Trends Shaping The Market in Lebanon

In today’s series, we examine the challenges facing the workplace environment within Lebanese startups.

Many challenges face today’s entrepreneurs from money to lack of planning and finding the right talent. While some can be avoided with careful planning, others need quick decisions when they do occur. Today we interview some of Lebanon’s digital marketing experts on challenges faced by entrepreneurs in today’s market.

Mohammad Mortada ? LinkedIn Profile | Website

I have met with many entrepreneurs and each had different problems. If I were to chose only one challenge, I would say it’s the lack of passion. Lebanese startups go into their project with a black thought hidden in their subconscious telling them that the economy isn’t supportive and they will ultimately fail. With that in mind, they proceed with only one foot in the water the whole time, not giving their full potential. This is why most entrepreneurs have a part-time backup or full-time primary job to rely on. This is logical seeing that they have no safety net in terms of welfare or any governmental support.

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Charbel Ghanime ? Linkedin Profile

Shortage. Shortage in money/bank loans/investment, in qualified & experienced employees, in opportunities, and in ease of business. This is not the best time for startups, and the biggest challenge I would say is for startups to be able to adapt and adjust to this volatile business environment. Those who weather the storm will benefit in the end and maintain their position in the market once the market recovers.

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Rony El Hashem ? Linkedin Profile

Defining their unique selling propositions

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Kamal Chelhot ? Linkedin Profile

The main challenge is funding. As many clients would want to have credit for their activity, start-ups have to be secure in terms of funding to have a margin of risk available.

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Nasri Messarra ? Linkedin Profile

Bad infrastructure, incompetence of the competition and price-based competition, lack of awareness, lack of awareness in new technologies and lack of strategic thinking of customers

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Abdul Rahman Alieh ? Linkedin Profile

If you ask anyone on the street about the economic situation in Lebanon, they tend to give the same answer- it’s dead. Local brands are now negotiating more aggressively. As a young startup, you find yourself in a constant pricing battle with freelancers and other agencies. The trick is to position yourself based on your key differentiation factor (in our case, customer intimacy)- this sounds easier that than done. After all, you can provide the best offering, the cheapest offering, or the most comprehensive offering, but you can’t provide all three. Once you land a client, you should constantly demonstrate your value, otherwise, your client will think of jumping ship. Digital marketing agencies in Lebanon should spend time investing in their relationships with customers. i.e. offer more proactive customer service, be available around the clock, engage and keep in touch, and keep it personal- the latter may be the most challenging endeavor.

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Stay tuned as we discover in the next series the one way digital marketing agencies can stand out from the crowd