International Business and Technology Blog

Germany is known as an export power-house. But did you know it is also the 3rd largest importer in the world? A localized German website lets you reach +100 million consumers and engage with this affluent, huge market.

Germany is known for being a huge exporter, but businesses importing to Germany also know that it buys a lot of non-German products. In fact, Germany is the largest single importer in the EU and the third largest importer in the world. So for businesses looking to grow their sales and brands in Germany, what’s the best way to be found, understood and do business? Get a localized German website. In this blog we share some of our experiences in helping exporters get great German websites. From German language characteristics to German market expectations, we show you what you need to know to grow your sales, brands and businesses in Germany.

What are the most spoken languages in the world? 

When your company decides to increase its exports, chances are language plays a key role in choosing which markets to target. Investing in that export market means investing in that language - and what are the costs and benefits of adding a language to your export base? Focusing on four of the most spoken languages globally, this blog sets out some of the main linguistic issues exporters face when expanding their businesses into new markets with different languages. What are the most spoken languages? How many countries speak Spanish, or Arabic or French? What knowledge of the language do you need to be competitive? How different is the language to your native language? And what about English – is it really a global language?  

When going global with your website, language and translation is unavoidable. What are your company’s choices and what makes for great translation? Let’s discuss some of the key issues you need to have in mind when thinking about going global online. A website that your international prospects can understand and engage with is essential for today’s exporters. Your company’s international websites need to have local content, culture, language and demand preferences, to ensure your company gets found and gets understood. With website translation, localization and a focus on the target audience, misunderstandings can be avoided, and a unique online experience created for your customers:

“Localisation involves many tasks including translation, multilingual project management and software engineering and testing. […] For companies wishing to attract and hold international customers - either through traditional shops, e-business, or a combination multilingual sites and localisation are vital.” Bert Esselink, author of ‘A practical guide to localization’

China is one of the largest economies in the world- with a 23 trillion dollar GDP and over a billion people, it is a force to be reckoned with! China is well connected, embraces new technology, and is very mobile-friendly. Although China has its challenges- new tariffs, government red tape, and unique online environment, when a company begins to understand China and all of its complexities, it can be a very lucrative and successful target market. 

Use online tools to your advantage to be found, understood, and transact your business in China – one of the most internet-aware markets in the world.

This is the third in our 4-part Service Company Exporter Series that explores the challenges service companies face when exporting and what tools and support service companies might benefit from. Previously, we looked at the importance of the U.S. economy’s service sector as well as the most common barriers to export faced by manufacturing and service firms.

This blog compares the barriers to export faced by manufacturing and service firms, with the export assistance activities provided by U.S. state export assistance programs. As identified in the previous blog, service companies typically experience more export barriers than manufacturing companies and these export barriers tend to be more complex. 

As service firms engage in the exporting process, they often seek the assistance of state and federal export assistance programs to help them navigate the complexities of exporting. Thus, understanding whether state export assistance programs are providing the appropriate export assistance activities to service firms is important for both parties as they seek to bring more U.S. services to international markets.

Japan is a stable and large economy with a population that is tech-savvy and modern - a dream destination for any exporter. The people of Japan are well connected (91% use the internet!) and are avid social media users. 

Use online tools to your advantage to be found, understood, and transact your business in Japan – one of the most internet-aware markets in the world. 

Brazil - The largest economy in South America and with exciting potential for further growth. No wonder exporters have Brazil firmly in their export destination sights. While its size and potential growth are tempting, it is not for the inexperienced exporter. Brazil is a difficult market to enter, subject to a history of complex protectionist policies.

But for the persistent exporter, Brazil holds out the trophy of a lucrative and growing market. Use online tools to your advantage to be found, understood and transact your business in Brazil – one of the most internet-aware markets in the world. The infographic below will help you grasp and understand the potential of Brazil’s online environment, social media, and ecommerce.

This is the second in our 4-part blog Service Company Exporter Series that explores the challenges service companies face when exporting and what tools and support service companies might benefit from. Previously, we looked at the importance of the service sector for the U.S. economy. The current blog compares the most common barriers to export faced by service companies versus manufacturers.

If the U.S wishes to maintain its global stature, it needs to support its service exporters more as they compete in international markets. Traditional federal and state export assistance programs need to acknowledge the economic shift in favor of services and adapt their resources and activities to support the growing number of U.S. service companies that are looking to export. This blog series will discuss the different resources service exporters need compared to manufacturing exporters and will make suggestions on how U.S. state export development programs can address the exporting needs of service firms.

New to China and wondering how to get brand recognition? One of the fastest and most cost-efficient ways of building brand awareness in China, particularly for B2B companies, is to use SINA Weibo. The name Weibo means microblog in Chinese and the app is sometimes likened to a Chinese version of Twitter. But that comparison undermines one of its key attributes: from an online marketing perspective Weibo is more like Facebook. Weibo allows companies to post content to specific targeted audiences in China. It gives you a segmented audience base to grow page likes, create social buzz and to drive traffic to your website. This is the main reason why Chinese businesses are increasingly using Weibo for their online marketing and why savvy non-Chinese companies are joining in.