Book It

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Five global business books you need to read.  (If link does not work, try this one.)

And if you just want to admire books, visit here: The most exploitive (and breathtaking) pictures of libraries ever gawked at.

Go global with eBay

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If you plan to go global one unit, one customer and one country at a time, eBay is it. Find out why here.

However, if you plan to go global in a BIG way -- selling lots of products to lots of customers in lots of countries, test drive these other sophisticated trading places:

• Alibaba
• Global Sources

Web Site Branding: Go Global or Stay Local?

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You decide.

What Can Brown Do For You in China?

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Everything. If you are serious about doing business in China, download this report now. It offers the inside scoop on what Chinese people really want.

Jump to PDF file here.  More can be found here.

And remember, you saw it here first! In China, no excuses ... just results.

LISA: The 2006 Global Business Practice Survey Report

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Meeting the critical need to provide comparative data on how companies create and implement successful strategies for global business imperatives at the local level, the Localization Industry Standard Association (LISA) announces the 2006 Global Business Practices Report.

Responding to what it really takes to successfully support customers worldwide, the report provides a clearer picture of the globalization landscape by enabling readers to:

• Confirm where companies are placing their global priorities
• Better understand the international business issues affecting organizations worldwide
• Learn who is paying for what services, and how much they are paying
• Determine the exact skills required by their teams to succeed globally in the future

Learn more about it here. You can also download -- at no charge -- a detailed table of contents and a short excerpt from the 52-page report.

Note:  Since the date of this post, LISA has shut down.

Going Global, Part I

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Small businesses are joining their larger counterparts in the international arena. The first of a two-part series published by BusinessWeek online looks at key issues and challenges. I don't see anything new here other than the same old, same old.

But go ahead and read it yourself.

Want a shortcut to exporting? Try this online guide. It covers everything you wanted to know about exporting but were afraid to ask.

The picture is merely a reflection of my mood and to make the posting a little more interesting.

Note:  Since the date of this post, BusinessWeek may have removed its content.  Try here for a similar article.  And for more on exporting, go here.

The Collapse of the Doha Round of Trade Talks

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There was something unseemly about the way Europe and the U.S. blamed each other for the collapse of global trade talks. Like two bullies standing amid the wreckage of their brawl, they looked a little ridiculous, especially when their squabbling turned so quickly to who was responsible for the breakdown. Almost five years after the launch of the World Trade Organization's Doha round, which set out to boost the developing world's share of global trade, poor countries don't really care which rich country is to blame for the breakdown.

What do they care about? Read the article here to find out for yourself.

Note:  Since the date of this post, the article noted has been moved or taken off the site. We apologize for the inconvenience.  As a courtesy, we have added Quotes of the Day on the same topic and by the same source back in 2006.

Taking Your Online Business Global

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The lure of selling internationally and right from your couch is undeniable. What easier way to expand your marketplace than to move beyond the United States? The numbers speak for themselves - a market of billions rather than millions. As the late but oft-quoted business guru Peter Drucker said: “E-commerce does not merely master distance, it eliminates it.”

What should you consider before you start cross-border selling? Find out here.

Note: The article referenced may have been removed since 2006 or, as in this case, been taken over by another company. We apologize for any inconvenience.

The 12 Best Global Websites for Exporters

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As Reported In National Business Association ...

Filtering through the millions of websites throughout the world to find the few helpful sites is a daunting task. There are a handful of truly great websites that can be an excellent sales and market information tool for exporting your products or services. Highlighted throughout this article are 12 of the best global websites categorized by geographic location.  (Note:  Requires membership to review. As an alternative, visit the right sidebar of The Global Small Business Blog for Laurel's Top 10 list.)

12 Best Global Websites for Exporters

And here's one they inadvertently left out.

Creating (Global) Opportunity One Bite At A Time

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The mission of South African-based Khayelitsha Cookie Company is to create a company that could not only produce the best cookies in South Africa, but which also radically changed the lives of everyone involved in the company.

For customers, they produce the biggest, best range of baked goods: chocolate chunk cookies, ginger snaps, nutty fudge brownies and shortbread biscuits. For employees, they give every opportunity for significant growth and career expansion.

They also hire previously unemployed women from Khayelitsha and then train and skill them in permanent, affirming employment.

Visit the Khayelitsha Cookie Company here.

What's your global cause?

Exports: The Recipe For a Healthy and Prosperous Economy

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Read the article and think along the lines that no matter where you are located in our big flat world that the recipe for fostering a healthy and prosperous economy is to have a vigorous and dynamic export sector ...

Note:  The article may have been removed since the original date of publication.  Go here for more information.  To learn more about exporting, go here.

Going Global: Risks and Rewards

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Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands study of brand value generates great interest and debate. A recurring question is whether being global affords a brand more benefits than a geographically-focused one. Many brand owners are interested in the attributes shared by successful global brands (i.e., BMW). Interbrand’s work with leading global brands and the conclusions reached through our ranking indicate significant implications for brands that choose to operate globally.

The criteria for the study states that a global brand must achieve more than a third of its sales outside of its home country and have a visible external market presence. A global brand is one that is available in many nations and, though it may differ from country to country, the local versions have common values and a similar identity. The brand’s positioning, advertising strategy, personality, look and feel are, in most respects, the same but allow for regional customization. What remains consistent market-to-market are the values communicated and delivered by the brand.

This paper explores the attraction and risks associated with going global.

And the first question asked: Why go global?

Read the paper here.

Globalization: Synergy and Discontent

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Globalization continues its advance, but is market convergence a net positive for the US and world economies? Who benefits from globalization, and who might suffer?

Read the article here.

Note:  The link may no longer be active.  Try this on for size.

