Clarifying Customs Paperwork and Regulations - Show #91

Kim Daniels, CEO of Mercantile Logistics & International Trade, has years of experience translating the complex regulations, classification requirements, and intricacies of the best way to move your products around the world.   

If you took marketing in college, you learned about the 4 P’s of marketing – product, price, promotion, and place.  This episode of the Global Marketing Show covers Place – how to get your product from place A to place B. 

We asked Kim to explain, why would consumer product companies bother exporting bins of products rather than just selling through ecommerce.  She gave a great example of a swim wear company that she worked with – by sending their products to the Caribbean and Mexico, they increased their sales by 30%. It made sense because when people travel, they may forget their bathing suits, they spend more time shopping, and are willing to spend money.   

For the companies that she works with, she suggests that they look for the following criteria in a market. 

1. Look for free trade zones to avoid heavy taxes and duties. 
2. Find markets where clients want your goods (Mexico was a better choice than Canada for bathing suits!) 
3. Avoid markets where the products are in an industry that the country wants to protect. 
4. Start small, figure out the process, and then grow. 
5. Look for a market close to you to minimize shipping costs.  
6. Expand! 

One key component is to get the classification of your products right to avoid hold ups at the border, fines, or getting a bad reputation and having problems forever more. 

There are thousands of classifications – for example, if you manufacture footwear, there are type classifications such as boots, sneakers, flip flops, AND there are further sub-classifications for the materials the products contain. It’s worth talking to an experienced customs broker to get the classification code accurate.  Once you know the code, you can have the customs broker do the paperwork, or you can spend the hour on the government site filling out the paperwork.  Kim says she’s willing to spend an hour on the phone consulting for free to help companies with their exporting journey. 

One warning – if you sell any good that are controlled, you need an additional ECCN# and if you have products that could be used for military or parts of military products, you are regulated by ITAR (International Traffic Arms Regulations). Violating any export regulations could lead to HUGE fines. To protect the safety of the US, these regulations are strict and people who violate them are considered guilty unless proven innocent.  Step #1 is to make sure your products are not under ITAR regulations. 

One opportunity – Craft beers are highly regarded in the UK.  If you create craft beers in the US and want to increase your sales, reach out to Kim fast!  She can help you make connections to send vats of your beer to the UK, where they can bottle and sell it. 

As for “Made in America” versus “international trade”?  Kim is a fan of trade.  She cites research that shows that the more a company trades, the better their economy.  (In an upcoming episode, we’ll talk about the “container graveyard” that contains all the empty containers that brought goods into the US.  US companies that fill those containers and send goods out, perform better than those that just sell in the US. Since the graveyard is so big, we need to start exporting more.) 

Kim’s final recommendations –  

1. Trade works best when it’s a holistic process. For example, the US exports textiles to be made into shirts that we import back in.  This benefits both countries. 
2. Foreign trade zones can be used to your advantage – Mercedes, Honda, and Toyota import parts to build the cars in foreign trade zones.  By manufacturing the final products here, they lower their import taxes while creating jobs here. 
3. Do a feasibility study to find the best place to export your goods. 

Her favorite foreign word?  Schadenfreude – as she says it’s got a frenemy feel to it.  This German word has no English equivalent, it translates into that feeling of pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune. 

Links: 

https://www.mlitinc.com/ 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Connect with Kim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-daniels-a5b9268/  

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Will CryptocurrencyTranslate to Global Currency - Show #90

Ryan Blaney of Bolimini International Law Group has no doubt that cryptocurrency will become an international currency.  When I asked on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being full of doubt, to 10 being non doubt, he said he’s a 10 on the future.  He equates it to a conversation with an intelligent little old lady who recalled that when credit cards first came out 1958 people laughed and wondered who would accept a piece of plastic for payment.  

Ryan continues to explain that in his role as an attorney, his clients’ biggest challenges right now are following the regulations.  He talked about the brain drain he’s seeing as the creative crypto, NFT, and metaverse entrepreneurs relocated to places with more friendly regulations. 

One client moved to Mexico to launch their BTM’s - an alternative to an ATM.  A BTM is a Bitcoin teller machine for withdrawing and depositing bitcoin.  With little luck launching in the US, they moved to Mexico and already have 7-8 BTM’s open.  

