Trusty-Step International - a manufacturer of slip-resistant floor and bathtub products based in Lynn, Mass. - has increased its export sales thanks to a diligent entrepreneurial spirit and participation in Commercial News USA, the official U.S. Department of Commerce magazine.
     Designed to help American companies sell to prospective buyers outside the United States, the catalog-style publication reaches more than 400,000 readers worldwide with individual company product photos and descriptions. In 2003, the Commerce Department found that more than 850 success stories, $109 million in export sales, and hundreds of business relationships resulted from advertising in the magazine.
     For nearly a dozen years, Trusty-Step has used advertisements in Commercial News USA as a unique conduit for reaching customers abroad. The magazine has helped guide customers to the Trusty-Step Web site, said Stan Handman, owner and president, and boost its percentage of international sales.
     Now, with the relaunch of the magazine set for September, Trusty-Step is looking to benefit even more from the valuable export resource. "If you want to advertise internationally, this is the only option," Handman said. "There aren't any other magazines for this type of advertising."
     Trusty Step is just one of the many Bay State companies to enjoy the fruits of having advertised in Commercial News USA. According to James Cox, director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Boston, more and more Massachusetts companies are looking to diversify their portfolios by making new sales abroad in countries such as Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Malaysia and others.
     Last year, the Export Assistance Center in Boston facilitated more than $6.3 million in exports from the state.
     "Small and medium-sized businesses can benefit tremendously from a presence in the magazine," said Cox. "Commercial News USA is distributed by trade specialists whose primary goal is to match American exporters with prospective customers outside the United States."
     The magazine is distributed by U.S. Commercial Service officials at embassies and consulates in 145 countries directly to overseas buyers, representatives, distributors, government sourcing and purchasing agencies, government officials and potential joint-venture partners. The result? Hundreds of export successes and agent/distributor agreements, and thousands of trade leads generated each year from exposure that U.S. companies receive as a result of advertising in the magazine.
     "Ninety-five percent of the world's consumers live outside the United States; the economy is growing; and exports are up," said Rhonda Keenum, Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and Director General of the U.S. Commercial Service. "No other magazine in the world provides U.S. companies with the ability to promote their products and services to prescreened foreign buyers in such a cost-effective manner."
     In addition to worldwide exposure, Commercial News USA also offers the potential for significant return on investment. Last year, the average value for each deal that resulted from advertising in Commercial News USA exceeded $120,000.

New and Improved
     Now, after a one-year hiatus, Commercial News USA is being completely redesigned and enhanced by a new publisher to make it an even more effective vehicle for promoting American-made products and services to prospective buyers and partners outside the United States.      A new edition of the magazine will be published in September under a public-private sector initiative between the U.S. Commerce Department and ThinkGlobal Inc., publisher of the ThinkGlobal Massachusetts International Trade Newsfolio.
     "We have completely redesigned the magazine to make it more user friendly for foreign buyers around the world," said Gregory Sandler, publisher of Commercial News USA. "Moreover, we plan to add special sections to boost visibility for specific industries and regions. We also are developing editorial content such as profiles of successful U.S. exporters and their buying partners."
     Plans for the Commercial News Web site include a fully automated insertion order and an online version of the magazine with the option for translation into a dozen different languages.

Companies interested in receiving more information about advertising in the September issue of Commercial News USA should call 1-800-581-8533 or visit the magazine's Web site at www.export.gov/cnusa