Global Exporting Trends for U.S. Clients from All Clear Translations

Global Trends for Exporting in 2015
Emerging Countries are ripe with potential for exporting. Our clients are entering markets like Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Morocco.  Working with our U.S. clients who are selling worldwide we have compiled a list of languages and regions to help you grow your global marketing with translation.

Canada and Mexico – are largest trading partners. This is a great way to start to export. Ease of shipping, resources to help and need for our products makes them natural jumping points for many of our clients. 

U.S. population – You are right, this isn't an export region but in California 44% of its population speak another language other than English at home. Laredo Texas has 92% of its population speaking another language at home. Highest percentage of languages spoken at home are Spanish (37.6 million), Chinese (2.9 million), Tagalog (1.6 million) Consumer goods and Healthcare companies especially are reaching out to people here in the U.S. translating into Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian and more. I was recently in Miami and heard Spanish more than English everywhere.

Asia remains a growth area for our clients.

Even with the lower projections for GDP growth, China has a large presence globally and will be a great market for some of our clients. The written language used is simplified Chinese. India’s population is booming and their need for water, healthcare and infrastructure solutions has them engaging our U.S. companies to help build their economy. Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are buying more products like software solutions, medical devices and automation for their manufacturing.We are seeing more demand for these languages from our clients.

Germany – Germany is the largest buying power in Europe for Robotics and Hi-tech manufactured products. There are many German companies based in the U.S. and ease of entrance is possible.

Brazil – Brazil has so much going on! In 2016 they host the Olympics. To do this, they are reaching out to our U.S. clients for solutions that range from engineering to manufacturing. Brazilian Portuguese is the official language and you will not do business there without feet on the street. Luckily, our US Commercial service and PA reps will help you build a marketing plan and sales.

Africa – Morocco and South Africa. African companies and economic development organizations are looking for U.S. resources to help build infrastructure, agricultural upgrades, manufacturing and services. Use of the smartphone has created new solutions like: Online Banking, mobile applications, online shopping and more. Software and mobile application companies who can enable this population to connect with new products and services will find this a growth market. Now people are more connected than have toilets! African countries are looking for help to build their infrastructure, agricultural solutions, service solutions with American technology.

Stop and consider your new market possibilities in 2015. Perhaps there is a trade mission, grant opportunity or buyer conference that by attending will open doors to new business? Employing new strategies to open these markets, you will find translating your marketing materials, videos, and product information a catalyst to blow open your sales goals and marketing ROI. All Clear Translations wishes you a successful and abundant year! Make it, translate it and they will BUY it!

Top 7 Languages for 2015

Spanish for Latin America and South America
French For Europe and Africa
German
Portuguese (Brazil)
Chinese (Simplified)
Thai
Malay

Our Resource Partners will educate you, help you find funding, connect you:
State and Federal Resources available

About the Author:

Linda Richardson is the President and owner of All Clear Translations, LLC.  Since 2010 the team of All Clear Translations had helped companies grow into areas like Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Russia and more. Their translations and localization transform websites, software, technical manuals and marketing materials into all languages helping to increase sales. Their unique process can include Plain English to help companies increase understanding and comprehension while reducing translation and production costs of manuals. Their audio voice-over technologies  and video translations enable spoken and written communication in many languages. Email Linda at linda@allcleartranslations and visit their website http://www.allcleartranslations.com

Great Opportunity for Ohio Businesses looking for Exporting Help

Ohio State officials are looking for companies to pair with interns for exporting help. The companies need to apply before December 10 to be considered. This is a great way to get help with exporting compliance, analysis, marketing and creating a compliance manual to name a few ways students help. This program reimburses the company 50% of the paid intern's wages.

As a consultant who works with companies new to translation, I often see company associates in a learning curve, trying to juggle compliance, marketing and more. Utilizing this program gives people involved in export access to someone who will dedicate their time to your specific export need. They are involved completely in your export process and have access to great resources within the state and university system. They are able to research your specific need/problem/issue and take action to successfully complete the project.

This resource is far more valuable than just the 50% reimbursement. The workload the student is able to take on, frees time for your associates to dedicate their resources to other projects concerning exporting.

