To reach globally a business must think locally.
Large companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Malboro, Coca-Cola, and more, have the benefit of being dominant players in their industries. With this dominance they have the budget and resources to identify the local aspects when they expand their brand on a global scale.
Your business, however, isn't likely to have multi-billion dollar budgets to open divisions in new countries, hire teams of professionals from the region, and network with other companies which ease the transition to the new marketplace.
But that doesn't mean it's not possible to make a splash.
The key term I would like for you to remember throughout this work is assimilation (the process of changing one's language & culture to resemble another group).
When companies fail to assimilate to the new culture, their efforts to grow globally often backfire, such as some of these blunders rounded up in a post by Geoffrey James:
• Coca-Cola's brand name, when first marketed in China, was sometimes translated as “Bite The Wax Tadpole”.
• Ford blundered when marketing the Pinto in Brazil because the term in Brazilian Portuguese means “tiny male genitals”.
• The American Dairy Association replicated its “Got Milk?” campaign in Spanish-speaking countries where it was translated into “Are You Lactating?”.
This brings us to one of the important elements of extending your brand abroad and that is language.
Though English has become widely-used around the globe (and especially online) it's worth your while to seek quality translation services for any online or offline business assets. The easiest method is to reach out to companies within the area that are experienced in great translation services that also can report if a campaign needs to be tweaked to avoid a language blunder.
Another of these important items for reaching the global marketplace (with the attention to detail to the local marketplace you plan to enter) is the presentation of your goods and services.
A quick showing of this idea of presentation can be seen through how companies change the look & feel of their websites such as from this article by Graham Charlton; most notable when examining the difference that come to mind include:
• Promotional material is tailored to the market based on culture, economics, and needs
• Copy and creative shift depending on location where there may be rivalry
• Translation and a reformatting of what is frequently displayed is shifted due to marketplace demands that may not reflect the home country
The presentation continues to evolve and take shape in the physical side of selling products. In the States we have seen the trend of minimal design on many product boxes whereas in places such as Japan the boxes may be littered with celebrities, cartoon characters, expressions, promotions, and so much more.
A method to allow your business to reach those locals (abroad) is by working with box suppliers to develop and create designs that will fit within that local marketplace. An idea of what is possible with customized packaging can be seen online, where many companies display the different shapes, styles, coloring, and printing options. The Custom Boxes Now blog even has a post entitled "6 Examples of Companies Using Custom Boxes to Reflect Their Products."
The final element (but in no way the only other worth noting) is to understand cultural differences.
We've already talked about the language barrier but what other cultural differences are there to take into consideration when going global?
• Body language, mannerism, and gestures play an important role to set the right tone for doing business with people from the region (it's important to know them so you avoid create offense).
• Conversations are also conducted in a different manner; such example is the direct discussions we may have in the States versus the passive type of conversation you may find in Japan.
• Politics, without a doubt, will come into play when trying to understand cultural differences and in this case it's best to stay neutral on both sides to avoid aggravation or hostility.
All-in-all, it comes back to the term I wanted you to remember assimilation.By doing research about the culture, devoting the resources for services that remove language barriers, learning the cultural differences and customs, and adapting the presentation to the design styles of the region you will be one step closer to global growth.
Written by Jane Brown
Photo credit / INSEAD
