State Partner Spotlight - Montana Department of Commerce
Imagine you’re a small Montana business with 20 employees, and you are getting requests and website hits from all over the world, but you haven’t yet exported. Where “on earth” do you get started? Do you rely on emailing back the international people who contact you? Journal articles? Your gut? Can you find the time and the resources to come up with reliable data? Wouldn’t it be better to be strategic about which countries are the best fit for your products using a wealth of data and information from multiple sources, distill that down into an easy-to-understand list of your top markets? The Montana Department of Commerce (DOC) had been looking for a proactive, scientific approach to international market research for several years. They tried creating their own process, but a small staff and limited resources and databases greatly restricted the number of clients they could serve in a year. After attending a webinar on RAISE Research, at the suggestion of US Commercial Service / Montana Office Director Carey Hester, the Montana DOC found a new way to partner with their local CS office and a creative way to help companies.
The Montana Department of Commerce’s ExportMontana team is tasked with helping Montana exporters to get started exporting, expand into new markets, and increase sales to current markets. They have heavily incorporated the SBA-funded STEP grant into their processes, most recently receiving SBA funding of $525,000 (13th highest STEP award in the nation). The STEP grant helps Montana exporters exhibit at international trade shows, participate in foreign trade missions, utilize US Commercial Service market research and marketing activities, develop international marketing tools such as website and digital ads, and perform international compliance testing and intellectual property protection. It was also used to help six Montana companies sign up for RAISE Research and three companies sign up for a Website Globalization Review. Montana companies are eligible for a 75% reimbursement of RAISE Research, as well as any US Commercial Service program. This incentivizes exporters to use data and in-country resources to choose the right market and to identify the right buyer.
“The main benefit of RAISE Research to Montana companies is the fact that the exporter doesn’t have to question any more if they’re going after the right market. They don’t have to wonder if there are markets out there demanding their product but that they aren’t reaching,” says Angelyn DeYoung, International Trade Manager with the Montana DOC. One company estimates that they will increase sales by over $400,000 and add eight employees due to the surge in demand after using RAISE Research.