Gathering competitive intelligence before you enter foreign markets

One of the key mistakes companies make when selecting a market entry strategy is to focus on their capabilities and goals and forget to gather competitive intelligence in their chosen market. The higher the level of competition in the market, the lower the profits that can be obtained.

Daniella D'Alimonte

With her background in writing, marketing and business journalism, Daniella focuses on crafting quality stories and relevant content to inform and inspire the international business community.

Why just facts aren’t enough to do business with Latin American countries

First of all, facts aren’t enough. You won’t sell a product or a service in Latin America solely based on features, specs, pricing, benefits, etc. You won’t find a distributor or partner who will just look at your product objectively, see the benefits, do the maths, and take it on.

Gabriela Castro-Fontoura

Gabriela Castro-Fontoura is Director at Sunny Sky Solutions (www.sunnyskysolutions.com), supporting overseas companies across Latin America. Gabriela specialises in market research, distributor recruitment, soft-landing and trade missions across the region, from her base in Montevideo, Uruguay.

5 Free trade agreement myths debunked & Canada’s newest FTA with South Korea

The old adage, “a good compromise is one in which neither party is happy,” is a lousy standard by which to judge whether or not…

Ryan Weaver

Ryan is a Marketing Analyst at Mentor Works and holds a B.A. in economics, as well as a M.Sc in management and several published works including two book publications. Ryan is actively engaged with business owners and executives to educate them about government grants and funding available to accelerate their growth and cash flow planning activities.

Plan your Caribbean (CARICOM) market entry strategy and start avoiding Canadian winters

Now a great time to begin putting together your market entry strategy; currently, CARICOM and Canada are negotiating a trade and investment agreement.

Michelle Hustler, CITP®|FIBP®

Michelle Hustler is a Trade and Business Development Specialist, focusing on trade in services. Canadian born, Michelle now lives in the Caribbean. In fact, she wrote this article from a lounge chair on a beach in Barbados!

Next #TradeElite networking session & recap of why international trade is all about profit margins

You’ve decided to start selling your product in a market outside your own borders. Maybe it’s an emerging market, or perhaps you’ve gone with a market that’s a bit more established; but either way you’re going to need a system to get your product to market. You’re going to need to develop an international value chain.

Daniella D'Alimonte

With her background in writing, marketing and business journalism, Daniella focuses on crafting quality stories and relevant content to inform and inspire the international business community.

International business professionals pay it forward

A newspaper article reporting on a recent BDC study about the benefits of Advisory Boards for entrepreneurs made me think of a CITP colleague who teaches FITT courses. Over time he has become an informal advisor to some of his students who are planning to get started in the international field.

Ennio Vita-Finzi, CITP|FIBP

Ennio Vita-Finzi is a Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) and was a Trade Commissioner in Europe, Latin America and the US as well as President of the Canadian Council for the Americas during NAFTA negotiations. He has been a multinational executive and entrepreneur and is now a College lecturer, keynote speaker, and author based in Montreal. (e.vita-finzi@sympatico.ca)