Surviving the Recession to Become Globally Competitive

In this week's newsletter, we highlight some of the things businesses are doing to survive the recession. The highlighted companies in the stories are real businesses that are implementing various strategies in order to survive these turbulent times.

The good news is that businesses have many options to improve their business. The hard part is determining which option is best for your business. Choosing the correct route will be different for every business. However, if you choose the right strategy for your business, you may be able to not only survive the recession, but also become competitive in a global economy.

Below are some of the many ways businesses can improve their business to become globally competitive:

Use the Internet
The Internet is the easiest and fastest way to reach a worldwide audience online. Because of the ubiquity of technology in the marketplace, every business should have a website and an online sales strategy.

Pay Attention to International Market Conditions and Learn to Adapt to Them
If you know what current market conditions are, and can forecast future market conditions, you can formulate better strategies for your business.

Diversify Your Business' Supply Chain
Have any of your suppliers simply not been able to supply your business with raw materials before? What did that do to your production? It is always good to have a relationship with other suppliers if a situation like this ever arises.

Enter New Markets
Whether you enter new markets domestically or internationally, you are diversifying your sources of sales. That means if one market experiences a decline in growth, your business' overall sales will not suffer. You are not "putting all of your eggs into one basket."

Focus on Customer Service
Your customers may be the most important part of your business. Focus on them, and make sure they know that you genuinely value their business.

Pay Attention to Emerging Markets
Many experts claim that emerging markets like India, China, and Brazil are going to grow faster than developed markets once the recession is over. Could your product be in demand in one of those markets?

Increase Marketing
Many companies are cutting their marketing budgets now, and consumers may notice your products because of this.

Plan for After the Recession
If you have the resources, focus on building your business to gain competitive control in your industry, or in the markets your business competes in.

Click the picture bellow to read more about these examples in the latest edition of Intelligent World.

5 Tips to Meet the Right People for Your Business

Meeting the right people in your industry is a key to any business' success, especially if your business is focused on expanding. The right relationship can open new networks and channels that may be great opportunities for your business. But how do you meet the right people? Below are 5 tips to help you to get started meeting the right people for your business.

How to find the right people:
1. Networking Events - Networking events are still a great way to meet people in your region and in your industry. If you are going to a trade show, try to review the people who will be attending the trade show before you go. If you know who will be in attendance, you have a better chance of meeting the people you want to meet and of making the most of the trip. Additionally, remember to network intelligently. Distribute your business cards, and if you think the person may be able to help your business, make a genuine connection with that person.

2. Personal Recommendations - If you know that someone in your network knows someone that you are interested in talking with, ask your contact to introduce you, and possibly help to set up a meeting. Again, focus on making a genuine connection with each party you talk with.

3. Industry Associations - Look into associations within your industry to connect with people. The people you are looking for may work with or are very involved with the association, or they may simply belong to the association. If you are not already a part of an industry association, you may want to join one. Not only will they help you to network, but they will also keep you up to date on your industry, including what your competitors are doing.

4. Social Networking - You have probably heard much about social networking sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. One of the surprising things is that sites like these can help you to build a virtual network of people in your industry. Join LinkedIn and start connecting to people you already know. You may connect with other people through these connections. Join Twitter and start Tweeting about things that you think are interesting to the people you want to connect with. Start a blog and do the same thing. Try to sort through the people who are just looking to boost their follower count, and instead are actually looking to connect. Additionally, if you are going to pursue a social networking strategy, you will want to make sure that your website is easy to use - that is where contacts and consumers will go after they make the initial contact with you to learn more about you and your company.

5. Use Your Website - What results pop up when you type the name of your most popular product into a search engine like Google or Yahoo? If it is not your website, but a competitor's website, or simply a review of your product, you might want to put some attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This will help to bring your website to the top of the searches. If necessary, redesign your website to make it easier for contacts and customers to understand your company and its products. If people can find your website, and can learn about your company on the website, you may not have to search for the "right people." The right people may come to you.

One important thing to remember: once you have the relationship, keep building the relationship by staying in contact. Additionally, if you do decide to develop a social networking strategy, remember that it will take a firm commitment to continue to update the Twitter stream and blogs. This content generation does not require much of your time, but it will need to be present in your mind.

