NAITA Trade Talks September 3 rd , 2020 Dont Socially Distance Your - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

NAITA Trade Talks September 3 rd , 2020 Don’t Socially Distance Your Foreign Customers! Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time Funded in part by a cooperative agreement with SBA.

Alabama SBDC: Statewide Presence 10 Full-Time Service Centers, 40 Outreach Locations Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Alabama SBDC: Core Services • No-Cost, Confidential, One-on-One Counseling and Training – Start Your Business • Alabama’s Answers: Small Business Guide for Alabama – Grow Your Business – Finance Your Business • Workshops – Free or low-cost – Management, Marketing, Finance 3 Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Specialty Programs: PTAC & CAP • Procurement Technical Assistance Center – Statewide coverage with 7 locations – Certified Contracting Specialists – Set-Aside Program for Small Businesses, Minorities – Free Bid-Matching System • Capital Access Program – Over $90 Million in loans & equity funding Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Disaster Assistance: Resiliency & Recovery • PPP & EIDL Programs • Revive Alabama grants • Guide to Disaster Preparedness & Recovery • Online Training: – Quickbooks, Financial Statements, Legal Implications of COVID-19, SBIR/STTR & COVID- 19, Capabilities Statement, Protecting Employees, SBA Certifications, Doing Business with: VA, State of AL, AL Power, etc Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Short Term Actions • Ensure your product information and content is relevant, fact-based and accurate • Ensure out of stock items or discontinued services are clearly marked • Review delivery promise dates • Reassure customers on how products will be delivered or fulfilled • Consider how your firm can aid in community response Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Medium to Long Term Actions • Experiment with innovative digital experiences – There are many emerging digital technologies that may have even more impact on B2B than in the consumer market, and that includes augmented reality (AR) or visual search in a repair scenario • B2B eCommerce is more important than ever. – While salespeople will still have a role to play in B2B - reaching customers, being top-of mind, and capturing demand as it happens will require B2B’s to execute with excellence in their eCommerce channels and digital marketing efforts. Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Connect with Customers • Go on offense: – Expand on your value proposition to adjust to your customers’ needs. – Create hope and fun where appropriate, as consumers begin to get fearful, bored or restless. – Contribute to your customers’ well -being: People will remember a selfless act during a time of crisis. Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Make Smart Budget Decisions • Take out costs while reinvesting in customers – Do a fast audit of spending areas, and turn off anything that’s now redundant. – Avoid cutting into muscle, by understanding what is working and what is not with your most important segments. – Double down on opportunities with key segments, stages of the funnel, or messaging. – Seize the opportunity to zero-base budgets, raising spending only if it has a proven high incremental ROI. Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Website Internationalization • Improve the global customer experience by making sure that your website’s platforms, workflows, and architecture accommodate multiple cultural conventions and languages – Global-ready sites use graphics and photos that are not locale-specific. Icons are generic and do not have text. Menus, buttons, and layouts can easily handle text contraction and expansion. And, users can easily get to the international site that they want using a permanent global gateway. Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Website Internationalization • Technical aspects: – SEO, Unicode, languages, keywords, headings, design, text attributes • Business aspects: – Languages, currency, taxes/duties, payment, delivery / logistics, returns, customer service Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Website Review https://aitc.ua.edu/website-internationalization/ Going global isn’t simply a matter of flicking a switch. • You have to build the commercial and technical infrastructure to enable a valid operation in each market that you’re targeting. • While ecommerce platforms might allow you to enter new markets more quickly, you still need to have internal planning and possibly localized support in order to succeed in international markets. If you consider these issues early enough in the process you can save yourself a world of pain further down the line. Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Specialty Programs: AITC • Alabama International Trade Center – Export Market Research – Trade Consulting & Training Programs • Export Readiness Assessment • One on one and Webinars – Trade Finance Programs – Export Alabama Trade Alliance – Website Analysis and Globalization – http://AITC.ua.edu Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

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Birmingham Business Alliance AL Department of Commerce- International Trade Division 16 Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time

Contact Carolyn Turner & Michael Brooks Alabama International Trade Center / Alabama SBDC Network The University of Alabama Phone 1-800-747-AITC AITC.ua.edu cturner@aitc.ua.edu 17 Growing Alabama’s Economy, One Small Business at a Time