Clip Ltd
Clip Ltd is an International exhibition and display company based in Bristol. Joanne Fern, Export Sales Manager, explains how languages are vital to their export strategy:
Culture plays a part in colour and design preferences
'We have been at the forefront of the European exhibition and display industry for over 20 years and supply products and services all over the world. We have a comprehensive range of products to meet all requirements from banner systems and graphics to fully serviced exhibition stands. With a team of 17 regionally based sales personnel, 3 wholly owned subsidiaries in France, Germany and Belgium and 20 overseas distributors, we are ideally placed to service exhibition requirements worldwide.
'As an international company, it is important to ensure that we are able to fully support all our overseas customers and to appreciate the cultural differences. These vary from preferences in colour and design to business etiquette. We therefore recruit qualified personnel, usually language graduates who have experience of living and working overseas. This coupled with working with overseas distributors and visiting them in their marketplace enables us to further enhance our awareness of their culture, how they work and how business differs from country to country. We find that this 'hands on' approach is essential in building and maintaining relationships and as a result we are able to maximise our sales turnover in these markets.
'Internal language skills are instrumental in enabling us to communicate with our overseas distributors both when they visit us here for training and when we visit them.
'Regular contact together with advice and support by phone enables us to establish strong working relationships, which have contributed to the profitability of our company.
'Language skills within our business are therefore essential, playing a crucial role in developing and maintaining our overseas relationships.'
Visit the Clip Ltd website at www.clipdisplay.com
