Interview with business consultant and sales trainer Markus Milz, keynote speaker at the Foreign Trade Day (AWT) on March 24th in Jena.
Mr. Milz, you are a keynote speaker at our Foreign Trade Day, where we want to give our Thuringian SMEs ideas on how they can better position themselves in international business…
Markus Milz: My core competence lies in providing support in sales, marketing, and strategy, especially for medium-sized businesses. The three essential tasks of a company are delivering performance, securing performance, and marketing performance – and I am very happy to provide valuable support for the latter.
The world is changing rapidly, and given the turbulent developments in geopolitics and the global economy, the challenges for medium-sized businesses are increasing rapidly. Are company leaders prepared for this?
When I give presentations to representatives of medium-sized businesses, I often ask the audience: "Who among you believes that our world has changed more in the past six years than in the previous twenty?" – and then a great many hands shoot up. But when I then ask whether companies are taking this into account with new strategies, new skills, new organizational structures, I often see concerned faces. And indeed: When I look at the organizational charts of companies from 20 years ago and today, I see shockingly little change. Outside, change is raging, but inside it's business as usual – that can't lead to success. At the AWT (Academy for Business and Technology), I want to give Thuringian companies ideas on how they can tackle today's challenges even more effectively.
What are the key challenges for medium-sized businesses in times like these? Where are the "treasures" that can be unlocked to improve their business?
It's not just the pandemic that has forced us all into digitalization; companies today generally possess an incredible wealth of digital tools that they should be utilizing far more effectively. Many are still stuck in outdated structures when it comes to marketing and sales, perhaps using only four or five channels to reach customers—brochures, websites, trade show appearances. But I estimate there are now over a hundred channels available! Key terms here are AI, social selling, intelligent aggregation of data and information, and corporate influencer marketing.
What additional tools are available to support marketing?
Let's take the issue of language barriers in international business: Previously, to work in the Vietnamese market, for example, I needed employees who spoke Vietnamese. Today, thanks to digitalization and language software, I can reach people in Vietnam much more easily. Or consider networking: With AI and intelligent IT agents, I can now initiate networking requests, schedule appointments, quickly Contact international partners, and build connections that were previously inaccessible! Furthermore, there are now many opportunities to utilize the vast amount of data available. Many speak negatively about "data deluge" and "data protection," but I speak positively of a "data treasure" at our disposal.
Following your explanations, one gets the impression that the challenges represent less of a problem and more of an opportunity.
Absolutely! When companies powerfully utilize the many opportunities available today, adapt their organizational structure accordingly, bring the necessary skills into the company, and employ motivated people, then the foundation for sustainable entrepreneurial success in markets worldwide is laid. That's what I want to convey at the AWT, to provide inspiration and encouragement – I'm looking forward to the event!
By the way: Registrations for the 18th Thuringian Foreign Trade Day in Jena are still possible via the AWT website until March 17th. In this context, we would particularly like to draw your attention to the remaining individual appointments with country experts, which you can also find there AWT page can reserve.
