Is Your Company Ready to Expand?
Last week, our webinar was focused on deciding if your business was prepared to export. During the webinar, and in the follow-up, we learned that some businesses were not exactly ready to export. We also learned that some businesses were actually afraid of exporting.
One thing companies should know is that they do not necessarily need to export to grow their business. Instead, companies can expand their business to different regions within their own country. It could be to a different state or province, or to a different area of a state or province.
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How Small Businesses Win Big in Tough Economies
Why it is important: For every small business failure, dozens more are actually thriving despite the economic panic. What are these small businesses doing to outperform the economy? Consider the strategic approaches that you can find in this article.
Small business owners shouldn't be afraid of the recession. Now is a great time to take advantage of the state of the economy. Small business owners can do this by making important decisions that lead to substantial action for their business, they must have an adaptable strategy in place, give their customers what they want, and use technology like social media, and even possibly come up with an e-commerce strategy.
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America's Recession: The Beginning of the End
Why it is important: The economy seems to be starting to stabilize. But recovery will not happen immediately. Is your business prepared for the changing consumer buying habits?
Recent measures like housing prices, housing sales, and measures of the US economy are suggesting that the economy's decline has bottomed out and activity has stabilized at a low level. However, this does not mean that the economy will quickly recover. In fact, according to this article, "recovery is expected to be shallow and prolonged because American consumers, worried about unemployment and the collapse in the value of their homes, are seeking to reduce their debts, and thus will not spend as freely as once they did."
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Guest Post: Advice to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Why it is important: This article show every business owner how it is important to listen his or her employees. This Guest Post comes from a Sun Min Kimes, a Starbucks employee, and it is directed at Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO. In the letter, she offers great insights that consulting companies may not be able to offer.
This employee has great ideas that Starbucks should pay attention to. Many of her tips can be followed by many other companies as well. She said that Starbucks needs a newsletter, the company should be more active with social media, offer less accessories but select them more carefully, and develop a new plan to reward frequent visitors.
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The New (Recovery) Playbook
Why it is important: Is your business waiting out the recession, wondering if it is going to get any worse? Instead, why not focus on improving your own company first?
Several large companies are finding new ways to stay competitive in this economy. Those strategies include cutting unprofitable projects in a logical way, continuing to do R&D, seeing if your business is eligible for any stimulus funds, controlling what you can, analyzing and improving your business, and actively looking for domestic and foreign opportunities.
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Why Volkswagen Is Powering Through the Recession
Why it is important: VW seems to be doing the right things, in the right places, with the right companies. Can you use Volkswagen's strategies to help your company through the recession?
When compared to its competitors, VW is doing very well this year. It boosted its share of global car sales to 12% from 9.9% in the first half of this year alone. It is strong in Latin America and China, and because it has a weak position in the US market, it has avoided much of the decreasing sales in the US. Additionally, VW is planning a merger with Porsche, which will most likely benefit their image.
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How to Align Employee and Company Interests
Why it is important: Employees are a key factor of a company's success. Managers need to keep employees motivated, especially in a recession. This article gives some good advice to managers to keep employees motivates by aligning employee interests to company interests.
Managers can keep companies motivated by aligning the company's interests with those of the employees' through a simple, three step plan. Step one: get the right focus and relentlessly communicate it. Step two: align the priorities to areas. Step three: build employee confidence and exploit natural interests. The results are happier, harder working, and more loyal employees.
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Being an Effective Global Leader
Why it is important: If your company has already expanded internationally, or if your company is thinking of expanding internationally, do you have what it takes to manage across and within cultures?
You can start being an effective global leader by building partnerships with other global leaders in different countries. Start by building trust in your partners, and work on long-term relationships. Once you have the relationships, you can leverage them for future success - for both you and your partners.
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Will Videoconferencing Kill Business Class Travel?
Why it is important: Videoconferencing seems to be replacing business class travel in this economy. According to this article, "videoconferencing is one of the few technologies that has benefited from the downturn, growing 30% from last year as businesses look to reduce travel expenses." Could your business benefit from video conferencing?
