01.16.09
Welcome to the Glocal Consulting blog!
Thank you for checking out Glocal Consulting’s blog!
The blog will cover marketing and PR concepts, conducting business in global markets, local events (Atlanta, GA and Southeastern US), trips on behalf of clients, as well as small business issues. For the most part, it will be a monthly blog, but depending on how busy Glocal is, there may be increased posts.
Please feel free to look around and discuss what you see!
11.10.09
Finding Global Customers
The US population is approaching 300 million people. In contrast, the world population is 6 billion. Therefore, 96 percent of the world lives outside of the United States. Yet, it is still difficult with the world becoming smaller everyday for companies to grasp the sheer magnitude of finding global customers. US companies are s-l-o-w-l-y warming up to the fact their customer base can be beyond domestic borders.
As an export/global marketing consulant, I understand getting started is quite overwhelming. There is so much information to digest that one would want to give up after reading the second page. But, it doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips to get you started on the right track to finding global customers and successfully making sales. As a rule of thumb, it will take one to two years from the time you start this endeavor until the time you actually make a sale. Patience is key. Keep in mind, this list is not exhaustive nor are the steps in the exact order.
- Look for similarities
Language and culture are two that stand out the most. It is easier to get your product into a foreign market when your target audience is already familiar with it or can easily understand its attributes. Not to mention, you save money when only slight modifications (i.e. converting to metrics) need to be made to marketing materials and labels vs. translation costs and printing new materials.
If there are other countries on the US dollar (El Salvador and Panama are two that are close to home) that you think could be potential markets, look at those, too. You may have to translate materials but you don’t have to worry about currency exchange rates.
- Economics
Look into markets that have similar income levels to match your product. Keep in mind that pricing product should not include all of your domestic costs, only production, marketing and shipping the product globally.
Stable economies are necessary as well. Most companies do not think about this because the US has a stable government, whether it changes every two to four years. There are no threats of political uprisings, coup d’etats, port blockades, national strikes or nationalizing industries (well, the recent banking and auto industries in the US are the exception).
- Market Access
Once you pinpoint and narrow down some global markets, ask the next question, “does your product have market access?” If not, what is it going to take to get it? If you belong to a national trade association that has the ear of the US government, seek their guidance. They can tell you if market access of your product is a priority in gaining market access to certain countries.
On the flip side, is your product even allowed to be sold on the global market? Certain types of intellectual property, firearms/weapons, drugs and chemicals are not allowed to be transfered to other countries by the US. In some cases, export licenses must be issued by the US government.
- Market Visits
Visiting and doing research in your target markets is not only necessary but it shows your committment to servicing it. It also gives you firsthand knowledge of the customer base, culture, wants/needs, distribution system, etc.
If you have a US-based company, the US government is at your disposal. The USDA has the Foreign Agricultural Service based all over the world ready to assist US ag exporters with finding customers and locating trade shows, etc. The US Department of Commerce also assists American businesses who are non-agricultural based. You should seek the assistance of your state department of agriculture or economic development first. They can assist you with contacting US government officials. All of this is either free or of relatively no cost to your business.
Sending product overseas is becoming easier every day. Now that I have given you some resources, you’ll need to build your export team…
08.31.09
Unresponsive Clients, Drawing the Line
As a marketing and PR professional who constantly strives to give clients the service they demand and pay for, I can only do so much. When the client is unresponsive to repeated requests for feedback, it begins to put a strain on the working relationship. I understand clients are busy, but when they are paying for service, they need to understand they are just as responsible for their success as I am and my time is just as valuable.
We all have our days planned out, with some flexibility to respond to unforeseen emergencies. But, when a client repeatedly ignores requests for feedback on a project and FINALLY gets back to you after weeks it was first requested, where do the priorities lie when you’ve moved on with events for other clients?
The contract spells out your company’s responsibilities to clients. Clients should also have their responsibilities to your firm spelled out and signed. Here are a few ideas:
- Establish a response time for both parties. Phone calls and e-mails should be returned within, say 24 hours, except for emergencies, then say, 3 hours.
- Comments for project deliverables should also have deadline dates. Give enough time for both parties to respond with questions, meetings if necessary, and approvals.
- Discuss if there is a “go to” person if the main contact is out of touch (vacation, etc).
- Let the client know the consequences of non-responsiveness (delayed project deliverables, product launches, miscommunication, etc).
- Add an opt-out clause in the contract…if the client is unresponsive to repeated requests, why would you want to keep working with them?
Any other suggestions? I would love to hear them!