Cities such as Miami, Atlanta, and Detroit already have laws allowing rent and tax payments with cryptocurrency.  Countries such as Mexico, Singapore, El Salvador, Dubai, Spain, St. Kitts, Nevis, and certain countries in Africa and SE Asia allow more crypto usage.   

There doesn’t seem to be similarities in the cities and countries that are early adopters.  Ryan sees a commonality in that in LATAM and Africa, there is no infrastructure for traditional banking, so this solves an immediate need.  Plus, it’s a multitrillion dollar industry so the potential is huge.  The mayor of Miami recognizes this – thus contributing to the usage there.  Plus, Miami is the gateway to LATAM where there is early acceptance. 

 One big piece of advice he gives his clients – KYC which stands for Know Your Client.  Since transferring cryptocurrency is done electronically, there is no name or verifiable ID to check.  He makes sure all his clients watch for money laundering.  Money laundering is not condoned by the early adopters. Their aim is to build a better society.  Many support the environment and the Blue Economy which the World Bank defines as the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem."   

He continues to say that many non-profit organizations accept donations of cryptocurrency for three reasons: 

1. It’s easier to accept – it transfers in 2 seconds as opposed to days for a wire transfer. 

1. There are no fees. 

1. They have global access to translation. 

Ryan’s advice to Global Leaders about cryptocurrency? 

1. Educate yourself – MIT has free videos to watch and learn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6vE97qIP4) 

1. Understand that there are big variances in each cryptocurrency – they specialize in purchases, gaming, non-profits, education, and more. 

Listen to learn more.   

Links:  

www.bolimini.us 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Connect with Ryan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanblaney/  

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Duties, Taxes, Global Payment - Show #89

Tiffanie Archie worked for UPS in global logistics and now she’s the Strategic Partner Manager for Zonos.  If you want to know about shipping or international payments, she’s the person to talk to.  This is a very informative episode of the Global Marketing Show podcast with several key take-aways. 

First off, if you are an ecommerce company of any size, you can export.  Zonos works with companies of all sizes and simplifies the payments, duties, and tax maze.  

Second, you need to figure out where you want to sell.  Stephanie suggests you do the following for logistics and payments: 

1. Figure out where your products are in demand 
2. Consider shipping lanes – the more frequent the shipping lanes, the cheaper the costs 
3. Do your tax, duty, and VAT research 
4. Determine what payment methods the local market prefers 

Figuring out your tax, duty, and VAT on your own can be complex - You can work with your logistics provider to give you “shipping costs” yet be careful, since that may not include taxes and duties.   

You can either use the Harmonized Codes from the “black box” provided by the government or get the massive hard copy book to find your 10-digit product number to calculate the tax costs.   

Or you can find and ask partners such as a logistics company, an export advisor, your state trade representation, export broker, or you can use Zonos who continually updates and calculates the full “Landed Cost Calculation” price for your customers at check out. 

Third, be aware of miscoding your products.  Mistakes do happen, yet if you give a detailed code and you include documentation to answer the following questions, the officials are more likely to believe your company is legitimate.   

1. What is the product? 
2. What is it made of? 
3. What is it used for?

If you get flagged, you may have trouble forever more since you’ve been labeled as non-compliant. 

Fourth, watch the currency exchange.  This can be complicated so Tiffanie simplified it. To keep it simple for a busy business owner, she suggested that you do the following: 

1. Watch the news.  Keep abreast of current events that could affect your target markets. 
2. Offer your customers a way to pay that is convenient for them.  With Zonos’s partnership with Opti, users can test different payment options in different markets. 
3. Watch foreign exchange rates.  She suggested checking it once a month to see if you need to adjust your pricing to be competitive or profitable.  

And, finally, she recommended that you watch out for DDU and DDP.  DDU refers to products delivered to consumers when the duties are unpaid.  Abandonment and refusals are much more common when duties are unpaid which leave the seller responsible for the duties and return costs.  Versus DDP which means the duties are paid. 

If you are in marketing and responsible for the 4 P’s, this is a good episode to learn about Price and Place for global marketing.  As for the other 2 P’s – the types of Products that can be exported and how to create and translate Promotion materials – listen to other episodes of the Global Marketing Show.   

