In the past, the marketing mix was commonly made up of the 4 Ps: product, price, place and promotion. An alternative to the 4 Ps approach is gaining popularity due to the digital age and the changing ways that customers gather information and make purchasing decisions. These are the 4 E’s.

According to Brian Fetherstonhaugh of Ogilvy & Mather, the market is now an ecosystem with “billions of unstructured one-to-one and peer-to-peer conversations”.

Fetherstonhaugh advises marketers to stop thinking so much about their product and start thinking more about the customer experience. This new approach encourages organizations to engage and create a relationship with visitors, leads and customers.

Now that marketers have better tools at their disposal, they can take a more targeted approach to sharing and gathering information. Digital channels, such as email, social media and mobile messages, allow businesses to share tailored content with segmented, regional audiences.

1. Experience

Instead of a marketing strategy that is planned around the product or service, this method puts the customer experience at the centre of attention. An example of an organization that changed its focus from products to experience is Hershey. Rather than putting up a billboard ad in New York City’s Times Square, they created a brand experience by opening a store on Times Square that is playful, stimulates childhood memories, and allows parents and children to explore candies together.

A customer’s journey is their overall experience with an organization from the time they first encounter its name. For example, customers might typically encounter an organization’s product on social media for the first time and from there go to the organization’s website to find more information, followed by a trip to a retail outlet to purchase the product. At some point, customers might return to the organization’s website to learn about a different product.

The organization’s goal is to make the journey enjoyable and relevant for the customer.

For example, consider the Swedish Tourism Association’s “Call a Swede” campaign. When tourists call +46 771 793 336, they are forwarded to a Swedish resident (a Swede) who provides the caller with the desired local knowledge, such as recommending a good restaurant, a fruitful fishing hole or a place to take Swedish folk dancing lessons.

Mapping the customer’s journey or path enables marketers to pinpoint weaknesses in the customer experience and correct them. The mapping exercise also identifies the technologies used, the people and processes involved, and the emotions experienced by customers along the path. It can be difficult to map the path because the customer’s journey is often non-linear and more complex than it was in the pre-digital era. It would be valuable at this point to consider when and how to collect customer testimonials at different points in their journey.

To assist with the mapping activity, marketers use customer personas for businesses and/or consumers.

Some organizations have deepened their relationship with loyal customers by using them as product and service experts. Customers who have developed product and service expertise are asked to help other customers in return for rewards. Consider the case of giffgaff, a British mobile phone operator that relies on knowledgeable customers to help other customers and promote its brand. The company rewards these customers with points, which they can convert into cash.

2. Everyplace

Everyplace is so named because of how consumers can now access information about products and services from multiple sources in multiple locations. Instead of expecting customers to come to the seller, the seller now goes to customers. This new dynamic allows the organization to provide information about its mission and products and services whenever and wherever customers seek it. And they seek it in many places, including social media, retail outlets, online stores, websites, blogs and more. The goal is to make contact with customers when they are receptive to it. For example, Ogilvy & Mather’s Digital Innovation Lab in Singapore invented an app for its liquor brand with a virtual personal assistant who helps customers by advising them of upcoming entertainment promotions and then, if desired, gets them reservations and VIP access to these events.

Want to learn more about international marketing? Check out the FITTskills International Sales & Marketing online course!

3. Exchange

In the 4 Es approach, the focus has moved from the exchange of money for a product or service to the value of the relationship and long-term loyalty customers develop with the organization. Using the exchange approach requires each party to offer something of value to the other party. For example, many organization websites offer expertise and products for free. Marketers use the exchanges to establish credibility, create goodwill and build a relationship of trust. What organizations offer customers in the exchange hopefully results in long-term relationships and ultimately brand loyalty and revenue.

4. Evangelism

Evangelism involves creating a brand experience for customers that inspires them to engage with the organization and tell their friends about the experience. Ogilvy & Mather recommends starting with an organization’s key strengths and connecting them to an important cultural truth or trend to generate energy and passion.

