International Business and Technology Blog

Canadian companies that build a multinational presence through trade and diversification are more profitable, more stable and more resilient than companies that don’t. The access to talent and innovation they gain in building that footprint better positions them to compete in the future.

AT IBT Online we have partnered with the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service to provide information and support to Canadian exporters, enabling them to leverage the power of digital to grow their exports, sales, brand and business globally. 

Check out our Playbook for Canadian Exporters, and get in touch with IBT Online to discover how online business development tools will make the internet work for you 24/7, 365 days/year.

Selling your products online is no longer a negotiable, it’s a must for every company that wants to continue to grow sales and reach new, untapped audiences. Yet, the struggle for many businesses is how to remain authentic to your brand and build a personalised experience for your customers online.

Businesses today are struggling to recreate that human touch that shoppers in physical stores have always loved and connected with. The solution is to humanize the online shopping experience, which means putting the interests and needs of their customers as the top priority and enhancing the customer’s personal experience with your brand.

The key to achieving this is video!

Businesses today are investing in their video strategy as a way to shape their brand identity and reputation. In line with this trend, LinkedIn is doubling down on its roll out of video capabilities to meet the growing demand for video creation and viewership. Since introduced to the platform in 2017, video has quickly surpassed text and image as the preferred content format for LinkedIn. The latest updates on the platform, which include livestreaming, creating ‘profile videos’ and ‘auto-captions’, all point to LinkedIn’s objective of improving video capabilities and expanding their B2B platform as a place for creative content and ‘creators’ to flourish.

Across the board, businesses are ramping up their video marketing strategies and taking full advantage of LinkedIn’s video capabilities to achieve this. The data backs up this trend, as LinkedIn reports continue to demonstrate that brands have the highest chances of increasing their account performance by leveraging video.

Video testimonials and case-studies are a highly personal way of showcasing your brand and it's values. When prospects can actually see and hear customers talk about their positive experience, it allows prospects to have their questions answered and to visualise themselves leveraging your products or services.

In this way, case-study videos can significantly nurture your lead through the buyer's journey and contribute to the decision to invest in your brand. As HubSpot states: “a powerful testimonial has the potential to convert a lead into a customer!” Having video testimonials within your marketing content and on your website demonstrates to your prospects that your company is in the business of putting the customer first! By creating video content that showcases your happy customers you are allowing a third-party member to champion your brand for you and answer possible questions and challenges that the prospects are facing. You are therefore changing the sales pitch into a more personalized, and tailored conversation to meet your prospect's needs.

At IBT Online we have a clear mission: to deliver Online Global programs that measurably help our corporate clients exponentially, and sustainably grow their exports, sales, brands, and business online and globally!

In today's trade environment this includes considering the impacts of climate change, adopting climate resiliency, and shifting towards sustainable business practices. We believe that integrating 'greener' technologies and environmentally business practices is not only positive for the environment but also vital for anticipating exporting challenges and ensuring long-term sustainable business growth for our clients.

For these reasons, IBT Online, LLC. is committed to sustainable and climate positive international business! This means that all of our activities as a company as well as the services we provide, notably the Online Global programs, are sustainable and climate positive thanks to our investment in carbon offsets and renewable energy credits.

See our certificates of gold-standard carbon offsets as well as renewable energy credits through our partnership with Terrapass! Thanks to this partnership we have offset 230mT of carbon and supported 60,000kWh REC's for renewable energy production. 

Today's trade landscape presents an opportunity for positive change with enhanced trade and investment opportunities associated with a ‘greener economy’. In this context, our trading behaviours and patterns should consider climate resilience and sustainable business practices.

With the aim of meeting the global shift towards a ‘greener economy’ and ensuring our services are in line with sustainable business and trade practices, our Online Global programs are carbon neutral and renewable energy certified.

To offset the impact of the Online Global programs and ensure that are our services are carbon neutral we partnered with Terrapass, a social enterprise that provides carbon offsetting projects to businesses. Thanks to our investment in the Business Carbon Offset Package, through Terrapass, we have offset our carbon emissions, a total of 230 mT of carbon offsets and invested in renewable energy certificates (RECs), a total of 60,000kWh ensuring our energy is from renewable sources.

Thanks to this shift we can say with confidence that an investment in the Online Global programs means that your company can grow their exports, sales, brand, and business in target markets around the world all whilst having a net-zero impact on the planet’s resources.

The momentum for corporate social responsibility and sustainability continues to accelerate and the role for businesses is clear: we need to turn risk into opportunity.

At IBT Online we seek to incorporate corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts for the success of our clients, our business and our planet.

The current climate crisis represents one of the biggest risks to our planet and we therefore feel we have a responsibility to make changes to our business practices as well as our services in order to mitigate and offset our impact.

We also believe that finding sustainable business solutions is the best way to set up our business as well as our client's for long-term growth that is resilient to a trade landscape impacted by climate change. Here are the top reasons why we believe all exporters should choose business solutions that incorporate sustainability and climate change mitigation within their business objectives.

At IBT Online, we seek to offer the best solutions for our clients as well as our planet. The Online Global programs are designed to help companies grow their exports, sales, brand, and business in their target markets around the world as well as being sustainable business solutions. Our business practices as well as our services incorporate sustainability and climate positive efforts, including choosing digital solutions, CO2 reduction and mitigation and boosting our use of 'green' technology. Here are some of the ways our Online Global programs are the best option for achieving your international business growth sustainably.

The USMCA updated trade agreement represents a unique opportunity for US exporters wanting to reach new markets other than their domestic US market. This blog will dive into the USMCA landscape and the online tools you need to grow your exports, sales, brand and business in Mexico and Canada!

At IBT Online we specialize in supporting US Exporters enter and thrive in international markets by leveraging their #1 business development tool: their online presence.

Canada and Mexico have always been obvious choices for US exporters, and with today’s booming digital landscape, this has only become easier! Thanks to the updated USMCA trade agreement, now is a great time to invest in your exporting strategy to Canada and Mexico, and here are the top reasons why:

The answer is simple - in order to succeed you will need an online presence that is optimized for the German audience, which means a localized German website, a .de, and a dedicated German marketing strategy.

Why do you need a localized .de website?

Germany is a major economy as a producer, importer, exporter, manufacturer etc. it’s got it all. In fact, Germany has the largest population in Europe, with 83 million people, and the fourth largest GDP in the world. It is a real powerhouse in Europe and thanks to its unique position nestled between Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland, its reach is widened. Its neighboring countries hold German-speaking regions, so one German website has the expanded reach of up to 100 million people.