It is ten or eleven years since the real value of a personal meeting was highlighted. At the time, we worked in an Export sales capacity in which we were supported by a first rate Customer Services team. It was policy always to introduce our overseas visitors throughout the company, but specifically to those who were most likely to interact regularly with customers.

We were visited by two guys from Malaysia who were well-known to our Customer Services team, but mainly  because of the difficulty in communicating with them over the telephone. The Malaysian guys’ English was excellent, but the metering of their speech was unfamiliar to our team. So during their short visit we went out for a meal together with the Customer Services team, and from that day onwards there was no further communication problem. It appears that being able to visualise a face as you speak is essential in understanding the nuances of expression in speech.

…is what makes the world go round. It really doesn’t matter whether your client is in the next town or half way across the world, direct communication is the key to building, maintaining, and developing a good business rapport. It has now become almost impossible to be out of contact because telecommunications are so much more accessible than at any other time in our history.

This is incredibly positive news for business development, because it means that events happen quicker, and answers can be delivered often in seconds or minutes rather than days or weeks. Our ExportAnswer service is entirely free to use, and even for this free service we will answer your international trade questions within one working day, so long as you have registered with us.

The Internet is a fantastic business tool, but it can never replace face to face contact. It has enabled Exportaid to work with individuals and companies in many different countries at very low cost, both to our company and our customers. It has helped significantly in the development of The Export Network (TEN), of which Exportaid is one of 18 associate companies spanning 12 different countries.

We have utilised most of the technologies that are now available. Possibly the greatest breakthrough in communication technology has been the development of live video. This has enabled face to face communication with minimal need to travel. There are still limitations with the free live video services, most of which only support two individuals talking to each other, but technology is moving faster than we can control it and we expect that free conference video technology will not be too far away. While nothing will replace doing business around a table in the same room, video can be a good second best.