After UK, uSamp sets sights on growth in Europe

Normand (pictured) told Research that since opening its London office in January 2011, the number of employees has risen from one to 15 and the firm has seen “three-digit growth” in the country.

“It’s not like starting a new business,” she explained, “We’ve capitalised on the the company’s US reputation.” Normand could not give specific figures about how the UK business had been performing, but did say that the firm had had to do “some adjusting to the local way of doing things” – such as taking clients to the pub.

The firm has had to “push ourselves” to gain recognition in an already crowded market place, but Normand said that it has been winning business from a mixture of existing US-based clients and new customers. The firm was recently selected to work with GfK-owned Nurago providing respondents and technology for its new panel with Google.

With the UK business established, Normand said that the next country that uSamp is looking to build-out its presence is Germany. It already has a base in Munich and recently hired Ronald Meier in Frankfurt to lead sales across Europe, with an initial focus on Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Normand said: “After that, it will be dictated by business and clients. Wherever it makes sense to open an office close to clients, we’ll consider it.”