I have talked with several companies who have taken advantage of this resource and the service was deemed as highly productive and helpful to grow a new market. I recommend inquiring with the State to apply to participate in this program.

Ohio Export Stats: http://development.ohio.gov/files/research/B2004.pdf
YouTube http://ow.ly/E25cO
Ohio was the 9th largest exporting state.
211 countries and territories received exports from Ohio.
9 countries received over $1 billion in Ohio exports.

Here's the link for the program: http://development.ohio.gov/bs/bs_oxip.htm

Also if you are in the Youngstown region be sure to connect with Mousa Kassis at YSU for more information . They have an amazing exporting focus and will be your best advocate!

Contact us if you would like to learn more about adding languages to your website, marketing materials and more. The sooner you connect with us, the better your transition will be to other languages. We will give you the tools to write your English content for translation, saving you time and money! Email me directly, linda@allcleartranslations.com.

Wishing you much success in exporting,
Linda Richardson

A brief understanding of ATA Carnets

Carnets (pronouced car-ney) allows you to travel in and out of countries with your instruments, tools, goods and not pay duties. Who uses carnets? Orchestras like the Pittsburgh Symphony and others who take professional goods in and out of countries use carnets when they travel to perform abroad.

84 Countries and Territories accept carnets. Soon Brazil, Trinidad and Tobego and others will be accepting them. This saves companies, organizations time and money when traveling. This facilitates international travel for business without having the hassle of customs and payment duties and taxes.

The Carnet is one document good for one year. If you think you could benefit from a Carnet when traveling to trade shows and for international business you can consult Boomerang Carnets. your logistics and export company like OIA International or the US Commercial Service can refer you to helpful consultants.

We can help you with the translations you need. Travel can be easy and fluid with some due diligence and preparation.

St. Lawrence Seaway - Sail into success with exports!

Container Ships - Enabling Export Sales!

I had the fortune to hear Betty Sutton, Administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation speak at the NW Commissions Exporting event in Erie, PA on 9/25/2014. Energy products like iron ore, coal and chemicals make up about 80% of all traffic. About 25% of cargo has international destinations or coming from abroad. 70% of American steel products are produced in this region and 1/2 of Fortune 500 Industrial companies are located in the region.

The Great Lakes economy could be considered the fourth largest in the world behind 1. U.S.A. 2. China 3. Japan. Sutton was very positive about our collaborative relationship with our neighbor Canada. She is reaching out to the public sector to enable growth and collaboration to build this valuable mode of transportation for our products, increasing global sales. 

4.7 Trillion in trade activities (20% of U.S. and Canada) are happening in the region and using the seaway to import and export products. With the energy boom in Marcellus and Utica Shale, the potential to continue to grow international markets utilizing cargo ships is increasing. Sutton stated that a cargo ship will move 30,000 tons of cargo. Moving the equivalent amount of cargo by railcar you would need over 300 cars, utilizing trucking systems would mean filling over 960 trucks with cargo. Using cargo ships can reduce costs, environmental impact an energy costs. 

Administrator Sutton’s excitement about the potential to impact growth for manufacturers with exports was contagious. She left the audience with high hopes of collaborative efforts to help them build international sales. The representatives there echoed her excitement about growth potential of world-wide sales. One rep told me, she has seen great success for American products in Europe. The one important caveat she mentioned was that American companies often underestimate the importance of translating their websites when entering new markets like Germany. Often a mistake, companies look at the initial cost and feel they can still open that market. Her point was would you buy from a German website? Then why would an American company think a German would buy from their American site?  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Information on the resources at the conference:

NW PA Commission http://northwestpa.org/

St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation http://www.seaway.dot.gov/

Contact Linda@allcleartranslations for more information on international sales, translations, cultures, international market analysis and how to start a localization (translation) project.

About the Author

Linda Richardson founded All Clear Translations in 2010. Her focus is to enable American companies to grow and build their international markets.  Richardson is certified in Localization and Project Management for Localization, she has spoken on translation and localization to build sales at international and national conferences as well as regionally. In January, 2013, Richardson opened an office in Hermitage, PA at the eCenter at LindenPointe- a technology incubator. 