Take for example, Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. Dove’s stand on the beauty of real woman of various shapes, sizes and colours resonated with women. The inspiration for the program was a study of more than 3,000 women from 10 different countries. Results showed that only 2% of the respondents considered themselves beautiful.

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty was based on the idea that the world would be a better place if women felt good about themselves. Missions such as these can inspire employees as well as customers.

The Campaign for Real Beauty started with a website and a public relations campaign. Women were invited to join the debate, and millions did. The campaign’s Evolution has been seen by an estimated 500 million viewers. All this was achieved through consumer sharing and free media support.

Dove’s most recent research showed that the percentage of women who consider themselves beautiful has increased from 2 to 4%, although the brand recognizes that this increase cannot be attributed to Dove alone. The campaign’s impact on perceptions of beauty is hard to quantify, but it has helped drive Dove sales to record levels. Dove’s sales increased from USD 2.5 billion in 2004, the first year of the Campaign for Real Beauty, to USD 4 billion in 2014.

Another example of marketers who are good at finding the energy and passion in what they sell is Coca-Cola. The company ran a global campaign in 2009 called Open Happiness. As a localized campaign activity, the marketing team in Singapore installed a Coke machine on a university campus with “Hug Me” written on it. Whenever someone hugged the machine, they were rewarded with a free Coke. The marketing teams in Pakistan and India came up with a different interpretation of the campaign. In their regions, whenever someone in India put their hand on a Coke machine at the same time as someone in Pakistan, both machines dispensed a free Coke.

Evangelism also involves creating products and services that are so good and providing experiences that are so intriguing that customers want to let other people know about them. Apple is an example of a company that has achieved an image with which people want to be associated.

Has your business followed the 4 E’s model? How do you think it stacks up to the traditional 4 P’s of marketing?

The post Take your international marketing into the 21st century with the 4 E’s appeared first on Trade Ready.

Knowing the latest social media trends is the key to keeping up with its fast-paced nature. This is especially important if you are involved in social media marketing, because if you’re not able to keep up with the latest trends, you could easily get overwhelmed by your competition.

The following are some of the most important social media marketing trends and stats today. Learn more about them and see how you could relate it to your business.

1. A younger audience can be more likely to convert to sales

The Internet is a very big ocean to fish from, so casting a line without knowing what to look for is very inefficient. Even if you’re focusing on just one social media channel, it’s still important to know your audience, and see if any of them fits your target consumer.

According to research by MarketingSherpa, adults aged 18-34 who are active online will likely follow a brand through social networking sites.

See if the product or service you are offering fits your audience, or else your marketing efforts will just go to waste.

This is why Instagram is the preferred social media platform of lifestyle brands that cater to millennials. According to ScienceDaily, 90% of Instagram users are below 35 years old. They are assured that most of their post views are by potential customers, increasing the possibility of converting their social media interaction to actual sales.

2. Visual content is vastly more likely to go viral

Having many friends or followers on your social network accounts doesn’t really matter if none of them interact with your brand. If there’s really an engagement between your brand and your audience, they should be liking, commenting on, or sharing your posts. This is why you should make every post count, to attract their attention and to encourage them to take action.

Visual content is the key to make something viral – it is 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other kinds of content, according to HubSpot. Your marketing strategy should include ways of creating visual content for your audience, be it image posts, videos, or even livestreamed events.

3. Hashtags can help, but aren’t a one-step key to success

Social media is a good testing ground for new strategies and campaigns. One reason is that it’s relatively cheap, and you have access to a very wide audience. There have been successful campaigns before, but as they get copied by every other online marketing team, the effectiveness of such campaigns decreases.

A good example would be the use of hashtags to promote content. A Locowise study found that hashtags had no effect on engagement rates for Twitter posts. Remember when almost every brand on Twitter were spamming their posts with too many hashtags? Turns out, it’s not really helping them get a better engagement rate.

What matters more is the content that you post and share. It’s better to just focus on the quality of content, instead of spamming your post with crazy #hashtags.