The IntellaCore Experience

We enjoy working with interns at IntellaCore. The interns work with us to gain experience, and we benefit from their unique perspectives. We had a few great interns with us this summer, and we thought that it might be interesting for you to read one of the interns' perspectives.

Dear readers,

I’m Lucile, a French student who is completing a summer internship at IntellaCore. To do my internship abroad, in an international company, was the best opportunity I ever had in my young life. In 3 months, I was able to use my English in a global working environment thanks to IntellaCore.

In US, internships are really considered as a job, executives trust young students who have just graduated from college. They give you the chance to have some responsibilities inside the company and they train you to become efficient with many tasks and independent.

I was so surprised the first time when an employee or my supervisor asked me: What’s your opinion? Which value could you bring to the enterprise? My first French reaction: I’m just an intern, why they need my point of view?

This way to manage people, especially for interns in France, that doesn’t exist. Who cares about the point of view of a 22-years-old girl? In France, you have to follow the boss, he’s the only one who has an opinion and you have to be agreed with him at anytime. The hierarchy is really important in my country of origin.

I learned from that: your thoughts have the power to create (both good and bad things) but sometimes when you let others know your mind that is the problem. Let’s think about it, you have grand dreams and things you want to accomplish. This is the number one killer of dreams, sometimes it is good to work on your aims silently. That means to stay positive and motivated. I need to be more confident with myself and to act as a specialist in my own field. How to sell myself? That’s the question.

A good point in US job environment is COLLABORATION; you have to work with your team and your manager to achieve a common goal. In an American company everyone is an important part, managers adapt the tasks to the employees’ strengths and capabilities, and people are more efficient with this method. They know what are your skills and your personality, so they give you a task in ad equation with that. In my opinion, I learn more like that, and when you’re ready, you have more responsibilities and you can feel free to take some initiatives. I think it’s a cultural difference; American people don’t like uncertainty so they explain to you everything and your role is so much explicit in a corporation.

More about my job at IntellaCore:

During the last past 3 months, I learn so many things on how to do business in US, to analyze different kind of markets, to work in a global environment, to improve my computing skills by using social media and software. I was able to work with the marketing team and the sales department on several projects.

Regarding my job in marketing and communications, we set up the marketing plan for the company with a calendar, we try to find the best tools to have an efficient Internet presence, we write the newsletter, the Global Guru blog. We organized several webinars (online seminars) with the CEO, Michael Malloy, it was the first time I use this tool to share some knowledge. The world changed, and businessmen don’t need to travel anymore in this global Internet economy! I translate informative documents in French for IntellaCore. An important part of my work is to find good articles in economics news focused on the businessmen’s interests. It’s a daily task, useful for me because I have to read professional articles in English and be able to do a selection, in order to post them on Twitter.

The main goal for this part of my internship was to understand exactly: Which are my company’s needs, which capabilities I can bring to them, how I can help them to succeed and give them a new point of view on their company.

Regarding my job with the sales department, I was able to work on a project for a client. How they can go into new markets: Canada and UK. For this part, my first language, French, is really useful to call resellers and distributors in Quebec. I noticed that these prospects really appreciate to talk first with someone in French. Don’t be worried, most of them speak really well English so our client and IntellaCore will be able to continue to build these relationships. It’s one of the main advantages to work with IntellaCore, they give to companies really good advices in international business and Internet technologies.

I learn a lot on how to analyze a market, how to find appropriate people in these companies, how to stay in touch with them, how to adapt my communication to their culture.

I’m sure you will be interested to know, what are the differences between working in France and in US:

• Hierarchy is more important in France than in the US.
• In France you never include religion, stories concerning your private life, or a sense of humor when you call a partner in a work environment, it is common in the US.
• In the US it’s harder to organize an event outside the office to gather all the co-workers; they don’t like to share their private life and professional life. In France, it’s common to go out with your co-workers, to offer them some gifts for occasions and become friends with them.
• In France, interns are not well treated like in US, we do the same job as a employee for free and without recognition by your boss. In US, they believe in young people like interns, and you can easily give your point of view.
• American businessmen and young graduated people don’t hesitate to travel in US or abroad to find the job of their dreams, whereas French people don’t like to leave their country.
• French students speak more foreign languages than American students, even if we have the reputation to not speak English with a good accent (I agree on this point…). Everybody has to learn 2 foreign languages until the High School Exam.
• In France, we have more laws to protect workers from bad working conditions like a maximum working hours of 35 hours per week, which doesn’t exist in US. Americans work more than French.

