Export market development as an opportunity for growth

The cooling of the economy has led companies and corporations to scale back their business efforts significantly. Service suppliers and manufacturers have found themselves in an increasingly competitive landscape as they contend with both foreign and domestic rivals for new business opportunities. However many business are ignoring vast untapped opportunities for export of their products and services to foreign markets. Many companies disregard or ignore markets outside the NAFTA zone due to the complexity and risks associated with the export process; however this need not be the case. There are many firms and consultancies both large and small that can guide corporations through the complexities of international trade. Export management companies act as export departments for non-competing manufacturers or producers; they handle all aspects of the foreign trade process and may even at times buy the goods directly from the producer and take title to it, in the process elim inating or reducing the risk to the supplier. Specialized consultancies and Professional Services firms also offer an avenue into foreign markets by providing training, logistics expertise, market research and dataas well as business development expertise to clients therefore easing market entry issues.
The U.S government is also keen to promote American products and services abroad, while this is not a new paradigm it has taken a new dimension as export promotion has been identified as one of the avenues to job growth. The government hopes to "double exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million new jobs in America," this is coupled with the launch of the National Export Initiative to help companies market their wares overseas. There are also a host of other government and semi-independent agencies that are geared towards export growth and financing, some of the links to them can be found here (/content/agencies).
Export market dev elopment and international trade should definitely be looked into for any company wanting to create new avenues for growth and profit making. The opportunities are their, the markets are ripe and the support is available, all that is left is the implementation.