4. What’s most important for you – engagement, total users or influencers?

Speaking of engagement rate, Hootsuite found that Instagram has the highest per-follower engagement rate, at 4.21%. This is 58 times better than that of Facebook, and 120 times better than that of Twitter.

If you don’t have enough resources to manage all the possible social networking sites available, choose and prioritize the one that has the biggest upside for you.

For example, Facebook may not have Instagram’s engagement rate, but they have the most monthly active users at 2.01 billion. Twitter may not have the numbers of the first two, but the ability to follow and getting followed back by various brands and influencers is unique only to this platform.

If your budget allows it, you can also have a communication and collaboration platform that lets you manage all three at once, as well as other platforms like LinkedIn or Snapchat.

Staying ahead of the curve is a never-ending effort

The Internet has paved new ways for us to do things, including marketing and advertisement. Social media became a strong channel to market products and services, and it empowered not only known brands, but also startups and small businesses. We need to constantly evolve our practices so that we can keep up not only with the competition, but also with the innovations and the technology that’s constantly advancing.

The post 4 social media marketing stats to help small businesses improve results appeared first on Trade Ready.

Communicating with different people from different locations is as simple as clicking a button. And that’s just for an individual user; businesses have started using social media to their advantage, to market and sell their products and services online worldwide.

Social selling is defined as the practice of having representatives or “salespeople” use various social networking platforms to interact with buyers and learn more about their buying preferences. Their aim is to educate and build relationships with these potential customers.

They do this by giving them the right product/service information and discussing it with their target buyers. Education is they key here, as these salespeople help increase the knowledge of their target buyers in order to convince them to purchase a product or service.

On the other hand, social media marketing uses social networks to spread brand recognition or promote products or services. Instead of relying on representatives or salespeople, it uses campaigns in the form of shareable content, advertorials, surveys, and contests.

The aim of these campaigns is to get liked, commented on and shared the most, so that knowledge about the brand, product, or service will be spread to a much wider audience than just the original fans/followers on social media. It is important to establish a social media presence on the platforms frequented by your target audience so that when you start a new campaign, you already have a lot of people to share your content.

What do social selling and social media marketing have in common?

Since both approaches involve social media, it is easy to confuse one for the other because of their similarities. One is that they have the same business goals: develop customer relationships and get recognized (brand recall) by more people.

They aim to achieve these goals by educating buyers about their brand and what they offer, in order to establish trust and ensure continued patronage and support for future releases.

Both social media marketing and social selling then aim to measure the return of investment on social media. This is because campaigns on social media channels usually eat up a sizable chunk of a company’s marketing budget, according to this 2014 study.

Social media marketing and social selling also share the same content needs. Both require branded and third party content that educates buyers about the industry or segment, the brand, the offerings, and more. In the case of social selling, the kind of valuable content needed includes whitepaper, infographics, images, and other shareable content that can contribute to the customers’ knowledge about the product.

These are shared by the “salespeople” tasked with selling the brand on social networking sites. These people include actual employees working for the brand, or sometimes, hired “influencers” – well known personalities with a sizable following.

What are the biggest differences between them?

The main difference between social selling and social media marketing is who is responsible for the success of the approach. As mentioned earlier, social selling is carried out by the salespeople who distribute the content in order to educate the customers.

Social media marketing, on the other hand, is done by marketers through different campaigns. Customers often engage a faceless, nameless corporate account with social media marketing, as compared to social sellers who are usually individuals with a recognizable name and face.

Social selling usually focuses on a smaller group of customers compared to social media marketing, which communicates to larger groups and segments. Social sellers aim to address individual customers’ needs, going as far as engaging them one on one, in order to properly educate them about the brand and its offerings.

On the other hand, social media marketing campaigns usually target larger audiences. For example, the thousands of people following a certain brand would all qualify for a “Like and Share” contest, even if they haven’t purchased anything.

Why not use both?

One of the main concerns about using both social selling and social media marketing is the cost. Small and mid-sized businesses would think twice about spending for both instead of focusing on one solid approach.

