Seekirch, June, 22nd, 2010

Permanent impulses due to international business connections are of growing importance -notably for SMEs

Every country and company needs the international business exchange – and other markets generally need imports from abroad – the chances are literally ‘unlimited’

Press and TV highlight: The crucial impulses for growth of most economies – worldwide - are coming from international business connections. As a result national economies are stabilized and strengthened, the production is increased, thus cost reduced and international competitiveness improved.

And we should note again: ‚Business Week‘ states in its article „The Most Innovative Companies", dated 4/15/2010, that the United States lost during the past decade abt. 2,4 million working places to China.

That’s the reality

Are chances in foreign countries ‚pipe dreams’ ?

No, not at all, but simply knowing this fact doesn’t help any company.

Kajo Neukirch, a well-known German consultant once said: „We are ‘undertakers’ not ‘neglectors’".

It is hence the responsibility of the individual entrepreneur to find out if and how he can derive benefits from this fact for him and his company.

Chances are bigger than risks

Sure, on the one hand international business is based on a variety of factors: Starting with different mentalities, through languages, to payment procedures, which – depending on size and value of the products – are totally different from the ‘normal’ domestic business. To be added are taste, technical regulations and more.

On the other hand the chances are so (even visionary) big that each company ‘has to’ get the relevant information about foreign markets and their client potential.

A short overview concerning the available chances – please see also ‚Your benefit is my challenge’ on the site – is available even on relatively short notice and pretty inexpensive.

Thereafter it can be decided in which – consecutive and compatible – steps (please see also ‘sales planning – sales concept’ on the site) things could/should be handled to become successful in a specific market and to keep any potential risk low.

However, not even a national or regional business can be done or general growth achieved, totally without risks. Finally balancing chances and risks is important.

Information is the entrepreneurs’ "alpha and omega"

Information regarding markets, market segments and clients is permanently needed in order to have a broad and healthy basis for any entrepreneurial decision. And this is especially true for international business.

However, this may lead possibly also to further diversification and/or new/changed products and/or new markets and market segments. In other words: On the one hand this means a stabilization of the company on the other hand the collection of new impulses for multiple purposes – locally as well as internationally.

Immunity is paramount

Finally: The dependency on specific local or regional markets and their economic cycles is reduced and corporate stability increased, thus somehow ‘immunizing’ the individual company towards future economic challenges.

Michael Richter - International Marketing- and sales consultant - concentrates for more than 35 years on strategic marketing planning as well as marketing and selling of investment goods and long-lasting consumer goods in/to all 5 continents. He offers this knowledge and experience to his worldwide clientele. In addition he holds national and international, internal and external lectures on international marketing matters - especially in/for the European Union.