Export Marketing and your online presence

by Anthony Moss / Incite Management Group

Currently exporting or thinking about starting? In the first instance you need to make sure your online presence assists your market penetration - in the second make sure your online strategy matches your export development strategy. Why is this the case? It is now almost tautology to state the obvious that once ‘on-line’ you’re in the international arena. The reality is with search-engines trawling the web and optimisation programs even though you may think you are speaking to your (local) target audience with your web-site you are also speaking to the “world.”

It follows that it makes sense to be sure you’re voice is heard as clearly and concisely as you wish it to be, so  

First things first – the same issues apply in export markets as in your ‘home’ market i.e. what is your competitive advantage (CA)? Good so you can express your competitive advantage – now put it into words that your customers will use; an example: if you’re supplying a product and you guarantee next day delivery-  your customers will wish to hear “you can depend on us to have the product you want when you need it” result confidence and peace of mind on the part of your customers.

Got the CA right? Excellent. Next, who are your customers- re-sellers or end-users? It makes a difference as to how you present your message. ‘I want to communicate with both’ I hear you say – great, the best way is to have a separate trade-only section where ‘business information’ is separate from ‘product or service’ info to end users. Few suppliers of products and services today can rely completely on re-sellers to market their products as well as the principal.

So we know our CA - we know our target customer profiles. So how do we make our web-site export friendly?

1. Present your information appropriately: We communicate in a manner that addresses the needs of not only local customers who know us well – AND the needs of those who may not know us so well. A simple example -different cultures require different approaches - in your ‘home’ market you may make the determination that everyone knows who you are, what your brand stands for, the defining characteristics of your business - many businesses refrain from ‘spelling this out’ as it's assumed to be ‘conventional wisdom.’ What about the potential customers in far flung locations that have little idea of you and your reputation? These are the ones you need to communicate with effectively -  the challenge is to provide the necessary information in logical bites for those customers wishing to delve more deeply without complicating your site for those who know you.

2. Internationalise you’re site: There is a range of options from the simple stating of the country code on your tel. and fax numbers on your contact page as in +61 (0)2 9484 5050, through to showing a map of Australia – or the world, through listing local suppliers by country, through to having a link to www.timeanddate.com on your contact page.

The next evolution is to customise the information and translate the information into the local language. See www.levis.com for a great (but incomplete) example of this. Levi’s list a lot of country sites which is excellent, but you then need to be able to read English to get to the appropriate site. When you select an ‘in country’ site you’ll be taken to a local domain name extension, from there you can ‘choose’ an appropriate language.       

Many SME clients of Incite utilise these ‘simple’ approaches and in so doing have achieved significant new business. A client in a service industry recently secured a major contract in Australia because their site was pitched at overseas clients and was viewed by a decision maker in the UK!

There are many more practical methods to use your site for export by utilising ‘local’ selling techniques - key examples are -calls to action- e.g. posting "We’re looking for overseas distributors” to gathering market research by having an on-line questionnaire asking for example to identify the best stores in a particular market.

Finally there are many businesses that have secured substantial business by listing their products or services or IP for sale on their website. Currency is not an issue if you wish to quote prices – most online business tools like Business Catalyst now incorporate currency converters.  

Why export? Not only can exporting result in additional sales – brand awareness etc. it also exposes you, your company and your products to a broader base of competition. Our experience is that when businesses respond to these challenges the benefits materialise in the domestic market making the business more robust.

Watch this space for the next steps in taking your business online next time.