In Part I of this three-part series, I introduced the many resources available to help us research international markets so that we could determine if going global would be profitable.
Part II of this series dealt with getting your products/services to the foreign markets.
This third and final part of the series deals with promoting your product or service to a global market.
One of the best places to begin promoting your product/service to global buyers is the US Government. The US Department of Commerce maintains a great variety of resources to help you gain international sales.
Getting your product/service listed in the right trade journal can be invaluable to the success of your globalization efforts. The US Department of Commerce’s Commercial News USA is a good first starting point. Commercial News USA is a catalog-magazine featuring US products and services. It is distributed to more than 125,000 business readers in over 140 countries around the globe and to more than 650,000 Economic Bulletin board users in 18 countries. Fees vary with the size and location of the listing.
Catalog and Video/Catalog exhibitions are another low-cost means of advertising your product/service internationally. Your products are introduced to potential partners at major international trade shows for you and you never have to leave the country.
For a fee, the US and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS) officers will show your catalogs or videos to interested agents, distributors and other potential buyers. There are also a number of private firms that will do the same for you. These firms include Johnston International’s Export Magazine, the Journal of Commerce and Thomas Publishing Company’s American Literature Review.
You can also search out foreign companies looking for the particular product or service you offer. Trade leads from international companies seeking to buy or represent US products are gathered by the US&FCS officers worldwide and are distributed through the US Department of Commerce’s Bulletin Board. The leads are also published daily in the Journal of Commerce under the heading, “Trade Opportunities Program.”
Participating in Trade Missions is a very effective way to promote your product/service. Public/private trade missions are often organized cooperatively by federal and state international trade agencies and trade associations.
One of the greatest resources for promoting your product/service globally is the Internet. Having a web site is almost a requirement for taking your business global but there are several considerations of which to be aware.
You can’t be a true player in the global marketplace unless you make an effort to reach out to your customers in their language, adhering to their customs and using their currency.
The major obstacle is finding out about these cultural differences and then addressing them in your global marketing plans. There are several resources to help you overcome these challenges.
For help with the European marketplace you can download a University of Applied Science paper titled Think Global, Act Global: The Challenges of Taking the Website Global by Anna H. Perrault and Vicki L. Gregory.
Dale Bowyer holds a degree in Economics and East Asian Studies form Oberlin College. He is a seasoned and successful e-business entrepreneur with many years of international e-commerce experience.