Is There A Perfect Time to Expand Your Business?

There may never be a perfect time to expand your business - especially if you are thing of national and international expansion - but there are always good times to expand.

You may not realize it, but now is a very good time to expand your business regionally, nationally, and internationally. For a recent example, look at Volkswagen. They previously moved into China and Latin America. Their involvement in the American economy is minimal when compared to their competitors (Ford, GM, Toyota, etc.). Because of this, VW is suffering least. They have diversified their markets, and are gaining market share.

As another example, McDonalds realized that its products are very competitive in many markets. The company knew that if the products were competitive, they should be able to expand within the markets, and become a greater competitive force. At the beginning of the year, McDonalds decided to open 1000 new stores. Once the recession hit, McDonalds focused on its efforts on their dollar menu. Because of this, McDonalds has seen its sales rise because of the low prices. The company took a look at its market, focused on the trends, and improved its products to compete effictively.

You should also consider expanding your business because chances are your competitors are thinking the same thing. In their January 2009 State of the Market: Mid Year Insights Report, the Aberdeen Group found that 43% plan to create or expand sales channels, 39% want to develop strategic partnerships, 36% are focused on developing new products and services, and 30% will try to improve brand visibility. This study shows that the recession is creating opportunities to innovate, expand, and steal marketshare. A more recent Ernst & Young survey found that 93% of small business owners are maintaining or increasing their focus on expanding into new markets. Additionally, companies that can expand during a recession while other companies are shrinking will outpace the competition and build a strong competitive advantage.

Some economists are claiming that we have reached the bottom of the economic decline and the economy is slowly on its way up again. If you have the resources, you may want to invest in your business and make your move now.

So, if you really want to expand now, what should you be doing?

• Stay focused on your company’s goals, but reexamine them if you feel it is necessary - Consumer attitudes are changing. Make sure your business reexamines the marketplace for any threats or opportunities.
  
• Invest in effective, money-saving technology
  
• Pay attention to the people who pay you – your employees and customers
  
• Always watch for new opportunities.

Is Your Business Ready to Expand?

Last week, our webinar was focused on deciding if your business was prepared to export. During the webinar, and in the follow-up, we learned that some businesses were not exactly ready to export. Some businesses were actually afraid of exporting.

One thing companies should know is that they do not necessarily need to export to grow their business. Instead, companies can expand their business to different regions within their own country. It could be to a different state or province, or to a different area of a state or province.

And if a company does believe that they are ready to export, but they do not want to go into many different markets, or want to start out slow, try exporting to a country that is close to yours or borders yours. There may be similar languages and customs, and the transport costs would not be very high. Additionally, there may be free trade agreements in place between the countries. A good example of this would be the US and Canada, and even the US and Mexico.

If you want to expand your business, but you don't want to work on breaking into new markets, work on making the customers come to you. 21st century businesses compete regionally, nationally, and internationally, but also virtually. The Internet is a new market that many businesses are not focusing on as much as they should be. With the Internet, and with proper marketing and positioning of your company and its products, you can access many more markets than you previously would have been able to. Plus, because the technology tools are so inexpensive, you can possibly save money while reaching more people.

So, what are you doing to expand your business?

If you are interested in expanding into the virtual market, contact IntellaCore, or keep watching this blog for more information and details on future webinars.

Webinar: Top 10 Tips for Expanding Your Business into New Markets

Top 10 Tips Webinar Series

Tuesday, August 18th 2:00PM – 2:30PM EDT

Top Ten Tips is a series of practical, fact-based webinars using the Path To Success methodology developed at IntellaCore. The webinars are short, hard-hitting, and are always combined with a whitepaper. Each webinar breaks down an important way that a company can increase revenue, reduce costs, and become a sustainable, competitive business.

