Back in the late nineties I was working at a market research firm whose CEO advised companies to strive for generating about 25% of revenue from international business. The idea is that if we can sell and support international business development it’s a win-win and there’s no reason not to cultivate that growth opportunity.
Fast forward 20 years and we are in a more pronounced international marketplace. Mainly because of advances in communication technologies, we are able to easily develop international opportunities.
Just last week I was talking with a prospect in Kuwait. His small company needs services. He found us on the Web. We talked over a crystal-clear voice over IP line, and exchanged emails in real time. We even had a follow-up call while he was on his mobile phone on the way home from the office to pick up his kids. Virtually no different from talking to a customer down the street or in another state… except there’s an 11 hour time difference for me here in California.
The world is growing smaller each day and communication technology is a big part of the shrinking phenomena. I probably shouldn’t be so enamored with this scenario since I’ve been working in the communications technology world for some time now. But I’m always delighted when international business becomes easier and communication technology is doing its job.
