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Last week many of the articles on bizSugar were interesting and inspiring for international business. Here are the one that got me thinking the most.  They inspired me to think about international online crisis management, affiliate marketing for international market research, building trust and expert status in international clients, tools to begin international video marketing and 2010 international social media goals.

As always, I’d love to hear how these articles inspired you.

And again, just for the record, I am not part of the bizSugar team. BizSugar is simply one of the places I visit regularly to keep up with business articles online.

Iranian Cyber War Against Twitter

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When you are in international business you need to be aware of international news. This is because you often gain cross-cultural insights from incidents and blunders whenever there is an international component, even when they happen outside of your own industry.

As it happened, I only found out about this incident through bizSugar.  This incident raises concerns about being online and having international visibility.  And it also reminds us to have the right emergency plans in place for international online crisis management.

Do you know what you would do if your website was hacked?

Start an Affiliate Program to Increase Your Sales

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I’m always amazed by the lack of action taken by businesses who say they want international sales but never actually do anything about it.  In days gone by, the only real option for companies no international budget was to find local representatives or importers interested in their wares. This is comparable to online affiliate marketing today.

As more companies learn how to use social media and new web marketing tactics, I expect they will also use more affiliate marketing as a way to approach new international markets.  Many companies should be able to learn how to create an online affiliate program, widening their offer at the front end, just for international market research.

Can you see affiliate marketing as a means to open international markets for your business?

How To Explain To Clients That They Are Wrong

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This article resonated with me on two different levels: the challenges in understanding people from different cultures in a professional setting and also the need to adapt on a personal level and the frustrations this can involve when dealing with clients.

Although this is aimed at freelancers, most of the points here can also be applied to international business.  This is not a surprise as many freelancers today work with international clients.

I particularly like the first point made here: try to understand your client’s point of view.

The one thing I would add here is that good questioning skills can also come in very handy.  When you ask the right questions, you can often lead clients to meet you in an area of mutual understanding from where it is easy to move forward.

What’s your favorite tactic when dealing with clients who think differently than you do?

Customers Reduce Risk by Buying from Experts. Are YOU One?

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This article got me thinking very deeply about how complex it is to build trust with international clients and raised quite a few important questions for successful international business.

What makes an expert? Do different cultures go about crafting expert status in other ways? How is this expertise perceived by different cultures? How is your expertise linked to the trust you build in your international clients?  And do international clients buy from the same experts?

How does this article inspire you? Do you think it is easy to transmit your expertise to international clients?

Business innovation: Developing an entrepreneurial mindset

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For me, this article highlighted the similarities between an entrepreneurial mindset and an international business mindset, especially when first entering a new foreign market.

I’ve used all three types of thinking outlined here, (abstract, business intellect and creative thinking), when looking for solutions to international business problems.

What similarities do you see when cultivating an international mindset?

What free or cost effective Business tools did you use this year?

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Many free and inexpensive business tools are also great for international marketers too.  I also particularly liked the selection Greg Fry shares here.  There are some good tools if you want to begin adding video to your content mix.

It is great to add video to your web marketing, but when marketing to international audiences you also need to adapt your video skills for effective cross-cultural communication.  This is why I liked these inexpensive tools.  They seem like a good way to test what works best in different markets.

I use Wisestamp on all of my email and this brings in a fair bit of traffic to my social media platforms.  And I have seen Animoto close up, it is very interesting.  Screenjelly and Eyejot are new to me and also look useful. I’ll definitely try them out in 2010. These small video touches can help to create a more meaningful connection with other people.

The best business tools I used in 2009 were Twitter and Skype. I used both of these as international networking tools.

What about you? What business tools did you get the most value from this year?

Social Media Strategy: 6 Areas of Focus for 2010

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Doyle Slayton shares his 2010 goals and strategy for his social media plan here. Many others are publishing theirs this month too.  But I particularly liked Doyle’s because the goals are Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

Many businesses struggle to come up with SMART goals for their social media strategy and Doyle makes it look easy. In looking at Doyle’s goals it’s easy to see that he has been in social media for some time already.  And he also states his struggles for figuring out how to use Facebook.  I suspect that he will figure this out before setting his goals and strategies for 2011.

In 2009 I used social media to reach my international markets and develop my international business network successfully.  The first thing I notice when comparing my tactics with others, is that my SMART are much simpler than many others.  And I do think it is important to keep your goals simple when using social media for international business.  Very simple.  This is the only way you can then also adapt to different cultures.  If you start off with anything but the simplest of goals, you will come to a halt as soon as you encounter any cross-cultural hurdles. And on social media you can feel the cross-cultural differences very quickly.

How simple are your international social media goals and strategies?