Shaping a New Future for Export Growth

With deaths that have exceeded 40,000 in the United States, more than 20,000 in Italy, Spain and France, more than 16,000 deaths in the United Kingdom in just 40 days, the coronavirus pandemic is the worst health crisis in the world since the Spanish flu at the beginning of the last century.

Only a crisis of this magnitude could make voluntary “social distancing” acceptable to most people. Voluntary social distancing is giving us the opportunity to try out methods of communication and relationship-building that have never been tried before. We are learning that, thanks to technology, we can relate and work well with colleagues, customers and suppliers, even without close human contact. In that regard, according to technology experts, we have anticipated by at least 10 years what would have happened anyway.

While it may not be immediate, once this global health crisis is over, we will return to in-person meetings – with the fundamental advantage, however, of having learned relationship management methods that enable us to interact effectively with others without requiring physical proximity. These new skills will revolutionize our approach to doing business in foreign markets.

More broadly, the ways by which companies do business internationally will be revolutionized. Sales activity will be the final phase of a complex process that will start with:

• presentation of relevant and compelling content to potential foreign customers
• "conversations" that identify key market needs
• generate the highest-potential leads to convert.

The costs of this approach might be so low as to push out of the market the traditional model of "attempted sales" through maintenance of a physical presence abroad.

In order for this new approach to produce the greatest results, however, a strong strategic planning process is necessary. This should involve a SWOT analysis for the choice of target markets, the development of a data-driven decision-making process, and the drafting of a dynamic International Business Plan that can be updated and revised to continuously align with the company’s objectives and strategies, particularly as market conditions change.

This revolution can start today. We need not wait for the current pandemic to end and the recovery of pre-crisis activity levels. Regardless of the timeline of monetary and budgetary policy interventions at a global level, the economy of specific countries may resume a growth path in a matter of a few months. The meaning is clear: US companies can effectively use the time we have right now to build plans that will make them strong and profitable players in foreign markets in our post-pandemic world.

If you want to know more about ExporPlanning services for US Businesses, please contact ExportPlanning.us - Contacts.