Take in what's happening at the Annual Meeting Davos, 2009.
Valerie Jarrett (pictured above), key assistant to USA President Barack Obama, says this:
We must enter a "new era of global financial responsibility."World Economic Forum: Global Agenda (2009)
Going global from day one, OleOle is a start-up founded by an American with a Chief Technology Officer who is a New Zealand resident. Much of OleOle's technology development is done in its New Zealand office.
The product is a social media platform for football (also known as soccer in the United States and New Zealand), with 10 language versions.
It began development in 2006, opened as a public beta in 2007 and officially launched in April this year.
Read more here.
Choosing a good-fit localization vendor such as Globalization Partners, CSOFT, Eriksen, LinguaLinx or Common Sense Advisory, for example, is not an easy feat. But you must at some point because going global is a good route for companies looking to weather the economic downturn.
Ms. Shunee Yee, CEO of CSOFT -- a localization/globalization firm -- says this:
Expansion into new markets can help companies stave off the ill effects of a volatile domestic economy. While gaining access to the global marketplace was once reserved for only the largest multinational companies, recent advancements in communication technology and trade have allowed companies of all sizes to enter the international arena. A critical step in reaching global markets is a well-crafted globalization strategy that allows for efficient product deployment that meets local cultural and language requirements. Localization has become the answer for businesses worldwide seeking to enter new markets efficiently and effectively.More from CSOFT here.
Thinking about moving all the contents out of your three-bedroom house and from one country to another? We know one of a handful of shipping lines you need to hire! No problem.
They have the capacity (more than ever right now due to tough times for global trade) to move 22,000 containers at a time. Yes, you read that right.
Read more here.
May the New Year of the Ox bring you all the best -- happiness, good health, great prosperity (through fortitude and hard work) and abundant blessings in 2009.
Voice of America: Chinese Welcome the Year of the Ox.
Time: The Chinese Zodiac
Illustration by: Lauren
Tough times call for smart action. And it's inspiring to see that there is an intelligent program available that identifies small businesses with the greatest potential -- offered with the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Emerging 200 (e200) Initiative.
e200 helps small inner-city businesses that have substantial potential for growth connect with high-level training, networking and other resources that can help them succeed. The program was launched in 2007 in Milwaukee and nine other cities. This spring it will be expanded to 15 more.
"Programs like e200 are important because they help people create capacity," says Eric Ness, SBA district director for Wisconsin. "That's something we must do if we're going to be competitive in a global economy."Small businesses will continue to help shape our future.
A new global shopper study, “Shopper Decisions Made In-Store” (SDMIS,) reveals what’s truly happening in the world’s retail shopping aisles. An excerpt:
What works in China won’t work in Germany. Shoppers behave differently inside the store in every country.Source: OgilvyAction
Shoppers in China decide what category to buy from, which brand to choose and how much they will buy inside the store 88 percent of the time, but in Germany that number plummets to 38
No two countries are exactly alike. So when it comes to marketing to a Shopper, Marketers can think globally, but always need to act locally, armed with local expertise on how best to engage the Shopper in each country.
