AIEx is interested to discover how exporters use online to drive international sales.

If you are an exporter and would like to take part, please visit the survey website.

Programs recognising the achievement of people are always special. There are numerous factors that make the Australian Export Heroes Awards even more special. People who receive an Australian Export Hero award have fought and won on the international stage. They have made more sacrifices, traveled more and spent more time away from home than they would probably like to remember. They have that magic mix of good business skills blended with loads of passion.

Whether from big established business or from the family farm or factory, they all deserve special recognition for their vision, passion and sheer hard work and the Australian Export Heroes Award is an opportunity to thank them for their unique contribution as well as thank their families for their support along the way.

AIEx is now calling for nominations for the 2012 Australian Export Heroes Awards.

The nomination process is strictly confidential as the person being nominated is not made aware of this information unless they are subsequently invited to join the register. Details regarding the nomination process can be found by downloading the selection criteria and nomination form below:

2012 Australian Export Heroes Selection Criteria.

2012 Export Heroes Nomination Form.

Nominations close on Wednesday 29 February 2012 and the presentation ceremony will be held at Government House in Sydney early April 2012.

For further information please contact Lisa McAuley from the Australian Institute of Export on 02 8243 7400 or lisamcauley@aiex.com.au

For those wanting to learn more, the AIEX’s short courses are still available for registration. Those who enrol before the end of November will receive a $50 Myer voucher. This is the last opportunity to enrol before the Christmas break.

Held at Le Montage in Lilyfield, business owners and guests were treated to a warm evening and a genuine feeling of celebration and collaboration, hosted by the Australian Institute of Export, as the best exporters across a number of categories were recognised by the guest of honour, the Hon. Barry O’Farrell, Premier of New South Wales.

Each category recognised the achievements of exporters from all around the state with everyone from mum’s starting their small businesses at home to nationally recognised herbal supplement providers getting a nod.

The overall winner of the night was Finisar Australia, who were recognised for their hard work by being awarded the Premier’s NSW Exporter of the Year award. Finisar, who also won the Large Advanced Manufacturer award, were recognised for their outstanding achievement manufacturing Wavelength Selective Switches. Dywidag Systems International Pty Ltd were awarded a Highly Commended for the Large Advanced Manufacturer category.

Westend Estate Wines took home the Agribusiness award, with Estate Wine Distributors taking the Highly Commended, while Laservision (recently featured in Dynamic Export) were the winners of the Arts and Entertainment award.

The winner of the NSW Asian Exporter was MSM Milling with a Highly Commended going to GMP Pharmaceuticals but it was the excited team from the Itti Bitti Nappy Co who were presented the Small Business Award, with another Highly Commended going to TTG Transportation Technology.

Other winners include:

Education & Training Award Winner: The International College of Management, Sydney

Highly Commended: TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute

Emerging Exporter Award Winner: Health Projects International

NSW Export Scholarship Winners: Capitol Production and miniOrganics

Information & Communication Technology Award Winner: Atlassian Corporation

Innovation in Export Winner: Servcorp

Highly Commended: EverX

Large Services Award Winner: Blackmores

Minerals & Energy Award Winner: Flip Screen Australia

Regional Exporter Award Winner: QMASTOR Limited

Highly Commended: Banlaw

Small to Medium Manufacturing Winner: Hedweld Group of Companies

Small to Medium Services Winner: Ansarada

NSW Young Exporter Winner: Amjad Khance  and Prithivi Pradeep

NSW Sustainable Exporter Winner: Parnell Pharmaceuticals

Highly Commended: ATRON Enterprises

NSW Western Sydney Exporter Winner: Cordina Chicken Farms

The winners in each category will go on to compete at the national level in the 49^th Australian Export Awards in Brisbane this December.

The 3-day course incorporates all styles of learning. I’m definitely more of a visual, even kinesthetic, learner. I have to see it, feel it, and talk about it before I can grasp the concept. The class utilises presentations, handouts, & various tools to appease all styles.

The instructors are not just educated, they are the experts. AIEx brings in the professionals who do what they are lecturing over on a daily basis. This guarantees that not only are you learning the most relevant information, you are also gaining a host of new contacts to help with your export ventures. These professionals want you to succeed, and they are very gracious to make themselves available once you return to work and begin exporting.

