
• Continual improvement – The ability to improve and demonstrate to a potential customer is a valuable bargaining tool. Evidence of continual improvement can demonstrate a willingness to listen, take action, and improve – again, a quality that is often slower to be demonstrated within larger organizations where things often happen more slowly.
Given that ISO Certification For Quality Management now gives the SME parity with the larger company, and even an advantage in some fields, is there anything else we can use to our advantage in trying to grow the business?

How ISO 9001 certification helps SMEs:

• ISO 9001 certification requires the business to ensure that all materials are purchased from suppliers that have been evaluated based on quality criteria, and these suppliers must be re-evaluated at defined intervals to ensure ongoing material quality and consistent supply chains.
• ISO 9001:2015 certification can help SMEs to increase their business – and eventually, their profitability – by building up a business with the customers for whom certification is a contractual requirement.
• ISO 9001 allows SMEs to gain a clear understanding of their business by gathering all of the valuable business information and data mandated by the various standard requirements. Some examples include risk management processes, the context of the organization, customer feedback, and reviews, results of internal audits and management reviews, analysis of corrective actions, product or service complaints, etc.
• ISO 9001 provides the basis to develop a system that increases confidence in the company’s stability while providing reliable, recorded information and data to identify and move forward with potential improvements.
• As ISO 9001 Certification Quality Management System standard, which is a business development opportunity, let’s see how it can benefit the SME financially. To see some challenges that might come up while implementing ISO 9001, read this article: The 3 key challenges of ISO 9001 implementation for SMEs.

Advertising ISO 9001 to the benefit of the SME
Your SME should understand the rules of advertising its ISO 9001 certification by ensuring that the correct logo is used on your website and stationery, if desired. Look to join local trade organizations, which will allow you to network with new potential customers and partners. Consider throwing an open house to celebrate your ISO 9001 certification, where you can gain some new contacts, attract some media attention, and say “thanks” to everyone who has worked hard to gain accreditation (and who will need to continue to do so to maintain compliance and improve standards in the future). Use your ISO 9001 certification to leverage your SME’s ability to move in higher circles, and use the elements suggested above to drive home the advantages an SME can have over a larger business. Use 9001 as the leverage to take you from being an SME to a bigger organization. Nobody else will do it for you.

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