In my last blog I promoted the idea that Canadian companies with unique products should be more aggressive in global markets. One of the best ways to do this is to attend a Trade Show in a foreign market that targets your customer segment. So many good things can happen if you make the decision to "Show Up" including new customers, new distributors, new relationships with suppliers, new technology discoveries, new product lines/innovations etc. So take the plunge!

Think of your website as a magazine. You cater to a certain niche, and people who are very interested in that subject are your familiar subscribers. They expect certain articles and read it regularly. Now think of your blog as the cover for your magazine. The headlines are about current topics and grab the passers by. If those passers by enjoy what they read, they too will become subscribers/customers.

The Canadian marketplace is as tough a place to sell as anywhere in the developed world with small markets and conservative, cost conscious customers. If you can sell here you can sell anywhere, especially if you have a unique product. In my experience, foreign markets offer easier pickings if companies are willing to take the plunge and combine their Product Brand, with Canada's National Brand plus a willingness to make the effort to get beyond our borders and sell.

Many business blogs are all about the company, which means they are not building a blog following. They are advertising articles. It’s like seeing an ad for a pharmaceutical company in a magazine. You might look at the picture and read the heading, but once you flip the page and see all the medical warnings/side effects/recommendations you move on.

A group of fishermen in Halifax are reaping the benefits of selling their catch direct to the consumer through a unique marketing approach that eliminates the middleman and quadruples the price/lb. they get for their fish. These better prices enables them to continue to fish in a traditional way that benefits not only their customers, who love the quality of their fresh fish, but also the ocean habitat. Strategic disintermediation is a marketing strategy that can help manufacturers compete.

In today's globally competitive environment, selling your products through your own stores, sometimes exclusively, sometimes alongside your traditional sales channels, can have dramatic results; reducing pricing pressures, increasing customer contact and exposure, and increasing profit margins. Companies large and small, from Apple Computer, American Apparel, and Lazy Boy, to Hauser Furniture, Roots, Dream Power, and Kodiak Boot, have all successfully pursued this creative strategy.

The Buy Local Food Movement has helped to dramatically improve the economic fortunes of the local agricultural sector. Through books, ads, new distribution channels, national pubicity, this movement has created a legion of consumers who are looking for locally grown and raised products . These same consumers have in turn forced the major grocery chains to purchase more locally grown products. Its my belief that this same "Buy Local" could help general manufacturers in the same way.

My blog has tried to highlight companies like Roots, Salus, Kodiak, Cutco, and Custom Leather who pursue a balanced strategy of domestic versus offshore supply. Add New Balance Footwear to this list. Like their counterparts, New Balance sees value in continuing to manufacture 25% of their footwear volume domestically; the only athletic shoe company that does. They do it through passionate management, branding, marketing, and distribution, innovative product, and efficient manufacturing.

The 6 year "Own the Podium" Strategy lead to unprecedented success for our Olympians in Vancouver. A combination of public/private support for our country's best athletes combined with world class training facilities, coaching, and competition, lead to our best ever medal haul and an Olympic games that was the envy of the world. This recipe for Olympic success could be a model for rebuilding our manufacturing sector into a global force.