If your business exports in any way, it is imperative to attend this course. This was the most important piece of advice I took away from the course. At the end of the day, your business is responsible for all legal & financial ramifications that arise from exporting. It is imperative to understand the process and be educated, no matter how big of a role you play in the daily export operations. So even if you use others to assist, you need to understand the process.

If you still aren’t convinced to sign up for the course immediately, did I mention you get a free copy of the Export Handbook published by the Institute which covers a very extensive range of exporting information normally valued at $137.50? It is the most comprehensive guide published in the industry. And who could turn down the delicious snacks provided at morning & afternoon tea?

Everyone will walk away from this course feeling like they can conquer Incoterms® 2010, foreign exchange rates, handling the financial aspects of exporting, initiatives to help your business make exporting profitable faster, insurance, customs, and documentation. The export world may appear big and complicated, but once you understand the process, it really is manageable for everyone.

Our recently announced Australian Export Heroes are certainly good examples of people who have taken that challenge and won. On 2 June at Government House in Brisbane the Governor of Queensland Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AC will present Australian Export Heroes Awards to six fine Australians who have worked hard over many years to build their export businesses and “do Australia proud”.

Tasmanian John Muir is an excellent example. John runs Muir Winches, a family business, out of Kingston in Tasmania. Not only does he produce what can only be described as beautifully engineered and manufactured winches for yachts, including the world’s best, he blends this with what his colleagues describe as “relentless perseverance” and “never taking no for an answer”.

Steve Birbeck from WA is another example of somebody who simply never gives up. Steve kicked off his foray into international trade in 1991 when he had the courage to launch the world’s first range of emu oil based products into France. From these small beginnings he built his company, Mount Romance, into a strong exporter of finished cosmetics and a major provider of sandalwood to the world.

In the early 1960s, Jack Hines, well known to Victorians and South Australians alike, joined the family business and got his introduction to trade by becoming the first Australian company to export waste paper for recycling. Not content to stay with waste paper Jack steered his company to become a significant international trader of beef, which became the springboard for diversification into wine and a large range of different food products. Today, his business services clients from Eastern Europe to China and beyond.

Based in Queensland, John Russell is managing director of Russell Mining Equipment. In his nomination he is described as possessing two extremely valuable business talents: “he’s technically savvy and highly entrepreneurial”. John’s vision when he started his business was to halve the time it takes to reline grinding mills, while simultaneously improving safety in what was an extremely dangerous manual task. That vision was met and Russell Mining Equipment has become a major provider to the mining industry across the world.

While in a very different field, Rob Douglas, CEO of Resmed too possesses those unique characteristics of being both technically clever and commercially savvy. A computer scientist and electrical engineer, his skills across a broad range of disciplines have been described as giving “Resmed a huge advantage in international marketing”. The result of course is a well known success story for Australia and a success story in which he has played a pivotal role.

Our final hero or heroes need little introduction: The Wiggles are a household name here, in the US and in many other parts of the world. The Wiggles self-titled first album was released in 1991 and 19 years later and 39 videos/DVD’s releases later, they have been awarded with 17 gold, 12 platinum and 10 multi-platinum awards for sales of 23 million DVDs and 17 million CDs worldwide. But selling DVDs and CDs are not The Wiggles’ only interest. In 2008 they were named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, focusing on numeracy, literacy and the provision of clean water to children.

These very special people not only demonstrate an ability to take on challenges and win against the odds and the best the world can offer, they show us and the world that Australia is much, much more than wheat, wool and minerals. Technically smart, creative and hard working and able to show the world that Australian’s can not only do anything but can do it as well and often better than anybody else. We congratulate our new Australian Export Heroes.

You may wish to follow us on Twitter using the handle @aussieexport

FTAs play an important role in preserving the trade liberalisation process and securing long-term relationships with our economic partners. However, they are often underused by Australian exporters for a number of reasons.

The Australian Institute of Export is currently conducting a research project on this topic and if your business has ever utilised FTAs, you can help us by completing our important short survey.

It will only take a few minutes to complete and will provide us with precious insights on the use of FTAs by Australian businesses.

Take it here.

Without a realistic and detailed marketing plan the opportunity for business success in a new market may be severely hampered.

Costing a marketing plan

The marketing activities that should be included and how much will they cost will be first determined by the product or service itself, the entry strategy selected and the market growth that is planned.

