The use of international direct marketing by small businesses in Canada, Mexico, and the United States

Abstract

With the advent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), small businesses in Canada, Mexico, and the United States are in a position to increase their export activities within the emerging North American trading bloc. While it is generally agreed upon that direct marketing makes good sense for small businesses interested in exporting, there remains a paucity of studies addressing this important topic. This article explores and compares the use of international direct marketing by small businesses located in three regions of the NAFTA countries. Our results confirm that small business exporters in all three countries are using international direct marketing, although there are significant differences in the level of their expertise.

Challenges and pitfalls for direct mail across borders: The European example

“…International direct mail is a feasible strategy for catalog sales (9) and for small firms with an international development strategy as well (11). Catalog and direct mail are ranked first and second, respectively, as the best tools for international development (12).…”

Borderless direct marketing? Status quo, trends and outlook

“…Lester (2003a) recommends the parallel use of the internet as a direct marketing and communication tool . In their study, Spiller and Campbell (1994) show that many small enterprises also regard their sales force as a direct marketing medium .…”

“…Other contemporary scientific studies support this . Spiller and Campbell (1994) report that 84% of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in the USA used international direct marketing . These figures were 94% in Canada and 75% in Mexico respectively (based on 180 SMEs) .…”

“…The decision to pursue international direct marketing is often subordinate to the decision on how to canvass the new market, and this in turn depends on a number of factors (Anderson and Coughlan 1987) . However, Spiller and Campbell (1994) show in their study that the decision by a company to export goods and services is usually followed immediately by the launch of an international direct marketing campaign . This section focusses on the pros and cons of developing the market by means of international direct marketing .…”

“…This is due to significantly higher confidence in their own abilities . The high number of small and medium-sized enterprises in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which, according to the study by Spiller and Campbell (1994) referred to in section 3, already use international direct marketing, puts this statement into perspective . International direct marketing generally seems to be regarded as a popular tool for opening up and maintaining international markets, irrespective of company size or sector .…”