National Export Strategy 2002 - International Trade Administration ...

Better Customer Service for
Small, Medium-Sized, and
Large Companies
Discussions with U.S. exporters and the results of the survey revealed that their
expectations and desires with regard to government support differed
depending on their size, level of experience, and position in the product cycle of an
export. For example, firms that are very new to exporting and investing generally
require more comprehensive training and handholding. They also need a higher
level of encouragement as they become aware of the benefits of exporting. On the
other hand, more experienced or robust exporters with a more sophisticated
understanding of trade expect more coordination between the various trade
promotion programs that they use. Intermediaries such as export management
companies (EMCs) are also regarded as important clients for government export
promotion services, but raise additional issues in terms of the customer service that
they expect.
Common to both experienced and new exporters is the problem of understanding
where to go for help. It is difficult for exporters to figure out what resources are
available. Even if a firm is working with one Trade Promotion Coordinating
Committee (TPCC) agency, they often are unaware of the services of other agencies.
Individual marketing and outreach efforts are generally concentrated on promoting a
single agency, further reinforcing the potential confusion.
While the goal is to improve services for U.S. companies of all sizes, special attention
has been given to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs
are the engine of growth and job creation in America. In addition, small companies
generally face more hurdles to expanding their business presence abroad than large
companies. For these reasons, we have dedicated much of our research to defining
these hurdles and learning how our trading partners attempt to overcome them.
While we expected to find examples of programs and services in competitor
countries designed for SMEs, we were impressed by the overarching commitment of
many competitor governments to coordinated SME export promotion and to the
high level of assistance targeted to SMEs.
■ Korea: The Republic of Korea is committed to a continued push to move
away from the dominance of Korea’s chaebols (large conglomerates) as the
foundation of employment and export strength, while nurturing the
19