New Generation of Global Entrepreneurship

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Patrick Casserly started small in the business dedicated to the provision of back office processing and call centre services. His primary duty on his first day of operation was to mop the floor. But he was thinking big, building on the advantage of Jamaica as the third largest English speaking country in the hemisphere, and their propensity to talk, and now Patrick has a business that employs 2,100 people, which is likely to grow to 2,600 by year-end. How did he do it?

Hints: Start small. Position globally. Think BIG.

Harvard Professor Who Coined "Globalization" Dies

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One of my favorite people (minds) on the planet and the person who coined the term "globalization" died at age 81: Theodore Levitt. The reason why Professor Levitt became such a force in my life was because in the '80s -- before any individual or company was thinking about going global -- he turned me on to the importance of looking at the world as your market. He also knew how to deconstruct and solve problems by asking the right questions. Something to this day I still find myself doing. Here are some things I will remember the most about Levitt:

• Harvard Business Review -- He holds the record with Peter Drucker for publishing the most articles in HBR.

• What turned me on to Levitt -- "The Globalization of Markets" and five other great articles authored by HBR talents.

Using the term "globalization" in a 1983 Harvard Business Review article about the emergence of standardized, low-priced consumer products. He defined that globalization as the changes in social behaviors and technology which allowed companies to sell the same products around the world.

• Marketing Myopia -- HBR Classic: A groundbreaking article originally published in the Harvard Business Review (1960) in which he asked managers, “What business are you really in?” And that's probably why Starbucks is doing so well with its business model because they figured out early on that they were not just in the "coffee" business but in the "people" business. Levitt would be proud that his ideas were turned into practical solutions. Even Wikipedia features Levitt's work. We all know that focusing too narrowly on anything creates limited results.

Another way Levitt posed a question is like this: “What problem are we trying to solve for our customers?” For tool makers, the implication is that it is not really about the tool. Rather, it is about the resulting condition that customers desire from the use of the tool. That is to say, it is holes in the ground they want, not shovels. Fascinating stuff. So pure. So simple. But so many people just don't get it. Levitt did.

• Design Sense magazine No. 26 -- And I bet you didn't know Levitt contributed to this publication. Here's the title his work went under:

"How Major Companies Change Their Names"

An analysis of successful -- and not-so-successful -- name changes by New York Stock Exchange-listed corporations in the late 1950s and early '60s. Also: excerpts from Innovation in Marketing, by Harvard Business School Professor Theodore Levitt.

• Marketing Imagination by Theodore M.Levitt -- My absolute favorite book (and according to my notes in the inside cover, I read it in 1984) on marketing that I still refer to today. It's so relevant that you never want to put it away.

• Two favorite remarks by Levitt that were made in "The Marketing Imagination" -- Henry Ford's: "They can have any color car they want, so long as it's black." -- Page 142. And Levitt's: "The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer." -- Page 5.

HBR obituary on Professor Levitt can be found here. My sympathies go out to the Levitt family during this time of great sadness.

May Professor Levitt rest in peace in our brave new world and I thank him for helping me and millions of other people understand (global) marketing.

Abridged Borderbuster: 7/5/06

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CONTENTS

If you are not a subscriber to Borderbuster, here's a glimpse of what you missed this month:

1. Welcome From The Publisher
2. Feedback From Our Readers
3. Exploring the International Market for Data*
4. Business and Cultural Tips: Have Some Fun!*
5. Lost in Translation*
6. How I Went Global: Ongoing Series
7. A Reader Asks: Q&A*
8. Everybody Loves a Freebie*
9. The Starbucks Effect*
10. Innocents Abroad*
11. The Soft Skills of Global Managers*
12. Blog World: MarketingProfs*
13. Laurel’s New e-Book: “GODZILLA Global Marketing!”
14. Take A Walk On The Wild Side (TAWOTWS)*
15. Wind Behind Your Sail*
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

*Indicates exclusive to Borderbuster subscribers only.

Sample section:

11. THE SOFT SKILLS OF GLOBAL MANAGERS
*Subscriber Exclusive*

Despite nearly two decades of corporate globalization efforts, many organizations still struggle to find managers who are comfortable and effective in the increasingly global economy. Most suffer both from a lack of cultural awareness when dealing with employees and partners overseas and from a lack of experience managing increasingly complex processes over long distances.

To read the lead story, visit here.

###

To subscribe to Borderbuster, visit:
Sign Up For Borderbuster!

Gates Goes Global

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Gates recently announced plans to ease out of his chief executive position at Microsoft over the next couple of years and dedicate more time to his $30 billion (now $60 billion thanks to Buffett) Gates Foundation.

Read the article here to find out how Gates is going to conquer the world on health problems.

Earn More by Exporting

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Martha Montoya has found a way to grow her small business: She exports. While "exporting" conjures up images of vast shipyards and warehouses, Montoya, a comic-strip artist in Santa Ana, Calif., sells her colorful cartoon characters (shown in B/W) for use on snack packages in China, Ecuador, Colombia and other far-away places. She tells other entrepreneurs — no matter their business — to think about going global.

Read the inspiring article here.

Top 10 Best Blogs and Best Podcast of 2006

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Although we did not win, we sure were happy to be nominated and make the cut. Thank you to all of you who voted for us. Your support means the world to us. Maybe next year MarketingSherpa will include a new category on "Global Marketing." Congratulations to all the winners. (Note:  link may have changed since the original publication of this post.)  Way to go!

It's a Small Business World After All

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Lou Hoffman used to share the common misperception that overseas markets are only open to the big guys like McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Proctor & Gamble. Not anymore. It's the little guys who are slowly taking over the planet.

Learn more about Lou's story and how you can go global too. Read the article here.

P.S. Voting ends today at midnight for the MarketingSherpa Reader's Choice Blog and Podcasting Awards ... see our nomination in category No. 9!