Why American companies should be focusing on the 

Chinese Market.

While in Detroit last week at the Discover Global Markets Forum, I came to understand the importance of eCommerce for international sales. The U.S. Commercial Service put together a great event filled with international representatives and much information to help companies build global sales. While in a break out session I learned some great facts about our third largest export market – China.

If you total the most 171 populous cities, they host 1 Billion people.  China now has one million millionaires (USD)!  Within these cities and smaller cities there is very little modernized retail. No large malls or department stores are in most of these cities. Ecommerce is utilized by many wealthy and middle income Chinese. In 2015 internet users in China should be around 800 million. These consumers love foreign brands especially American made products. They cited safe, quality, integrity and convenience as reasons why they love our brands.

Fakes or knock-offs are a big problem in China. Although the government is trying to crack down on fakes and fake retail fronts, there continues to be new illegal storefronts opening every month. Companies like Apple, Disney, Nike and Ikea have been duplicated as knock-off stores in China. I am sure you have heard about the fake Apple stores! http://www.tealeafnation.com/2013/06/chinas-copycat-phenomenon-fake-apple-stores-booming-in-southern-china/

The knock-off products have made eCommerce more attractive to consumers because they can do some due diligence to be sure to get the product they want. Many consumers must travel to get to a department store or mall. Storefronts are not seen as reliable or true brands and therefore make ecommerce even more attractive to savvy Chinese consumers. The feeling is they are getting a “real” item from the internet not a fake. Ecommerce sales are expected to continue to fuel the need for luxury and brand items from abroad.

Alibaba has been a catalyst of change for the Chinese consumer. Many have not shopped in department stores and rely on shopping with Alibaba online shopping sites like TMall. Disposable income has grown and the Chinese consumers in 3^rd and 4^th tiered cities are spending more of their disposable income on American products. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-11/alibaba-sites-drive-chinas-e-commerce-growth

How to grab your share of a multi-billion dollar market?

1.       Consult with your local U.S. Commercial Officer. They can help you with market analysis, connections to build, translators, feet on the street and more.

2.       Consult with your State’s Department of Economic Development. They also have resources to help you build your brand in other regions.

3.       Consult with your local Small Business Development Center. Their counselors will also help you understand your new market and help with sales growth.

4.       Cites like Alibaba, Amazon and EBAY offer assistance in getting online internationally. They do expect you to translate your information for the regions you are marketing to. But uploading translated information is easily accomplished.

These resources also offer training seminars to help educate you on commerce, compliance, and regional markets. Go online to www.trade.gov , http://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/osbdc , or your State’s Economic Development Center.

$$ Funding Available! $$

Have you been negatively impacted by imports? There is a matching grant to help you build your exports. Up to $150,000 matching grants are available to help you build an exporting process and plan. Contact us to find out more. We can help you determine if you qualify and help with the eligibility process.

About the Author

Linda Richardson founded All Clear Translations in 2010. Her focus is to enable American companies to grow and build their international markets.  Richardson is certified in Localization and Project Management for Localization, she has spoken on translation and localization to build sales at international and national conferences as well as regionally. In January, 2013, Richardson opened an office in Hermitage, PA at the eCenter at LindenPointe- a technology incubator. Please email her at Linda@allcleartranslations.com, visit her website, www.allcleartranslations.com, her blog – blog.allcleartranslations.com, twitter feed @allclearlinda or call her at 866-489-9109 for information on how translations can help you grow.

Harmonized Schedule Educational Info from the U.S. Commercial Service

Sharing with you a great informative Blog - Harmonized Code

Four Points for Finding “Harmony” in Exporting

July 23, 2014

Kenneth R. Mouradian is the Director of the International Trade Administration’s Orlando U.S. Export Assistance Center.

The numbers on the box help trade authorities know what’s in the box.