The challenges that come with expanding your business domestically and internationally are not as great as they once were. You no longer have to do business only within your regional box. You can easily find markets nationally and internationally that have a need for your products. Attend this webinar to learn how you can conduct market research, develop market entry strategies, evaluate prospects, and learn to communicate over distances. This webinar teaches IntellaCore's perspective that it is global, Internet economy, and as such Internet tools and activities make it easier, cheaper, and less complicated to expand your business.

The next Top Ten Tips webinar will be held on Tuesday, August 18th at 2:00 PM EST. The topic will be Top 10 Tips for Expanding Your Business into New Markets. Click here to register. Please enter BLOG in the Invitation Code text box.

The Top 10 Tips you will learn more about in the webinar are:

1. Research specific markets

2. Research regulations and fees

3. Finalize potential markets to enter

4. Develop a pricing strategy

5. Develop a localization strategy

6. Use virtual marketing to establish a presence in the new markets

7. Finalize market entry strategy

8. Find buyers and distributors, and build the relationship

9. Develop factors to consider when choosing a foreign representative or distributor

10. Strategize how to communicate with foreign companies who submit inquiries, and handle requests for information and price quotes

Click here to join the webinar.

While there are many international experts or technology experts, we are both. IntellaCore has a unique point of view because we are positioned at the critical crossroad where very few are -- that place where the global economy meets the Internet. Based on decades of experience in both International business and Internet-based activity, Path to Success aligns technology to the business plan, internally transforms the operations of the business, and expands their market presence into new domestic, international, and virtual markets.

What Should You Look for When Gathering Initial Market Intelligence?

You are going to need Market Intelligence if you plan to expand your business in any way, especially if you plan to export. But how should you start? And what should you look for when gathering the Market Intelligence?

Start the process by selecting a few markets you are interested in. The markets can be domestic or international -- wherever you think your company and your products and services can do best. First, think of 8-12 markets that you think would be easy for your company to enter. Look for markets where you or someone from your organization have contacts or know the language, and markets where there is a demand for products like yours, where there are no significant barriers to entry, and where foreign competition is limited. As you gather Market Intelligence you will be able to cut those markets down to a more manageable 5-7 target markets. You can continue to cut the markets until you have the number you think you can enter.

Once you have a list of markets you are considering entering, you can start your research based on some of the below factors:

• Information on customers in the market - Research things like demographics, buying habits, etc.
• Culture - How does the culture vary? Will you have to change your product because of it?
• Market trends - What is the outlook for the markets?
• Market conditions and practices
• Key differences between current markets and new markets
• Competition - Are your competitors in any of the markets?
• Economic Initiatives - Are there any funds that may help you in your efforts?
• Industry associations in the markets - Do you belong to any industry associations that have contacts in the markets you are interested in?
• Trade statistics for a market or product - Search for markets with largest and fastest growing imports of products like your company's. Also, look for the largest and fastest growing export destinations for your product - this means that there is a market for your product.
• Fastest growing markets - Look for markets that are growing the fastest - there may be a demand for your products in them.
• Market barriers - Research tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and import restrictions.

That is a lot of specific information to start out with. But what should you do if you do not have the resources to find that information, or if your company is not ready to start a marketing research campaign?

You can start by paying attention to the news. Watch CNN, read a newspaper, or read RSS feeds. Use whatever method would keep you best informed. Keep an eye on world events that influence your business, your current markets, and any future markets. You may find that a certain market has a problem that your products can fix, or you could learn that a new political agreement opened a new market for your company's products.

You can also consult with experts. The "experts" can be a speaker at a seminar you attend, someone at the U.S. Department of Commerce, someone in an industry association you belong to, an importer in one of your target markets, or someone who has exported a similar product. Ask to have lunch or coffee with any of these people. The worst case scenario is that they will say they are busy. In the best case scenario, they may help you enter a new market.

This blog post contained a lot of information. If you have any questions or comments, or would like to learn more about any particular topic described above, feel free to contact IntellaCore or leave a comment.

G-20 Preparations

The G-20 summit is about a month and a half away, and the City of Pittsburgh is certainly preparing for the meeting. Two of the major things in the news about the summit is the focus on preparing the police force to handle situations that come with events like these, and the beautification of the city.

