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Here’s a selection of the articles I read on bizSugar last week and the thoughts on international business they inspired.

How To Be A Good Product Manager

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Businesses always carefully choose the first product you sell in a new foreign market. Adapting the presentation of the product to different cultures is part of the international marketing process.

The points Jeff Lash make about holding some of the features back and learning more about how your clients like your product are interesting to apply in an international context too.

Do you have a good international product roadmap?

Defeating Procrastination: Become a Finisher

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The business owners I meet often tell me they “want to go international, but…” And the reasons they give me often show procrastination of some sort.

I liked Chris Garrett’s action list because it ends with the notion that you can fail.  With today’s opportunities for international web marketing it is possible to set up international market research and take the first steps to discovering market potentials.

What are you doing to take your business international?

Web Leads – Pounce or Nurture?

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Bill Rice’s question about how to approach web leads got me thinking about what works best for international leads.  I did not do enough research, but my personal style is a mixture.

For international leads, pounce is not the right word.  Action is taken swiftly, but it is not an aggressive sales action. This first step is exploratory. It’s one of getting to know people and adjusting to their preferred speed. And then it usually becomes nurturing.

How do you respond to international web leads?

2010 Rural Small Business Trends

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While reading Becky McCray’s article on American rural trends I also thought of the increased geo marketing opportunities we will have in 2010 as this develops further.  International marketers will also be able to use this for stronger market reach.

Of course there will probably be more opportunities for businesses targeting North American markets.  It will be interesting to watch this impact marketing to other parts of the world too.

Are you interested in international rural marketing?

Digital Marketing Strategy Development: 12 Common Problems

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This article is a good read and can be applied to international web marketing too.  Adam Singer makes some great points.  It’s hard to choose just one point.  But the one that resonated most with me was “living and dying by data”.

There is greater risk in international business because there are more potential mistakes.  And businesses need to do different types of research.  There is a balance to find in collecting data.  Different cultures do things differently.  This means that you may not be able to interpret your data accurately until you get to know the other culture.  And this is a real risk.

What digital marketing problem do you think relates most to international business?

Global VC Blog Directory – Ranked By # of Google Reader Subscribers

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It still amazes me how many requests for simple information needed to build a business.  It is easy to use Google to find whatever you are looking for.

Larry Cheng’s list of global venture capitalist blogs reminded me how easy it is to target international networking.  Blogs are social media platforms.  This means it’s possible to connect with people.  Even if this is only a first step in the process, international business networking has never been so easy.

Do you regularly spend time building an international network for your business?

4 Steps for Effective Online Networking

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Anyone interested in developing their business internationally should regularly spend time networking online to build their international networks.

Alexandra Levit makes 4 points that also apply to international networking.  Of course you need to know when to keep things private to not offend people from different cultures.  But I particularly like the reminder of knowing what you want and what you have to offer. When you add in cross-cultural communication challenges it’s easy to understand how connections can be lost.

How much international networking do you do online?