Your marketing plan will also depend on whether the intended customers are retail clients, businesses or government buyers. Certainly the consumer market is the most scattered and the most bombarded by conflicting advertising messages, while business and government buyers tend to be more easily targeted. In new markets it may be about first establishing a brand identity.

With today’s technology there are also inexpensive options such as direct mail to a targeted market segment, focusing on specific activities such as trade fairs, attending large industry conferences or using social media and other on-line media to build your potential client list.

Once you have decided on the best market entry strategy, the marketing cost can be more readily estimated. Take trade shows as an example. As Gemma Hansen of Export Solutions says, “Trade shows are one of the most effective tools for marketing your products internationally, however, they can be costly. Taking account of booth hire, stand costs and travel to the show it could cost you in excess of $20,000 to exhibit. The Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) may assist with some of these costs, providing a rebate of up to 50 percent on your international marketing expenses.”

Many exporters use commercial agents in their target markets, who will charge an agreed commission on sales and may request a contribution towards marketing expenses to build product recognition. Again the costs can be calculated.

What other marketing costs may need to be considered?

• Perhaps you will require intellectual property protection in the target country. For example, registration of a brand name may be necessary.
• In some markets, such as the USA, you will require product liability insurance.
• Perhaps some tweaking of packaging, labelling, use- by dates, colours, designs and inclusion of local language instructions will be needed.

So, having established what needs to be done, and completed a cost estimate, the next step is finding a way to finance your marketing.

It might be time to think about entering the 49th Australian Export Awards.

This very successful program, now in its 49th year, has recognised and rewarded many Australian businesses over that time. Some large companies, some small family run businesses, all with a common desire to find sustainable overseas markets for their products and services.

Why enter you might say?

Well the entry process is FREE, and it represents a good opportunity for a business to take a brief “time out” to review its export strategy, its achievements and its future goals internationally. This is something every business should do at least annually and when combined with an Export Awards entry, kills the proverbial two birds.

It also represents a great opportunity to showcase the business, the industry sector and region where it is located. This is especially important in regional Australia to highlight to others what can be achieved.

Feedback over the years confirms that staff feel motivated to work for awarded enterprises. Having them attend one of the Award celebrations is a great way to say “thanks” for their contribution.

And finally, should the business be successful at State and Territory level, and possibly then at National level, it is a great way to tell the world you are a winner!  Previous winners have spoken of the added value to their business, and the additional leads that come their way. Overseas buyers want to deal with the best in the Industry!

Convinced yet?  So how do you enter?

It’s very straightforward.  Go to the website, choose your State or Territory, and start filling in the form.

Apart from all the benefits above, this is one marketing exercise that is FREE and can really add dollars to your overseas sales results. And with a high AUD, every exporting company needs more overseas sales!

Press reports in the Sydney Morning Herald about Brown Brothers closing down their office in London, Casella Wines profit reportedly dropping by up to 70 percent and it’s not all good news out there for Australian SME business, particularly those who have taken on the challenge of export. The high Aussie dollar is undoubtedly having a significant negative effect on some sectors of Australian business and not only impacting their overseas sales but hitting domestic sales as well.

This week I was speaking to one of my colleagues who produces world’s best practice fittings for the marine industry. After telling me that he has never seen export so bad he went on to say that competition from United States in Australia was intense, to the point that like products are landed in Australia 45 percent cheaper than the local product. On top of that Australian made product is being sourced on the internet ex USA, with no GST, cheaper than the best wholesale price in Australia.

I was recently asked by the press to do a television interview on the impact of the high Aussie dollar on exports. They wanted a five second grab. After talking to them for about 15 minutes the interviewer said, “I didn’t think it was such broad topic, it’s really quite interesting”. Well, it is a broad topic and, while interesting for some it’s simply devastating for others, particularly SME companies who have limited resources, a house and a family.

What concerns me is that over the last 10 years Australia has invested considerable amounts of money developing our export culture, encouraging more companies to “give it a go” and expanding the export horizons of busineses already engaged in international trade. Many of the results have been outstanding; factories have been build, technologies developed and jobs created. Some of these companies today are struggling simply because the dollar, the GFC and cost of doing business is rapidly reducing their ability to be internationally competitive.