Links: 

www.zonos.com 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Connect with Tiffanie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffaniearchie/  

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

It Appears We Are Late to the Market - Show #88

Ken Wasylik, founder and owner of E.M. Wasylik Associates, has over 25 years of experience in helping companies expand across borders. The biggest challenge they have is deciding what market to enter.  He says that after entering 2-3 markets it becomes a “process rather than an adventure”.  Which market to enter first takes a little research and insight.  

He helps companies look at variables such as: 

• Strategic plan – how to make the expansion meet the goals 
• Internal resources – the ability to serve time zones, connect across languages, and understand cultures 
• Logistics – how heavy are the products to ship 

• Opportunities – where are the greatest options 
• Competition – where is the least competition 
• Returns – how to get the biggest return on export investment 

When they work with a company, the look at 50 countries across 20-30 variables to make sure the choice makes sense.  Once the countries are prioritized, they begin the work of developing a market entry plan. Over time, the process is replicated across each country as they become a priority.  He is clear in that it’s too much to try to enter multiple countries at the same time, especially when the company is new to exporting. 

With all the opportunity in the US, I asked Ken why he’s such a fan of exporting.  He explains that successful business is about mitigating risks and optimizing profits.  Global companies are naturally diversified so when one economy drops, others are rising. Back in 2008-2009 when the US economy faltered, he saw that companies that exported grew.  And, companies that export have higher profitability since US goods are in demand. 

In the podcast, he gives examples of companies and their process for deciding what countries to enter.  It’s fascinating to hear how the coolant cleaning company went to Canada, while the medical device company went to the Middle East.   

Of course, I always like to hear about language translation and international expansion.  He said that even though many senior executives are bi or tri-lingual, all the other managers, especially the local ones may not have English proficiency so it’s important to have language skills to support your expansion efforts. He told the story about an US businessperson responding to a question that meeting their needs would be a “piece of cake”.  Shortly thereafter the in-country CEO offered lunch.  Since it was still morning, the team was surprised.  Luckily, they figured out that he thought they wanted cake to eat and were able to explain the idiom of “piece of cake” meant easy to do.  This is another good reminder to use clear language when speaking to people who don’t share your native language. 

As for why a company would hire him instead of accessing the Department of Commerce or State Export Center resources?  Ken explains that the government resources offer introductions, grants, and general country research.  E.M. Wasylik Associates offers implementation, boots on the ground, and specialty research.   

His advice – travel the world for great life experiences. 

His favorite foreign phrase – No problem.  It’s hysterical to listen to all the languages he knows that phrase in and the various meanings it holds! 

Links: 

E.M. Wasylik Associates LLP - www.emwasylik.com  

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Connect with Ken: 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenwasylik/ 

Ken’s Email - ken.wasylik@emwasylik.com 

Ken’s Phone Number - 608-850-5643 

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Translation and Marketing for Luxury Brands - Show #87

Martha Cristina Garza has helped luxury brands like Cartier,  Moleskine, Dr. Smood, and Maison Kayser launch in multiple countries.  As a marketing expert for high end brands, she especially knows the importance of understanding your brand differentiators and the cultures of your target markets.  It’s interesting to hear from her about the perspectives of consumers about brands in different countries, for instance Cartier is the number one luxury brand in Mexico, yet in Italy, it’s only a luxury brand for Grandmas!  She sees that brands are getting better at story telling and understanding that they need to connect with the cultures, yet they struggle with exact messages when they don’t know the culture. 

For example; a high-end backpack manufacturer from Italy positions itself as innovative and best in class in making leather backpacks that are “powered by performance”.  When entering the US, the creative team came up with a campaign to connect with the market.  The developed a picture of the nice leather backpack on a sofa and the tagline of “Netflix and Chill”.  Now, as a native US English speaker, I understood that Netflix and chill would not talk to their target audience of businesspeople in their 40’s and 50’s.  In addition to “speaking” to the wrong market of younger consumers, they also didn’t understand that the message “come on over for Netflix and Chill” includes a hidden invitation of intimacy. 

She strongly recommends that marketers who aren’t native speakers and don’t fully understand the culture are well served in working with a company like Rapport International to make sure your messages are accurate and culturally appropriate. 