But that shouldn’t stop anyone from exploring and implementing both approaches simultaneously. The key is having the right tools and technologies to run both social selling and marketing at the same time.

Social media marketing uses tools like Hootsuite or Sprout for scheduling, approving, and responding to different posts on different social networking platforms.

Social selling requires tools that help them reach individual audiences, so CRMs that let them share content and messages to specific users would be very useful. They can also benefit from an integrated phone system that lets them connect and contact leads immediately.

As long as they can get an affordable service provider for the above mentioned tools and technologies, even SMBs can benefit from using both approaches.

Are you currently using either strategy? Does one work better for you than the other, or do you advocate using both simultaneously? Share your thoughts below!

The post Between social selling and social media marketing, is there a clear choice for your business? appeared first on Trade Ready.

While it makes for a captivating movie and sounds great in theory, this is rarely the case when it comes to growing your business.

When planning your company’s international expansion, it may seem tempting to copy a successful approach you’ve already used in a different region. But the reality is that such a strategy fails more often than it succeeds.

Instead, businesses must do the proper research to be prepared to reach customers where they are, and in the way they prefer, with messaging and benefits that appeal directly to their wants and needs.

Since you can’t expect customers to simply come to you as soon as you enter a new market, here are some marketing tactics you can use to create a customized experience to earn their business – as well as their loyalty and respect.

1. Pricing is more than a currency conversion

When it comes to price, it can be easy to think you can just convert the price of your product from the existing currency to that of your new target market and call it a day. While converting prices to local currency is helpful, it should be just one part of your overall pricing strategy.

Take a look at how potential competitors price their products, and how much customers are willing to spend.

If other companies are offering similar products at lower costs, or there aren’t enough customers capable of purchasing at your price point, you may need to rethink your strategy.

This is particularly true if competitors have already been in the market for a while and have built up brand loyalty.

On the other hand, you need to know what level of profit will make your business sustainable there. How will distribution costs, marketing costs, and your overall business strategy affect what you can price your product or service at?

It can also be difficult to set a price if you are entering an unproven or niche market and will have to pay a great deal up front to establish your business there.

First, find out what your potential customers are willing to pay, and if there is a big enough market to support your business.  Then, see what kind of price will make it a profitable market for your business. If those numbers are too far apart, it will lead to significant problems down the road.

2. Find out if translation is the key to market entry

Even as English is used increasingly worldwide, translating into other major languages like Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish or French is an important way to reach more customers in markets where those are the predominate languages.

Many countries, however, have several common languages in use. Singapore, for example, has four main languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, and 70% of the population speaks at least one language other than English. Even though the majority of people in Singapore speak English, limiting advertising and selling to one language could result in lost opportunities.

In markets like Singapore where several languages are used, assess the potential market size of customers speaking another language. You will also need to research the cost of translation, and what degree of competition there is for your products or services in that demographic.

If there is a sizable group that speaks a language few companies have catered to, speaking their language could be a great way to stand out and win customer loyalty.

Can your company afford to translate into multiple or several languages? If it can, will the return on that investment be sufficient to make it worthwhile? If the answer to both is yes, translation could be your key to success.

3. Find the right mix to maximize your marketing spend

Deciding on which methods to focus your advertising budget can be stressful.

To make the best possible decision, you need to know where your potential customers place their trust, the reach of various media, the size of the market for your product or service, and the cost of various advertising methods. If it’s inexpensive to reach a lot of people through one method, but it may only have a minimal impact, is that as advantageous as reaching a smaller group who are far more likely to act upon your advertising?

A digital-heavy strategy with banner ads, social media marketing and e-mail promotions may be ideal for a company in one country, while a mix of radio and print ads could be equally good for another. Never assume what’s worked before in one country will work again elsewhere. Take the time to research the market to determine what type of communication people are most receptive to, how many people could be influenced, and what it would cost before making a final decision.

