Business communication and negotiation styles will be among the topics being discussed at a specialist masterclass on exporting to the USA and Canada next month (September).
Organised and delivered by the ERDF SME International Growth Project, the half-day workshop on Thursday, September 20, is open to small-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based across the West Midlands region, which also includes the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
Led by Allyson Stewart-Allen, founder of specialist marketing consultancy International Marketing Partners Ltd. and dual British and American citizen, the session will guide SMEs on the cultural Do’s and Don’ts of doing business for the first time in the US and Canada.
“It was George Bernard Shaw who is credited with the saying that the US and Great Britain are two countries divided by a common language, just as true today as it was in the early 1940’s,” she said.
“SMEs can come across many communication and cultural challenges when trying to export to the USA and some have found to their cost that mistakes can sometimes be irrecoverable. While Canada is geographically connected to the USA, there are distinct cultural, communication and language differences.
“This masterclass will help businesses understand not only the different business cultures of these two bordering markets, it will give valuable tools and advice on how to avoid expensive pitfalls.”
The USA is the UK’s biggest trading partner, exporting almost £100 billion worth of goods and services in 2016, while the UK exported £8.2 billion of goods and services to Canada in the same year, making it the UK’s eighth biggest export market outside the EU.
The half-day training will also cover: business and economic environments; ease of doing business;
market entry; e-commerce in both markets; language differences.