Numbers, numbers, numbers…! There are so many numbers to keep track of in global trade; and three, in particular, are commonly confused: the Harmonized Schedule (HS) Code, Schedule B Number, and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Number. They’re related but not the same.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, or Harmonized System, is a means for customs agents to know “what’s in the box” without having to open it or understand what’s written in various foreign languages on the shipping documentation. It’s a system for identifying commodities in trade based on a string of six to eight digits. The Harmonized System is used by 179 countries covering about 98 percent of world trade for the assessment of customs duties (“border taxes” on imports) and the collection of statistical data.
Under the Harmonized System, products are classified into two categories, 21 sections, and 96 chapters by form and function. For example, 8471.30, is “Portable automatic data processing machines, weighing not more than 10 kg, consisting of at least a central processing unit, a keyboard and a display.”
English translation: laptop computer.
Combined with the product’s origin and value, customs agents use the HS Code to derive the tariff to be assessed.
The string of numbers that customs uses to assess taxes is six to eight digits long. To get even more specific in the collection of statistics, however, countries that use the Harmonized System are permitted to add digits to the HS Code to a total of 10 digits. In the United States, we refer to the full, 10- digit string as the Schedule B Number if it’s for export and the HTS Number if it’s for import.
So many numbers, so little time! Here are four important things to know about the Harmonized System, Schedule B, and HTS:

• Nearly Identical. Schedule B and HTS Numbers are identical except for the last two digits. You’d use these numbers on forms submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Bureau of the Census. You can self-classify your exports under Schedule B and obtain on-line training and support from the U.S. Census website.
• Electronic Export Information (EEI). Exporters have the legal obligation under the Foreign Trade Regulations to record the export of any consignment whose value is equal to or in excess of $2,500 using the EEI. The Schedule B Number is used on the EEI to identify the commodities being exported.
• Trade Data and Foreign Tariff Schedules. You can derive an HS Code by looking at the first six to eight digits of a Schedule B or HTS Number. Because of its universality, trade data is commonly reported by governments, the World Trade Organization and United Nations using the Harmonized System Code. Hence, the HS Code is an important tool in conducting market research. Similarly, the HS Code is the key to searching foreign governments’ tariff schedules.
• Free Trade Agreements. You can view a list of Free Trade Agreements to which the U.S. is a Contracting Party, as well as detailed information on the benefits of each and how to take advantage of them.

Need help? Contact your local U.S. Export Assistance Center.

Market Distribution Concerns To Keep In Mind When Creating Software.

Don't stop at English. Expand your market! When developing software here are 3 key things to keep in mind.

1.       TARGET - Most probably your target is not just the U.S. Keep in mind future growth and where that growth will come from. Who are your targets? Where do they come from? Who will be using your product? Over two thirds of buying power comes from foreign countries.

2.       LANGUAGE OF YOUR TARGET(s)  – Now and future sales need to be considered when developing your software.  Is there room for an expanded language, have you thought about adding software translations? Does your new market target use Latin, Cyrillic, Asian or Arabic characters? Is your technical writer and software designer aware of the complexities of adding other languages? Can your software handle bi-directional or Asian characters?

https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/language_map.html The Census Bureau developed an interactive map to help you access what languages you might need to include in your marketing efforts for the U.S.

http://www.sba.gov/content/explore%20-exporting The U.S. Commercial Service has an export readiness assessment tool online. This is a good start to help you determine where, what languages, etc.

3.       INDUSTRY – Will you be selling your software across Industries? Is your terminology general enough or too specific to easily translate to other industries? We have a client with an asset tracking tool that we are translating into several languages. This tool can be utilized across vertical industries. Instead of naming the specific asset the software tracks currently, we developed a more generic term that still conveys understanding in several languages for different industries. Initially, the client took the time to help us understand what they are doing now and where they wish to go in the future.  Because we have met with them, talked with them about future value and vision of their company and products, our translators created an effective communication tool to be utilized across several platforms. Helping your Translations team understand what you are working on now and what you see as a future application will enable better communication now. This step will save you money and time as well as the headache of re-working your software to fit new markets/regions.

To learn more about developing International ready software contact me at linda@allcleartranslations.com or 866-489-9109 to talk about increasing sales.