Training Doctors across Borders: Atlanta Company Goes Global with BuyUSA.com

by Erica Guries
U.S. Commercial Service

Even after the collapse of the dotcoms, small companies are still turning to the Internet for their business needs. With millions of potential customers literally a click away, it is increasingly important for small businesses to get connected. Atlanta company Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine (A.D.A.M.) did just that with the help of BuyUSA.com.

A.D.A.M. publishes interactive health and medical information for health care organizations, medical professionals, consumers, and students. A.D.A.M.’s products, which include an extensive Web-based medical encyclopedia covering 3,500 diseases and conditions, provide unique “visual learning” experiences. Through the use of graphics, 3-D image models, virtual tours of the human body, and broadcast-quality animation combined with physician-reviewed text, users get a comprehensive look at health care information in an easy-to-understand format, says Education Products Sales Manager Carlos Tenorio.

While the market for A.D.A.M.’s educational products is strong worldwide, the company did not begin to focus on international sales until last year. In April 2001, Trade Specialist Darrel Ching of the Atlanta U.S. Export Assistance Center introduced A.D.A.M. to BuyUSA.com, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s on-line marketplace. Shortly thereafter, A.D.A.M. decided to subscribe to BuyUSA.com. “In less than one year, our international exposure has increased without the added expense of traveling to markets around the world,” says Tenorio.

The Atlanta U.S. Export Assistance Center is part of the worldwide network of the U.S. Commercial Service, a Commerce Department agency that helps small and medium-sized U.S. companies make international sales.

BuyUSA.com is a combination of new on-line and traditional off-line services, provided by the Department of Commerce. The site brings U.S. companies together with international companies outside the United States.

Using BuyUSA.com, A.D.A.M. has contacted more than 300 prospects, which have led to more than 15 demonstrations. A.D.A.M. has completed sales of its interactive health and medical information software to Singapore, Switzerland, and Malaysia, while also securing representation in Spain, as well as signing a distributor in Taiwan.

BuyUSA.com provides companies with a variety of services and benefits. BuyUSA.com subscribers have access to Webcasts, tradeshow information, up-to-date-market research, and a database of over 20,000 agents, distributors, and qualified buyers located in 90 countries around the world.

“We have been very happy with BuyUSA.com,” says Tenorio. “It has definitely met our expectations, and we look forward to continued success with BuyUSA.com.”

Darrel Ching of the Atlanta U.S. Export Assistance Center, with Carlos Tenorio of A.D.A.M.

Photo courtesy of Sue Mabry, A.D.A.M.