Airline companies probably never imagine that IT companies could become their competitors. But this article explains that it is not really surprising. Videoconferencing has some advantages over traveling: it is less expensive than traveling by plane, sometimes there is less hassle than travel, and it reduces the carbon footprint company, thereby making the company greener.
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Ask Our Experts
At IntellaCore we are available to answer any question you may have about the global internet economy. We assist companies to compete and win in today's globalized, Internet economy.
- Is there something that is stumping you about an international aspect of your current marketplace?
- Is there an obstacle that is preventing you from expanding your business into new markets?
- Are you having trouble determining how to use the Internet practically for your business?
Frequently Stated Challenges
- I can't find good, actionable market intelligence to know what is really going on in my marketplace, let alone new markets.
- I need to find a partner in a new market to help me export my product.
- I am trying to find new suppliers to diversify my supply chain or reduce costs.
- My website is not right and is just not executing my business plan for visibility and revenue growth.
- We are overwhelmed trying to manage all of our external distribution, sourcing, and partnering relationships. The relationships are not achieving the goals we set for them.
- We are not a truly collaborative organization where people are working together, sharing information, and propelling the company forward in the best manner possible.
Ask us your question, and we will get you an answer by clicking here.
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Pathfinder Scorecard
What scares business leaders are the blind spots inside and around their companies. Do you know "what you don't know?" Once you know... what are you doing about it? What is your gameplan? How will you execute it?
The Pathfinder Scorecard
evaluates 8 key areas to sustaining
your reginal business in this global, Internet economy.
IntellaCore has a unique point of view because we are positioned at the critical crossroads where very few are... that place where the global economy meets the Internet and Communications Technology (ICT)
• Market Awarness
• Market Strategy
• Internet Presence and Activities
• Product/Service Readiness
• Operational Readiness
• Technology Readiness
• Personnel Readiness
• Collaboration
Click here to learn more about the Pathfinder Scorecard
IntellaCore has launched a webinar series to help small and mid-sized businesses. Top 10 Tips will be a twice a month series of 30 minute webinars with specific tips on how to compete and to win in today’s marketplace. Participants can download a whitepaper after the webinar dedicated to the topic of the day.
Top 10 Tips Webinar Series
The next Top Ten Tips webinar will be held on Tuesday, August 18, at 2:00 PM EST. The topic will be Top 10 Tips for Expanding Your Business into New Markets. Click here to register.
Top Ten Tips is a series of practical, fact-based webinars using the Path To Success methodology developed at IntellaCore. The webinars are short, hard-hitting, and are always combined with a whitepaper. Each webinar breaks down an important way that a company can increase revenue, reduce costs, and become a sustainable, competitive business.
The challenges that come with expanding your business domestically and internationally are not as great as they once were. You no longer have to do business only within your regional box. You can easily find markets nationally and internationally that have a need for your products. Attend this webinar to learn how you can conduct market research, develop market entry strategies, evaluate prospects, and learn to communicate over distances. This webinar teaches IntellaCore's perspective that it is global, Internet economy, and as such Internet tools and activities make it easier, cheaper, and less complicated to expand your business.
Click here to register. Please enter NEWSLETTER in the Invitation Code text box.
The Top 10 Tips you will learn more about in the webinar are:
1. Research specific markets
2. Research regulations and fees
3. Finalize potential markets to enter
4. Develop a pricing strategy
5. Develop a localization strategy
6. Use virtual marketing to establish a presence in the new markets
7. Finalize market entry strategy
8. Find buyers and distributors, and build the relationship
9. Develop factors to consider when choosing a foreign representative or distributor
10. Strategize how to communicate with foreign companies who submit inquiries, and handle requests for information and price quotes
While there are many international experts or technology experts, we are both. IntellaCore has a unique point of view because we are positioned at the critical crossroad where very few are -- that place where the global economy meets the Internet. Based on decades of experience in both International business and Internet-based activity, Path to Success aligns technology to the business plan, internally transforms the operations of the business, and expands their market presence into new domestic, international, and virtual markets.
Intelligent World Archives
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