A relationship in Bulgaria gave an industrial equipment business a reason to explore Romania. The question was whether it also gave the business enough of a foothold to find a Romanian partner. After four months of exploratory work, our answer was that the introduction had opened conversations, but a local launch needed a budget and a person to carry it forward.
What the initial test covered
The client and SmartKey had agreed to keep the initial commitment modest. I thought our Bulgarian connection would let us test partner interest before asking the client to fund a full organic campaign. SmartKey contributed additional exploratory work at its own expense. That made the first test affordable, but it also meant the amount on the client’s bill understated the effort behind it.
The team published LinkedIn and YouTube content, improved Romania-specific pages on the existing website and contacted prospective partners by email and LinkedIn direct message. A Romanian page could help someone understand the equipment after an introduction. It could not pick up the next conversation in Romanian.
What came back from about 170 companies
My estimate is that we emailed around 170 Romanian companies over roughly two months within the four-month test. Two conversations came through email and two through LinkedIn direct messages. A LinkedIn post also attracted visible engagement. The conversations did not produce a commercial result during the test.
For a business weighing its own expansion, the distinction matters. Engagement tells you that people noticed the discussion. A partner conversation gives you someone to follow up with. Neither tells you whether a distributor will commit. I would keep each of those measures on its own line in the next review.
What a second phase would have required
By the fourth month, my view had changed. A sustained effort called for a Romanian-speaking contact responsible for follow-up, a dedicated market website and an ongoing organic campaign. The exploratory posts and regional pages had served their purpose. The budget available for Romania did not cover that next phase. The test stopped there and the client relationship continues.
If you are considering a similar move, agree before outreach who will own replies, what commercial signal warrants another month and how much local execution you can fund if someone shows interest. Those are the decisions I would bring forward next time.
At SmartKey Agency, these tests start with a business question. When a launch depends on several teams, fractional marketing leadership gives someone responsibility for coordinating the agreed work. Our guide to hiring or outsourcing marketing explains how to decide which responsibilities should stay with your own team.