Her final recommendations: 

• Understand the local culture 
• Hire experts to assist you 
• Consider all touchpoints – including the human interactions with your employees. 

As with every episode, I ask guests what their favorite word is.  Martha’s is “la pozzanghera”, an Italian word that means puddle.  She thinks it’s just a fun word.  Go ahead, say it! 

Links: 

https://marthacgarza.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/marthacristina/?hl=en 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthacristina/ 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Connect with Martha - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthacristina/  

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Supply Chain - Show #86

Jon Kirkegaarde, Owner of DCRA Inc. has over 40 years in global supply chain management, consulting, and servicing. Through his experience, he breaks down the issues in supply chain – starting with how the term is used and ending with how it can be fixed.   

He explains that the real problem is sales/operations planning and when companies implement plans that are slightly better than the competitors, they have a competitive advantage. 

He likes to give a quiz – what’s the best model for supply chain: 

1. Selling for $10 with costs of $5 and holding inventory to immediately fill customer demand. 
2. Selling for $8 with costs of $6 and holding components to build to demand which allows for flexibility as demand changes with deliver times of 3-6 weeks. 
3. Selling for $7 with costs of $5 with no inventory holding costs so the consumer saves money but must wait 3-6 months for delivery. 

There are advantages to each option – and many companies take higher risks to fulfill customers’ orders right away.  And, as Jon says, “no one gets fired for having inventory, they get fired for not having inventory.” 

But that $5 margin sinks quickly with warehousing costs or having to dispose of goods no longer needed. 

Other companies minimized their risks to fill on demand, yet outsourced their full operations to the international manufactures and lost control of sales/operations planning and ran into trouble with the current shipping issues. 

He does have an answer that you can listen to on the full podcast episode. 

Links: 

http://www.dcrasolutions.com/ 

https://soptime.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/the-silver-lining-of-covid-19-a-call-for-u-s-manufacturing/ 

https://soptime.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/think-of-sop-as-your-supply-chain-golf-swing-golf-coach/ 

https://soptime.wordpress.com/2021/12/07/webinar-sop-diagnostic-launch-focus-with-throughput-ai/ 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Connect with Jon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkirkegaard/ 

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Updated Format and Announcements - Show #85

Host Wendy Pease announces changes coming to The Global Marketing Show podcast – a shorter format with more take-aways about global marketing and LIVE episodes coming later this year. 

Additional announcements and ways to stay engaged are included in this special episode, listen to learn more. 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Telemarketers and Jukeboxes in Costa Rica - Show #84

Richard Blank, CEO of the Costa Rica’s Call Center regales stories about pinball machines, jukeboxes, and how empathy all contribute to building a successful culture for his business. 

Yet, as the conversation continues, he explains how learning to read micro expressions and body language can help you understand what’s going on even if you don’t speak the language.  

We also discuss criteria to look at when thinking about off-shoring or near-shoring for employees. 

Links: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessprocessoutsourcingcallcenter/ 

https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/costa-ricas-call-center-2/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/costaricascallcenter/  

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/

Connect with Richard - https://www.linkedin.com/in/costaricascallcenter/ 

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

From 0 to 100 with Global Marketing - Show #83

Paul Bresenden, CMO of Bromic Heaters and President of 454 Creative, started his career with zero experience in global marketing. 

He’s led a brilliant build of a “headless CMS” and “PIM” to optimize SEO for Bromic Heaters with a single domain and unique websites for their in-country marketing and distribution around the world.   

Paul is brilliant and shares a massive amount of information about all that he’s learned and implemented. 

Links: 

https://www.bromic.com/ 

www.454creative.com 

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ 

Connect with Paul - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pbresenden/ 

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Translation Strategy is Important - Show #82

Stephen Shortt, Managing Director at ETC Consult, was prior owner of Alpha College of English a school in Ireland where professionals could go to learn English.

Currently he’s an investor, leadership and career coach, keynote speaker, succession planner, and self-proclaimed Geek.

He explains his rational for using Global English and where translation was necessary, and deep dives into his experiences in Global Marketing.

His insights, experience, and go to market strategies clearly show that he thinks strategically. 

Listen to this episode to learn from a true entrepreneur.

Links:

https://successfulsuccession.com

https://careerfit.com

Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/

Connect with Stephen - http://shortt.me/li

Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com