Some companies may even consider counting on word of mouth to spread the word at low cost, or a viral marketing strategy that could have a huge impact disproportionate to the budget. Companies with bigger budgets may also consider more costly options such as product placement or celebrity sponsorships unavailable to most businesses.

While the best strategy is often a mix of various approaches, you need to know what will work best for your business.

The post Win over customers in new markets with these 3 marketing tactics appeared first on Trade Ready.

E-commerce has evolved rapidly over the past decade or two, and it is more important than ever for companies looking to reach new customers in international markets. Whether you work for a major multi-billion dollar corporation or run your own small business, there are e-commerce solutions you can use to grow.

For companies who have never engaged in e-commerce before, getting started could understandably seem a little daunting. To explore these opportunities and help you understand how to start and succeed in e-commerce, we asked some of today’s leading experts to share their thoughts in this month’s #TradeElite Twitter chat. Here’s what they had to say.

Moderator: Doug Bruhnke (@GlobalChamber) is based in Arizona, and is CEO of Global Chamber, a community of CEOs, executives and leaders in hundreds of locations worldwide. His personal Twitter handle is @DougBruhnke.

Panelists:

Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) is based in the Boston area, and is the co-founder and CEO of Trellis, a full service digital agency specializing in digital strategy, SEO, e-commerce, web design, web development, Magento, WordPress, and conversion optimization.

Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) is based in the Toronto area. She is a content marketing lead at Shopify and is the co-founder of @LibertyVilBeer.

Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon), based out of British Columbia, is a digital marketing and media specialist who writes extensively about e-commerce for CanadiansInternet.com, the Huffington Post and several other companies and publications.

Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06), located in the Atlanta area, is the founder and head analyst of Logistics Trends and Insights. She also writes about and works on projects related to e-commerce, market research and marketing.

Emil Stickland (@Thrive_Digi) is in Edinburgh, and serves as director for Thrive Digital, an agency specializing in helping companies to develop and improve their international e-commerce.

James Tobyne (@JamesTobyne) is in the San Francisco/Bay Area. He is working for an international localization tech startup, and previously worked in strategic partnership and business development for Alibaba.

Why do e-commerce? What types of businesses are ideal or not ideal for it?

@GlobalChamber I think a lot of businesses can benefit, so long as they offer differentiation and are not purely cost focused #TradeElite

— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017

A1 Suitability: Consider product shipping cost, support staff, inventory capacity, market saturation & growth potential. #TradeElite

— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber #TradeElite I think every business that sells product that can be standardized or shipped should be considering eCommerce to optimize sales.

— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017

A1: If your product is shippable, it’s worth localizing for international markets for many product categories & business sizes. #TradeElite

— James Tobyne (任翔） (@JamesTobyne) April 13, 2017

Once a company decides to start selling via e-commerce, what should be the next step?

A2 – do your homework on what countries/region you want to expand to. #TradeElite

— Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06) April 13, 2017

and understand all regulatory requirements, customs, border taxes etc. #TradeElite

— Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06) April 13, 2017

A2 If the business is already established offline, the next step is to choose an ecommerce platform provider. #TradeElite

— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017

A2: Step 1: is deciding whether to go standalone, off-the-shelf technology, or marketplace listing. It’s cost vs control #TradeElite

— James Tobyne (任翔） (@JamesTobyne) April 13, 2017

What kind of budget might you need to get your e-commerce started?

A3: There are way too many variables to estimate cost, but there are eCommerce & eMarketing solutions for virtually any budget. #TradeElite

— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017

@Thrive_Digi Are there any guidelines, or ranges? #TradeElite

— Global Chamber® (@GlobalChamber) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber #TradeElite A very basic Shopify site might only be 5 to 10k and a big enterprise site could be millions to implement, a very large range.

— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017

What are the best ways to set goals and evaluate success?

@GlobalChamber A4 Having a growth plan is key. Figure out how you will acquire customers and backwards. #TradeElite

— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber #TradeElite Focus on small goals that can be attained quickly that add up to larger big goals. Update design, update feature x, grow traffic

— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017

Hey this sounds like hard work! #TradeElite … but worth the climb if you do the up-front work.

