Expanding our Footprint into Philadelphia with the GPCC

Submitted by: Matthew L. Robbins, Senior Account Executive, NCS Technologies

In December of 2009, we at NCS Technologies, a full life cycle solutions and IT staffing firm, decided to forge ahead and branch out into the Philadelphia Marketplace. Several months prior, we began to conduct our own market research to gain a better understanding of both the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead with opening a new office in Philadelphia. The feedback we received ran the gamut, but one unanimous opinion expressed by prospective clients and strategic partners was that Philadelphia and its citizens had a bond unlike any other city. We came away with the feeling that to truly succeed we had to become Philadelphians!

Armed with this knowledge, we knew that simply bringing in the top local talent to join NCS wouldn't be enough; we had to somehow ingrain ourselves into the Philadelphia business culture. In the past, when branching out into new cities, we would explore the local Chambers of Commerce and had often walked away a bit unimpressed. Since we didn't want to leave any stone unturned, we decided to reach out to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce to see if they would have anything new to offer. We had the immediate sense this experience would be quite different! From the beginning, the Chamber made a very compelling case on why joining would not only accelerate our footprint into the Philadelphia Marketplace, but also provide us with a wealth of resources that ranged from their heralded Supplier Network Series to Mayoral and Governor Luncheons.

Internally we thought that joining the Chamber made great business sense, but one major concern loomed in our minds: With so many resources now at our fingertips, how would we be able to determine the who, what and where that would eventually lead us to our target audience? Our fears were immediely alleviated with the Chamber's personal attention. We feel they went above and beyond to understand our business and how they could help us achieve our goals.

Over the past 120 days, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has helped immerse NCS into the Philadelphia Marketplace quicker than we could have ever hoped! With over 150 events a year, the amazing e-bid connect program (we highly recommend contacting the Chamber about this one!) and the personalized service, we feel the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has become an invaluable piece of the NCS Business Development team!

NCS Technologies, Inc. is a leader in Information Technology Staffing and Solutions with a client list which includes Fortune 500 companies and U.S. Government agencies. Providing business critical technology solutions since 1984, NCS is a Minority-certified, Hispanic-owned firm focused on bringing our clients the means to distance themselves from their competition.