International Business and Technology Blog

Hague Quality Water’s export success has been built over time with different solutions found for different markets. HQW’s routes to market vary from exclusive distributor in one market to tied agents and even subsidiaries in other markets. Nowhere is this mosaic more evident than across Europe and Latin America. Management was searching for a way to support and organize all their partners and looked to online tools for a solution. IBT Online was delighted to work with HQW management to build localized websites and deliver international online marketing.

HQW management prioritized some of their most important export markets such as the UK, France and Spain for starters. Thereafter, it was up to IBT Online to build and deliver the websites, with correct urls for each market, keyword research for all the HQW terms in different markets and fully optimized for the local search engines. The rapid return on investment for the websites encouraged HQW management to extend their online footprint to Latin America. IBT Online got started right away!

Enterprise Florida Online Global Program – Go Global with Website Localization

Management at Miami-based Avionics Support Group, Inc (ASG) were quick to take advantage of Enterprise Florida’s Online Global Program. Hugo Fortes, ASG’s Senior Vice-President, noted that they had been looking for some time for an online solution to build and support their global business so the Online Global Program was an obvious choice.

The social media online phenomenon now has  unparalleled scale, in which billions of netizens communicate and much, much mullah (dollars, euros, renminbi, yen, pounds, …) is transacted. And know this: those numbers are only going one way and that is up.

Social media, that is websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking, is at the least an oversized noisy teenager that you can't ignore, or more probably a robust mid-twenties adult to engage with fully. Either way, every business must now know that you ignore social media at your peril.

Successful companies are using social media channels to engage with their target business and consumer audiences and collecting serious money. Just look at the top 100 companies in the Fortune Global ranking: 93% have Facebook pages (updated weekly), 79% have a YouTube channel (average 2 million views of their corporate content) and a Twitter profile. How is your business doing?

Many customers ask us: Why do you use ExpressionEngine? Can't you build a WordPress website for us?

WordPress is enjoying a huge popularity today, but it’s ExpressionEngine that gets web developers and designers really excited. ExpressionEngine is IBT Online’s Content Management System of preference, because it’s extremely robust, secure, easy to use, offers endless flexibility that is required to address customers’ most demanding requests, and thanks to the Transcribe add-on by EEHarbor, is great to manage multilingual content. You don’t have to limit your imagination and your requirements… be bold and give your company a tool to properly express and represent yourselves!

Finding and nurturing international distributors

Bulman Products is a 100-year old privately owned manufacturer that relies on a dense distributor network to sell its quality rolled paper cutters and dispensers. This means that getting the right distributor is key. But new distributors need to be constantly recruited to feed the group’s international expansion and all of them need marketing support. This is not easy across multiple industries and markets.

A global business challenge

Kasco’s challenge was how to support an international distributor network. As a recognized global supplier of pond aerators, fountains and de-icing equipment, Kasco has over 30 distributors across the world and is committed to supplying them with great marketing material as well as helping them generate new leads. In its home USA market, the company uses its website to support its domestic sales reps and to showcase its know-how. Management knew that an online solution was the best way to grow their global business cost effectively but how to do it?

Ecommerce customers – whether businesses or private consumers – want a wide choice of products, delivery times and methods, low transport costs and hassle-free returns. These three magic ingredients: choice, low transport costs and easy returns, are not always simple, especially in Europe with its 24 official languages, EU and non-EU legislation and other complexities. Ecommerce in Europe looks a whole lot harder than in the USA. Is it worth it? A growing number of companies think so, encouraged by continuing strong demand. Ecommerce in Germany, for example, topped €52 billion in 2016 and is set for more double-digit growth in 2017.

Reviewing online options

Management at All World Machinery Supply (AWM) knew it was time to update their website. Besides being unable to showcase all their product lines, the home website wasn’t even mobile-enabled: a must in today’s multi-platform business world. The company is also growing  internationally and wanted to reflect their expanding global presence.

Check out our IBT Online brand evolution. The IBT success story began in 2002, when we were delivering first class international business development services, helping hundreds of small and medium sized companies to expand globally. Since that time, the digital disruption has transformed the traditional exporting and global business development rulebook. Today, global sustainable sales, brand and business success is impossible without a strong online component. 

At IBT Online, our focused and core strategy for tomorrow is clear: to create value for our corporate clients by deploying innovative online technologies, website localization and international online marketing services, that deliver measurable growth in global sales, brands and businesses.

The State International Development Organizations, Inc. (SIDO) is the premiere U.S. organization dedicated to supporting state international trade agencies, whose mission statement states “SIDO provides state trade promotion professionals with a forum for collaboration and sharing best practices as well as advocates for states’ international trade development issues so that U.S. companies remain globally competitive”.

SIDO recognized IBT Online with the “Champion of Trade” Award for its successful Online Global program, working directly with small to medium-sized exporters, helping them grow their sales, brands and businesses globally. The award was presented to John Worthington, IBT Online CEO, by Manny Mencia, SIDO President, (Manny is also SVP International Trade and Development at Enterprise Florida, the public-private partnership between Florida’s business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida) at the annual SIDO Best Practices and Training Forum in Williamsburg, Virginia.