— Global Chamber® (@GlobalChamber) April 13, 2017

Is there a common approach? How would you summarize the main steps?

@GlobalChamber A5 Step 1 – Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance #TradeElite Steps 2 – ∞ TEST! #TradeElite

— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017

What are the biggest e-commerce mistakes companies make? How can you avoid them?

A6: Huge inventory. Test & explore the market via online marketplaces or drop shipping before investing heavily in inventory. #TradeElite

— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017

A6 shipping costs – there’s alot of options but folks don’t seem to know these options. #TradeElite

— Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06) April 13, 2017

And expecting traffic to just show up once you launch. You need to promote online sales just like any other channel. #TradeElite https://t.co/VViYOTnBaa

— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber Failing to gather data, and doing things because they “like it” #TradeElite

— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber #TradeElite 1) Not detailing out requirements for launch & Thus under resourcing 2) No continuous improvement plan for post launch

— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber A6: The biggest mistake made by the big players is underestimating the value of customer service & the power of social media. #TradeElite

— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017

What special considerations do you need to make when considering specific target customers or countries?

@GlobalChamber @Casandra_Camp It varies massively, particularly in social. China (WeChat) vs USA (Facebook) #TradeElite

— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber Preferred payments, these differ to great degree cross-border #TradeElite

— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber A7 In many cases it will vary country to country. Different acquisition channels have different adoption rates across the globe. #TradeElite

— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017

Anything else important you want to share?

A8: Partnering with bloggers & influencers in my target market is one of the most effective & economical ways to promote. #TradeElite

— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017

@GlobalChamber #TradeElite we have had the most success from improving existing eCommerce sites, re-platforming is a painful process that is expensive.

— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017

Read the rest of the chat and follow future discussions by following the #TradeElite hashtag. Stay tuned for the next #TradeElite chat, coming up Thursday, May 11 from 2:30-3:30PM ET.

The post How to set up your global business for e-commerce success appeared first on Trade Ready.

For managers in smaller companies, some of these challenges can be resolved by imitating (in a scaled-down form) the practices of larger companies. Certainly managers in small firms can learn a great deal from the global management experiences of larger firms.

In other cases, challenges must be addressed by entering into and managing partnerships, either with larger organizations or with a network of suppliers. Here are 6 strategies SMEs can consider if they want to overcome these challenges and enjoy success in international markets.

1. Niche marketing

By virtue of their size, small companies do best when they specialize. Either they can occupy a unique niche that has not been noticed or addressed by other firms, or they can distinguish and differentiate their product from anyone else’s.

For example, Artailer is an online gallery and retailer of original art. It deals in several kinds of paintings, photography, printmaking and other new media. It also offers customers the option to commission a custom work and hire an artist to complete their dream project directly through their website.

The website also gives people the chance to create custom boards of their favourite works, view the favourites of others, view recommended ideas to gift to others or use as décor, and has its own blog and magazine.

2. Using technology to level the playing field

Much of the technology available to large companies for communicating with customers and managing logistics can also be put to use by small companies. Small companies can use advanced design, manufacturing and information technologies to enjoy economies of scope. Base products can be readily customized to suit the particular tastes, conditions and applications of each market.

This is the idea underlying the business of WSI, which uses digital marketing techniques to help small and medium sized businesses establish their presence online. In this case, advanced digital technology is both the channel through which the company operates and the product that it offers its clients, helping them adapt the Internet to their own business objectives.

3. Adapting organizational models

Managers in small companies can also adopt some of the organizational structures of larger firms. For example, Jamesway Incubator Company has built a solid reputation based on the design, marketing and sales of world class chicken incubators.

Since the majority of its sales are now made outside of Canada, the firm is organized on a global basis, according to regional world markets. They operate a network of agents and representatives covering all of the world’s continents.

