What will post-Covid-19 internationalization be like? What challenges are Italian SMEs facing to develop their exports? How to interpret digital channels? I address these and other issues in the article published on LinkedIn. What do you think about it?
The reopening of the Regions, post lockdown, was inaugurated by long queues on the Italian highways while many entrepreneurs, small or large, have done wonders to start their businesses in the name of the safety of customers and employees. Real signs that the country is ready to get back on track. However, a feeling of great uncertainty remains evident, especially when it comes to foreign sales.
In this context, our companies find themselves on the starting grid with advantages and disadvantages: they are substantially in pole position (many other countries are still experiencing a phase of growing infections) but at the same time they suffer the penalty of a national economic engine for nothing performing (compared to that of foreign competitors who are particularly aggressive and ready to exploit the post-Covid situation to obtain advantages on the markets).
It therefore becomes essential to take action quickly, with targeted, essential and particularly concrete actions. These, in my opinion, are important levers for changing our approach to foreign markets. We have to think about the efficiency of commercial actions and how much they generate in terms of return on investments made. To give an example: it makes no sense to try to open dozens of foreign countries when the company has the resources to develop just a couple of them. We therefore need a real strategy, even for SMEs (which must become more and more efficient if they want to continue to exist). We must start from the analysis (first in the company and then of the market) rather than starting from the first sector fair that was suggested to us.
Once the market has been chosen, the company must maximize the result by building a local presence which does not mean opening a company (and certainly not a process of relocation) but creating a network of relationships made up of people with whom there are ongoing and value. There is no need to look for agents who budget with very high commissions (and off-market prices) as long as they are not a fixed cost. If the analysis work is well done, if the market is controlled, the investment certainly bears fruit. To do this, you need who is "present" on that market.
In these months that have immobilized us in front of our laptops, we have finally convinced ourselves that digital is beautiful. From smart working to smart yoga without forgetting webinars we have all become familiar with digital tools. As a result we understood that online sales, and not just retail (therefore also for B2B) can be useful for developing new markets or new customer targets. At the same time we must not forget that digital exports, which our foreign competitors also resort to, will make the world even flatter. The customer will find it difficult to understand if a product is Made in Italy or Made in another country. So the customer will increasingly seek the answer to his need or the solution to a problem.
In other words: if our company does not create value, digital or traditional exports are not the solution, on the contrary, they are the best way to spend money without getting a return.
Still in the digital sphere, we read in the last days of the mirage of virtual fairs. But are we really sure that this is the solution? In my opinion not! Certainly they will be important showcases, promotional platforms useful for representing sector news and understanding the direction of a specific market but, without the handshake (perhaps the touch on the elbow, given the situation), without direct confrontation, there is no concreteness .
Post Covid it will not be possible to continue living in the shadow of the Made in Italy brand. To be successful abroad, companies must focus above all on Innovation / Design / Technology Made in Italy. We have to overcome our competitors because we have products with high added value, not just because they are made in Italy, otherwise we continue to feed the spiral of "it's Made in Italy, therefore it's sold" because it doesn't work that way abroad at all.
We will have to overcome the approach of micro-management and solitary actions. We must aim to integrate skills into an ever more driven value chain. SMEs (over 90% of our economy) must grow otherwise they will not be able to attack foreign markets and will not be able to imagine exponential developments that will be typical of the post-Covid Economy. After all, foreign competitors are all on average larger in size and therefore, already today, able to draw on qualitatively and quantitatively superior resources anywhere in the world.
On June 8th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the Pact for Export. A series of incentives and tools to relaunch the internationalization of Italian companies. Some of these are particularly interesting as they provide for the external support of competent personnel able to guide the company in its path of growth abroad. They will only be useful if the company really wants to change its culture towards internationalization activities.
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