Partner Program: Government agencies collaborate with Europe’s leading B2B-platform provider Visable in promoting SME’s exports

Many government agencies are focused on helping small and medium-sized enterprises stimulate export. While they do this by subsidising trade show appearances and promotional activities, Visable supports businesses’ sales efforts digitally: A listing on its leading B2B platforms EUROPAGES and wlw (“Wer liefert was”) helps companies connect with purchasers around the globe. In addition, Visable offers a range of online marketing services geared towards maximising companies’ visibility on the web. These digital options are becoming more and more important, since conventional means of boosting sales, such as trade shows, expos and other industry events, are both cost prohibitive and, given the cancellations due to COVID-19, increasingly limited.

Most of the SMEs in question do not have designated digital marketing teams and due to a lack of resources and guidance often make poor investment decisions during their first forays into the digital world. “However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that most industrial companies are strongly dependent on using digital tools to keep their supply chains stable – without a well-thought-out digital strategy, many SMEs are at risk of not surviving the pandemic”, Tarik Zahzah, Head of Global Partnerships, summarises the current challenges SMEs are facing. “In order to further develop the digital prowess of B2B focused companies, Visable offers an education program tailored to each country and the requirements of their local SMEs.”

In several sessions, this “accelerator” bootcamp provides them with the know-how needed to increase their digital presence and to maximise their success on international markets. Zahzah explains: “Following Visable’s collaboration with the Moscow Export Centre, more than 20 Russian companies have joined the B2B digital marketing training program – the Visable Accelerator – and another 20 are on their way.”