Their website offers a clickable world map where users can locate the nearest sales office by region and by country. For example, clicking on Africa and then on Egypt yields the contact information of the Jamesway representative in that country. Using this flexible structure allows the company to offer global coverage without incurring unnecessary overhead.

4. Becoming an insider

Small companies can become “insiders” just as many large international firms have done.

One way to do this is to make the company reflect the markets that it wishes to target: it can hire people with roots in the target market or hands-on experience working there. If it already has operations in the target market, it should find local managers with appropriate skills and experience. In both cases, the company can benefit from their knowledge and intuition to improve the way in which the firm deals with that market. In some cases, a firm may even wish to consider appointing nationals of key strategic markets as corporate directors.

If the right people are chosen and drawn in, this approach can add credibility to the firm in the target markets, provide it with a useful sounding board when determining its direction and strategies, and generate contacts in the respective government, supplier and customer circles.

5. Alliances between small companies and larger corporations

Both large and small companies can derive significant benefits from an alliance. Larger firms spend millions of dollars establishing worldwide distribution and marketing infrastructures, which are dependent on new and innovative products. Many small firms characterized by entrepreneurial spirit are leading technology developers but lack capital and market reach.

These different perspectives can constitute a fertile ground for alliances that can take advantage of complementary capabilities.

Some companies actively search out partners. For example, Dell manages a program to identify partners able to provide a wide range of services upon which the company depends. Its websites set out the specific qualities that it is looking for and encourages smaller firms to apply.

6. Developing supplier networks

When positioning themselves in global niche markets, smaller companies must use the most efficient and productive means possible. One way of achieving this is to develop their own network of dependable, cost-effective suppliers who themselves use advanced technologies. Among the key strategic services that managers can outsource in the interests of efficiency are design, engineering, production, marketing, servicing, transportation, and telecommunications.

By specializing, a manager can focus the organization on what it does best.

In addition, outsourcing from specialists instead of carrying out all the work in-house allows the manager to get better quality services at lower cost, while retaining multi-skilled workforces able to respond to new opportunities. Effective outsourcing, however, also requires effort and time on the part of the manager who must keep communication flowing, maintain good working relationships and coordinate an expanded supplier network.

The post 6 strategies small companies use to have big impacts in international markets appeared first on Trade Ready.

As members of this constantly growing international trade community, you’ve probably seen a lot of things happening at FITT over this past year.

We’re so grateful for your crucial role in making all of those things happen, because without you, none of it would have been possible.

It’s been exciting to see your passion and expertise shine through in so many ways, including our monthly #TradeElite Twitter chats, discussions of important trade issues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and TradeEliteClub, and as contributors on our TradeReady.ca blog.

In the spirit of reflection and celebration that the holiday season and New Year bring, we’d like to take this opportunity to give thanks for everything we’ve been able to achieve together in 2015, and give you a sneak peek of what we’re most excited about for the year ahead.

Jessica Thornhill – Coordinator, Products and Services:

One of the things I’m proudest of from the past year was the team effort that culminated with the successful launch of our new online course platform.

There are many new features and resources that will be helpful to those taking FITTskills online courses, and we’re excited to hear how our current students are enjoying the experience so far.

In the coming year I’m looking forward to working with the growing number of educational partners in countries all over the world.

We already have partners delivering our courses in Colombia, Malaysia, Romania and the UK, and recently offered a two-week training session in Indonesia.

I can’t wait to keep adding to that list in the future.

Ewan Roy – Content Marketing Specialist:

One of my favourite things from the past year has been our #TradeElite Twitter chats. It’s been a pleasure to help organize the chats and work with so many talented participants who are experts in their field.

It’s been amazing to see everything they have had to say on the various topics we’ve covered, from IP protection and freight forwarding, to market entry strategies and the TPP.

Next year, I’m looking forward to continuing to connect with our various CITP®|FIBP® designation holders to write Spotlight features of their careers and accomplishments for TradeReady.ca.

Seeing the many different ways import export professionals got started in the industry, and hearing the amazing things they’ve done during their careers, is always fun and a great way to help professionals celebrate earning their elite designation.

