International Business and Technology Blog

Try counting the number of apps on your mobile devices and then add up the hours and money spent. Surprised at how large it all is? Bravo! You are a relatively early adopter and contributing member of the incredible Online Global App Story. Today, you choose from >10 million apps, are one of >3.4 billion app users worldwide who spend >1.6 trillion hours and >$1.3 trillion annually. By 2021, those numbers are projected to double, triple or more with > 25 million apps available, 6.3 billion app users, 3.5 trillion hours and an astounding $6.3 trillion. Apps are the latest new digital thing. And those big and fast-growing numbers can, if you embrace the Online Global App Story, drive your global sales, brands and business growth.

Management at Holland Pump were keen to increase brand awareness in their key export markets. The solution was to use online tools, starting with localized websites, as the most effective means of building business and brand awareness rapidly. 

It made sense to start with South America as some of Holland Pump’s most attractive export markets are in the region, with large-scale mining, infrastructure and industrial projects. IBT Online was tasked with building the localized websites for Brazil and Mexico for starters. The localized websites allow Holland Pump to showcase their expertise to local prospective clients, reinforcing the trust that is so essential to the buyer’s journey.

Canada is a great market for US companies testing the international export waters for the first time, but equally offers a great long-term international business growth opportunity. Canada is the go-to export market of many US companies, not only thanks to its close proximity, which allows for easier, more affordable shipping and order fulfilment, but also thanks to lower language and cultural barriers. But how about the barriers of the online world? What should you consider when building a website(s) for Canada?

The Global Center for Automotive Performance Simulation (GCAPS) is a world-class facility, serving global clients for vehicle and tire testing and simulation. Given the global nature of the automotive sector, it makes sense for GCAPS to get online globally and IBT Online is proud to be assisting them.

Management felt their state-of-the-art and high performance testing facilities deserved a brighter spotlight, both internationally and in their US domestic market. Having an effective online presence today requires regular outreach through social media to your targeted local audience to build global brand awareness.

Extending the online reach – building on success

The only way is up!  But, don’t hold on. Get video centric now! Globally, IP video traffic is expected to grow threefold between 2016 and 2021, a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26% and representing 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2021. Read that twice and contemplate. Successful businesses are driving the internet video explosion. Reports on the ‘state of video’ abound, from those that carry the bytes (example Cisco, see below) to those that are involved in every stage of the video conception to consumption boom. And video marketing, the fastest growing trend of our digital era, is a main driver of this growth. Large corporations have long understood and profited from the video cool aid, and now it is the turn of mid-size businesses, driving up those exponential video statistics. Fully 9.6/10 professional marketers say they are using video for business development purposes, with 63% of all businesses already on-board. Are you?

EuroDentalDepot is the brainchild of VistaDental, where innovation is key to success. The company invents, patents, manufactures and distributes highly specific dental devices and equipment. For its home market, the United States, the company has built up a trusted network of distributors and has an established reputation for quality, built since its foundation in 1997. But for export markets, management were keen to fast-track its growth. Going online with great local websites coupled with a strong ecommerce platform provided the solution, and IBT Online was delighted to help from the outset.

The digital economy delivers. It lowers costs and barriers to markets, as well as providing access to an unprecedented number of customers (both business and consumer). The traditional routes to markets have eroded. Smart companies, notably web savvy businesses, have created and leveraged technologies to grow their online global sales, brands and businesses.

In any given “home market” there is a truism that the vast majority of your potential clients are located in, by definition, outside in those global markets. Sow the two together, online and global, and you have the driver that ensures B2B and B2C online global retail will represent >$10 trillion of transactions by 2020. And the #1 beneficiaries of the digital economy are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). If you are a decision maker in an SME, please do read on, think through the sales opportunities and the potential value to your brand and business.

Googling away on my iPad mini, while stuck at yet another airport somewhere, I found reference to a book called “Think Outside the Country”. The subject matter looked interesting, promising to be “A Guide to Going Global and succeeding in the Translation Economy”. I wanted to know more, clicked to my Amazon account and for $29.00, two days later in yet another hotel somewhere, the hard copy was mine to hold and read.

IBT Online provides website localization and international online marketing services to help companies grow their sales, brands and businesses online globally, and that since 2002. So at IBT Online we all think outside the country, and perhaps more importantly, we all do Online Global outside the country, as we have delivered more than 1,000 localized country specific corporate websites through our succesful Online Global program. 

When I read about the author, it stated that John Yunker is “the world’s leading expert on web content globalization”. Now that is an ambitious claim that sets expectations. So this blog turns out to be something of a book review.

Satamazone know that their target clients are tech-savvy and that they will search for Satamazone products on the web. Getting great websites for key export markets is therefore essential for the company to grow and realize its international ambitions. In addition, the company does not always have local distributors in export markets but relies on its website to generate leads and uses its home US-based website as a secure ecommerce platform.