International Business and Technology Blog

An active presence on social media is not just a marketing fad, it’s a crucial part of any business’ marketing strategy - the new way how to build your brand and engage with your customers or other target audiences. Many US companies understand the importance of social media as well as importance of country specific websites for each of their key markets. But they are still often unsure about how to manage social media across a number of multilingual markets. Which social media networks are important for my business? Do I need to create a new business profile in each country?  If you’re asking these questions – don’t worry! You’re not the only one and we have answers to that.

Living in the USA, browsing with Google.com, your search results are invariably in English. If you search for a product then Google tells you where to find it locally. The internet is mostly in English, right?

Hot off the press, yes it is official. Eurozone (18 countries) GDP grew by a whole 0.2% in Q3.2014, exceeding expectations by a whopping 0.1% (real optimism there). As you can imagine with that kind of good news we in Europe are all off on a well-earned buying spree, celebrating and adding to our Q4.2014 numbers.

On October the 3^rd, the 7th week-long round of TTIP negotiations closed with the wonderfully named EU Chief TTIP Negotiator, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, stating somewhat blandly (Can we expect more? Yes we can): “We have again had a week of productive discussions. Negotiations are now moving smoothly into the textual phase, where discussions are based on specific textual proposals”.

We all know Bruce Springsteen’s view on getting paid. Clearly, the European Payments Council (EPC), the decision-making and coordination body of the European banking industry in relation to payments, charged with developing the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), had the Boss in mind, when scoping out this innovative program.

It is widely agreed that the use of technology and business growth are closely linked, and more so when companies look to develop export markets. A report from New Zealand’s Business Operations Survey concluded that export rates are significantly higher for those companies with online ordering systems to collect sales. This does not relate only to large companies. Small, medium, large – businesses of all sizes that use online technologies have higher rates of exporting than those that do not.

Every year, the European Union's (EU) 28 countries import 100’s of billions of dollars worth of goods and services from the USA. This year, the figure is expected to be >$0.5 Tn. In 2013, the USA and the EU remained, and have always been, each other’s largest export/import (>$1 Tn annual flow) and investor partners (>$300 Bn annual flow). This is not a new situation, the transatlantic relationship is key for US exporters, and is not one that is likely to change in the near future.

More frequently than ever, end customers as well as businesses start their product searches and procurement processes online. Search engines have become today’s marketplace, where customer demand meets supply. If you want to stand out amongst your competitors, you need to be visible online. You need to optimize your website for search engines.  

Google is the #1 search engine in the USA with a 67% share, and it dominates the European market. It boasts a 97% share in Poland, 96% share in Spain, 95% share in France and Italy, 93% share in Germany, and 89% share in the UK. See table at the bottom of the blog for more countries.

September is a time of change, and so it has been for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) program. The increasingly drawn out negotiations (started in July 2013) are now in their 7th week-long round, 29^th September to the 3^rd October 2014. This time hosted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA , they steadily accrue interested party criticism, while losing the more broad political support on both sides of the economically challenged Atlantic.

On Friday the 19th September 2014, as a warming sun rose on the coastline of bonnie eastern Scotland, the overwhelming “Nay” to Independence was clear. Those Scottish National Party (SNP) Braveheart Mel Gibson lookalike warriors wrapped in their Saltires, drifted despondently home. The “Better Together” campaign to keep Scotland within the United Kingdom had resoundingly won the night. Of the 4.3 million Scots who were eligible to vote (population 5.4 million), a drum thumping 85% did so. However, the hitherto silent 2 million (55%) demanded No to Independence, while the Independence cries of the very vocal proved thin at the ballot box with just 45%.