Caroline Tompkins – President and CEO:

We were thrilled that Global Affairs Canada (GAC) officially adopted FITTskills training as part of the career path for all Trade Commissioners in 2015, and then extended this to locally engaged staff.

This, combined with our continued long-standing strategic partnership with Export Development Canada (EDC) and our research project with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), is representative of the importance the Canadian government places on building the capacity of international trade practitioners.

On a more personal note, I’ve also been very pleased with the excellent work of the entire FITT team, from our staff to our Board of Directors.

2016 will be a big year of planning for us, as we’re currently putting together plans to celebrate FITT’s 25th anniversary in 2017, and developing everything related to our strategic plan from 2017-2020.

We’ll also be focused on enhancing the awareness of the value that FITT’s CITP®|FIBP® designation holders bring to the international business community, and the importance of the designation for anyone working in import export as a whole.

Silvia Baptista – Manager, Products and Services:

Working with an increasing number of international clients has been one of the high points of 2015 for me.

The number of professionals with their elite CITP®|FIBP® designation in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world continues to rise, and we now have educational partners in four different continents.

Next year, launching our International Trade Competency Framework will be gratifying, as we feel it’s going to provide international business practitioners with a practical, relevant model to define all of the skills they need to succeed globally.

The implications for the project in education, hiring, business development, professional growth and a number of other areas are far reaching, and I’m looking forward to seeing how those develop.

Pamela Hyatt – Content Marketing Specialist:

Launching our new website, FITTforTrade.com, was a true highlight for all of us at FITT. It allowed us to bring the website into the future with a dynamic new design, easier navigation and new resources.

We hope you’ve all had the chance to discover the new look and features, and we’re always happy to hear feedback and suggestions.

In 2016, I’m looking forward to bringing even more exciting new people and content into FITT’s community through our blog, TradeReady.ca, as well as on social media at tradeeliteclub.com, and the monthly #TradeElite Twitter chats.

We’re working on some fun new ideas right now, and we’re always thrilled to collaborate with talented international trade professionals like yourselves.

If you’re interested in contributing an article or collaborating with us in any way, we want to hear from you!

Joan Desautels – Finance Manager:

I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made on our technical integration project over the past year, with our new website and CRM, CMS and LMS systems, and with the energy and enthusiasm that our FITT team brings to the table.

In 2016, I am looking forward to all of the new opportunities and challenges that come with the continued growth and innovation of the FITT organization.

Connie Brigham – Coordinator, Products and Services:

It was wonderful to play an important role in organizing our International Competency Standards focus groups and validation sessions, as well as to personally attend the focus group in Vancouver, and validation session in Ottawa.

I got to meet several of our CITP®|FIBP®s, and many of those relationships are ongoing as we continue to collaborate with the Content Advisory Panel.

Being out in the field and understanding the details of what our international trade experts do, and how proud they are to contribute to the project was a great experience, as was witnessing the discussion and seeing the ideas unfold.

We’re very excited about the progress being made on the 7th edition of FITTskills over the next year.

Along with our new course platform, I think it’s going to create a fantastic client experience that’s very user-friendly and helpful for achieving career goals.

Alex Barankevych – Digital Marketing Specialist:

I’m a brand new member of the FITT team, taking on the role of Digital Marketing Specialist on December 7. I’m proud to have joined this company and am enjoying getting started in my new position.

I’ve got a lot of new ideas for FITT that I’m working on right now, and 2016 will give me the opportunity to start putting those into place and measure their success.

Creating more content geared towards answering the specific questions and needs for professionals in the import export industry is a major goal for the upcoming year. I’m looking forward to working together with the FITT team to provide content that will be helpful and practical in your everyday work.

Thank you for being an important member of the FITT community, and we wish you all the very best for a Happy Holiday and a prosperous New Year.

Cheers from all of us at FITT!

The post FITT’s launching into an exciting 2016, but first, let’s celebrate you! appeared first on Trade Ready.