An international trade expert says business leaders should be “thinking global from the very beginning” in order to unlock faster growth and higher profits.
Roxanne Baumann, global business strategist and owner of Baumann Global in Pewaukee, spoke yesterday during the Wisconsin Tech Summit in Milwaukee, an annual event hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council.
She noted 85% of the world’s purchasing power and 80% of global economic growth is located outside of the United States, emphasizing the opportunity presented by foreign markets. In export conversations with leaders of small and medium-sized manufacturers, Baumann often references the fact that 95% of all consumers live outside the U.S., she said.
“I’m like, look at that number,” she said. “I mean, seriously … You guys are young, budding entrepreneurs here. Are you going to bet your business on the 5% of available consumers that are here in the United States? There’s a huge opportunity outside of our borders.”
Baumann argued companies that export internationally typically grow two to four times faster than domestic-only businesses, are 8.5% more productive and 17% more profitable with higher margins and reduced dependence on the U.S. market.
“We have great products that are made here in the Midwest, and often when we go to international markets we can almost double the price that we’re charging for them, because the market will bear it,” she said.
She compared this approach to building a diversified stock portfolio, noting businesses with customer bases in numerous countries will be affected less by shifts in a given market. Plus, going international can extend product lifecycles and limit seasonal slowdowns, Baumann added, pointing to her former employer Harley-Davidson as an example.
While the domestic market was “fantastic” for the Milwaukee manufacturer’s motorcycles in the summertime, the company would look to drive sales in Australia and elsewhere in the southern hemisphere during the wintertime, she explained.
Baumann also urged companies eyeing the export path to be proactive in protecting their intellectual property in foreign markets, to avoid costly IP acquisitions down the line. In the 1990s, Harley-Davidson hadn’t secured trademarks in the Middle East, so other entities in the region had registered the company’s name and that of its owners’ group, she said.
“In order to get our presence back in the Middle East, we made some awfully costly fees to buy back our own trademarks,” she said.
Listen to an earlier podcast with Baumann.
