subject: Online Fax,global Exposure,savings [print this page] Living in the U.S., particularly in one of the high-tech hotspots like Boston, Silicon Valley, North Carolina's Triangle Park or Los Angeles can spoil the unwary businessperson. It is not intentional (usually) but we humans have a tendency to generalize from the specific, that is, we think that what is happening to us and around us is generally true wherever we go. One trip to the Third World will disabuse you of that notion. Actually, save your money. One or two episodes of the BBC News, available on most U.S. cable systems, will give you as much exposure to the depredations of the world's struggling nations as you'll get in a year's worth of American happy-talk, talking-head, so-called news programs.
The good news is that many nations have seen the folly of the command economy, and China is only the biggest and most dramatic example of what can happen when a tyrannical regime takes just one of its jackboots off the backs of its people. China's economy has grown prodigiously in the last 15 years, and countries from Burma to central Africa have noticed, with many instituting similar reforms. These governments want businesses from the West to invest in their countries, to sell products to them, to establish a presence, and there are many ways, from small and economical to big and costly, to do so. One overlooked tool, frankly, is fax technology.
Fax tech talk
Now the term, fax technology, applies not just to the stereotypical 1980s-era fax machine and its sleek, modern incarnations. It also includes the newer software tools that have enabled people to send documents to, and receive them from, the tens of millions of fax machines around the world. This can be done from any computer with Internet access and an online fax account. If your business or service is something that would be of value to consumers and businesspeople in these emerging Third World economies, you will discover that online faxing is essential for a global presence. The reason is simple. These growing nations are still building the infrastructure for reliable Internet and satellite communications, but phone lines are already installed and working, and have been for some time.
The trade ministries and commerce departments of up-and-coming economies in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and elsewhere are very motivated to assist Westerners in establishing themselves in those nations. By contacting the American consulates of these nations, you can obtain generous amounts of information on how to do so, as well as lists of businesses, consultants, government trade officials, local chambers of commerce and guilds, unions, trade associations and wholesalers. In addition to telephone numbers and a growing number of e-mail addresses, you will discover that just about every single business, group or agency has a fax number. People in the emerging nations of the world are far more reliant on faxing than we are in the U.S. For many, it is the only way to receive documents outside of mail and package deliveries.
Leveraging the numbers
You cannot really consider yourself a global operation unless you are available to everyone on the planet, or as many as you can reach, at any rate. By compiling a list of international fax numbers, you will reach many, many more than you would if you simply settled on e-mailing or Web sites. You will find that a good, thorough global marketing plan will always include special steps for reaching all of the foreign businesses that rely primarily, often exclusively, on fax technology. Having an online fax service provides you what is called backward compatibility. That is, your computer can use an online fax service to connect with machines in both directions. This is important to remember. Sending messages to these machines is only half of the formula. An online fax account allows people and businesses with these machines to reach you, as well.
You win in both directions. Without spending extra money on toner, electricity and paper, you can receive new product orders and service requests from the millions of fax machines in the developing world. Without leaving your desk, you can also send messages to these same machines, once again without printing out your pages or feeding them into a slot. With online faxing, you can even schedule the delivery times so the messages are sent when phone rates are lowest, as most services will charge you for the phone connection time. Both to save money and to be efficient, you can set up your online fax account to send various faxes at different times during the night while you are gone.
Online faxing is a great tool when it is used just in the U.S. It is an even more important tool when you are seeking business around the globe. One of the basic rules of clear, compelling commercial communication is to meet people where they are, address them in the manner to which they are accustomed and be available to them the same way. Emerging countries are simply chock full of fax machines. It is absolutely to your benefit, if you want to do business globally, to leverage all those fax numbers and start some international conversations. That is how you go from local to global, on the wings of your online fax account.
by: Chris Haycox
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