Export Now!
Four great reasons to join the Global Marketplace
If you began exploring the idea of exporting your products
and services 5 or 10 years ago, but still have not taken the time to figure out
how to get the job done, now is the time to take action. Small and mid-sized
businesses across the U.S.
have enjoyed our growing economy for the last several years and, perhaps
because of solid domestic demand, have not felt a compelling need to extend
their reach to markets overseas. With the prospect of a significant slow-down
in our economy, it is time to stop relying on the convenient sales outlets of
the North American marketplace. Get off your business planning derrière and set
up the channels you need to sell your output offshore!
Companies with established marketing and distribution
channels in international markets have seen their prospects improve even more
during the last several years due to increasingly favorable exchange rates.
Since 2003, the dollar exchange rate with the Euro has moved almost 30%. If, in
your last exploration of international markets, you found your pricing put you
at a 10% or even 20% disadvantage to your European competition, today's
exchange rates may mean that you can meet your profit needs and enjoy a price
advantage!
In addition to the obvious shift in exchange rate
mathematics, it appears that the overall growth rate of the U.S.
economy will be less than scintillating for at least the next 12-18 months. If
your vision for success requires fast growth in the next several years, you may
be hard pressed to realize that goal through domestic growth alone. Buoyed
forward by the favorable exchange situation, you are more likely to achieve
significant growth by capturing new market share in places that are not
currently aware of your products and services. If you are successful in the
American marketplace, then you possess the characteristics for succeeding in a
dynamic and options-filled business environment. It is well worth your time to
test the attractiveness and competitiveness of your offerings in markets that
are as yet unfamiliar with your wares.
In the last decade, one often heard lament of small to
mid-sized U.S.
suppliers has been that their customers have moved their business overseas to
manufacturing facilities in low cost countries. This may not mean that these
accounts are now closed forever to your high quality, custom-designed
components. It is time to revisit these relationships and determine whether
these former customers are truly satisfied with their new international
partners. Some companies are finding that they can now re-capture these
accounts with the reliable delivery of their full-performance, American-made
goods -- even if they must ship their products from the U.S.
to the low-cost country for final assembly.
What about service businesses? In the Business Outlook
column in BusinessWeek (3/3/08),
James C. Cooper comments on the importance of exporting and its impact on
overall economic growth for the U.S.
economy. He emphasizes that the exporting trend extends across all manner of
business undertakings. In addition to the observation that "U.S.
manufacturers now export nearly half of their ouput," he points out that
the export boom applies to service industries as well:
"Manufacturers are not the
only beneficiaries of global growth. U.S. export of services, such as
financial, accounting, legal, and other business services, rose strongly in the
fourth quarter [of 2007]. Over the past five years, the trade surplus in
services has doubled."
With these powerful dynamics in place, isn't it time that
you tapped into the global marketplace? Favorable exchange rates, the
excitement of growth in new markets, the specter of a domestic slow-down or the
re-capture of former customers -- any or all of these factors should provide
you with the motivation to make 2008 the year in which you begin exporting your
products and services.
Steve Rutan is a Consultant with Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc. He can be reached at
Export Now!
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