Although it is not being reported, we at IntellaCore hope that the business owners in Pittsburgh and other areas like Pittsburgh can realize that there is more to their business environment than their geographic region. We hope that when people see the various world leaders from the 20+ countries on the news or in the papers, they will think about expanding their business into one of those countries, or simply think about becoming globally competitive. We are now living in a flat world. The term "flat world" simply means that a company can no longer 'hide"in the hills and the valleys of its regional market. Every company operates in the global, Internet marketplace whether they operate domestically, internationally, or virtually on the Internet.

Many businesses in this region understand these ideas. In fact, within the Pittsburgh region it is estimated that international business accounts for an estimated 130,000 jobs, and almost 80 percent of the public companies in the region operate or conduct business internationally. Equally as impressive, the delegates from the G-20 nations represent 90% of global GNP, 80% of world trade (including EU intra-trade), and 2/3 of the world's population.

We hope that everyone enjoyed the webinar. We hope that you learned that International business is not as intimidating as you might have thought before. Be sure to join our next webinar if you want to learn more about international business, or if you just want to become globally competitive within your own region - the details are below.

Top 10 Tips for Expanding Your Business into New Markets
Tuesday, August 18th 2:00PM – 2:30PM EDT

Top Ten Tips is a series of practical, fact-based webinars using the Path To Success methodology developed at IntellaCore. The webinars are short, hard-hitting, and are always combined with a whitepaper. Each webinar breaks down an important way that a company can increase revenue, reduce costs, and become a sustainable, competitive business.

The challenges that come with expanding your business domestically and internationally are not as great as they once were. You no longer have to do business only within your regional box. You can easily find markets nationally and internationally that have a need for your products. Attend this webinar to learn how you can conduct market research, develop market entry strategies, evaluate prospects, and learn to communicate over distances. This webinar teaches IntellaCore's perspective that it is global, Internet economy, and as such Internet tools and activities make it easier, cheaper, and less complicated to expand your business.

Click here to join.

The Top 10 Tips you will learn more about in the webinar are:
1. Research specific markets
2. Research regulations and fees
3. Finalize potential markets to enter
4. Develop a pricing strategy
5. Develop a localization strategy
6. Use virtual marketing to establish a presence in the new markets
7. Finalize market entry strategy
8. Find buyers and distributors, and build the relationship
9. Develop factors to consider when choosing a foreign representative or distributor
10. Strategize how to communicate with foreign companies who submit inquiries, and handle requests for information and price quotes

Click here to join.

While there are many international experts or technology experts, we are both. IntellaCore has a unique point of view because we are positioned at the critical crossroad where very few are -- that place where the global economy meets the Internet. Based on decades of experience in both International business and Internet-based activity, Path to Success aligns technology to the business plan, internally transforms the operations of the business, and expands their market presence into new domestic, international, and virtual markets.

How Do You Know Your Business is Ready to Export?

There are many reasons why businesses decide to begin doing business internationally. Some include increasing your company's sales and profit, making your company more competitive, reducing reliance on domestic market. It can also include reasons like expanding the business, gaining credibility for the business, or just because you desire a change for your business.

Every business is going to select at least one of these motivations. But before you make any commitments, you want to make sure that exporting fits into your business. Once you have made the decision that exporting does indeed fit into your business' mission and vision, there are several other areas of your business that you should consider. These areas include:

Management Commitment - Motivating your company's management is one of the keys to success. If your management is receptive to the idea, the whole process will be much easier for everyone involved.

Export Resources - There will be a greater demand when you are exporting. Can your company keep up with the demand and be able to produce, distribute, and sell? The benefits of exporting are substantial, but the costs and investment into exporting can be significant. Are you prepared to wait up to a year before you see any profits from your exporting activities?

Product Aspects - Could your products be competitive or be in demand internationally? If so, will you have to modify them in any way to make them more competitive?

International Market Intelligence - You will need some amount of market intelligence before you enter a market. Research health, electrical, and technical standards and cultural preferences for ideas on how you may have to adapt your products. Do any of your employees have international experience? Talk with them to see if there might be a demand in their market of expertise.

These topics above are just a brief summary of the topics we will cover in tomorrow's Top 10 Tips webinar. Click here to learn more about the webinar and to sign up for it.