08.04.09
No pay, No play
I am well aware we are in a recession. I know that businesses are hurting. But why do people think they can get something for free, particularly from small businesses? When starting a new business and writing a plan, why are people not including marketing and PR in their budgets?
I am learning the ins and outs of entrepreneurship everyday. I love it but it also comes with its drawbacks. I was speaking to a friend the other day. She has numerous people coming up to her saying, “I need marketing and PR but I don’t have any money to pay. Can you help?” Her response, “Do you give away your products for free? No, then why should I?”
It’s difficult to get it through the heads of business owners that marketing and PR budgets are necessary, just as much as sales. Marketing and PR create the awareness and “buzz” for the product…tells the story. But more and more business owners continue to cut marketing and PR out of their budgets to save money and EXPECT that some struggling marketing and PR firm will pick it up because there is an opportunity for work.
My advice: Tell them to knock on someone else’s door. There is no reason for you to give your services away, just as they would not give their products away. Your time and skills are valuable. Should you decided to take on the client pro bono or at a reduced rate, those clients usually become the most demanding and time consuming. They do not appreciate your efforts. They are also the most toxic.
Develop the mantra of “No pay, No play” and believe your time and skills are valuable. Drop the clients that are consuming most of your time and energy. This will open up space for the great client to come knocking on your door, who knows the value of marketing and PR, and will pay on time.
A few other tips:
- Make sure you have a written, signed contract before beginning work. It should state the scope of work, description of duties, results expected, timelines, payment and payment schedule.
- Know who you are reporting to. If that person cannot be reached, you should have a back-up contact. This helps when you send in reports, to ensure you are abiding by contractual arrangements to get everything in on time.
- If something is beyond your scope of work, discuss if you can do the task. If so, write out the project with descriptions, amount of time it will take and any additional fees. Have that signed and dated.
Everything needs to be clear, concise, signed and dated. If they can’t agree to do that before work starts, don’t agree to starting work. No pay, No play!
07.12.09
Time Management in Marketing & PR
“I need more time”. “There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get this done”. “I’ll be burning the midnight oil”. How many times have you heard any of these from a co-worker or said them yourself? Marketing and PR projects can be just as much of a time crunch as in any other industry. With that said, it’s important for clients to understand project timelines/deadlines so the work can be completed on time and efficiently.
1. Make a plan
You have a project, now make a plan as to how it will be implemented. Who will be working on the project? What information is needed to get it done? When is it due? Who is in charge of putting the project together for delivery?
2. Implementation
Now that you have your plan together, with tasks assigned, it’s time to implement. Have regular meetings with team members to make sure everyone is on track and there are no problems. Handle any problems that arise immediately. If someone is unable to obtain a key piece of information, brainstorm, reach out to others, if necessary.
When working on the project timelines, build in time for reviewing and making changes to the project (brochures, scripts, ads, etc).
3. Delivery
When delivering the project, have someone with fresh eyes review the project. Make changes where necessary to ensure a valuable product is delivered.
4. Thank the team
Don’t forget to always thank your team members for their important contributions. If something went awry, consider it a learning experience and don’t make the same mistake next time.
5. Review
Review what went right and wrong on the project. Take team members’ input seriously. If necessary, do a case study and distribute it throughout the company. Everyone will appreciate knowing how to do things more efficiently.
These are just some of the things that can be done to ensure your project stays on task and on time. Any other suggestions?
07.02.09
No Marketing and PR plan? Get one. ASAP.
Marketing and PR, two things that are definitely needed in any business plan. The problem is businesses see marketing and PR as revenue depleters instead of generators. A perfect example is marketing and PR people being laid off in times of economic recession, such as the one we are currently in (I have experience with being laid off). When you slash marketing and PR budgets, how are the consumers are going to know about your product, if you are still in business or where will the “buzz” come from? Plans and people are needed for implementation.
I was talking to a guy the other day about his marketing and PR plans. His basic response was, “I throw spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks”. So far, it’s working for him. But how much more effort is he really having to put into things when he and his staff are spread everywhere? This is where plans come into play.
The plan, whether for marketing or PR, doesn’t have to be iron clad. It should allow for some flexibility when unexpected opportunities crop up. It should serve as a roadmap for where your company wants to be and how it wants to be seen in a year, three years, five years. So, what are the important things you need in a marketing and PR plan?
The main components of the plans should include (feel free to add sub-chapters in each category):
- Situation analysis (internal and external factors)
- Target audience (markets, publications, etc)
- Goals
- SWOT Analysis (marketing only)
- Strategies & Tactics
- Budget
- Measured results
As stated earlier, the benefit of these plans are they serve as a roadmap for company direction. Another benefit is your marketing and PR people really understand the company and products offered when they dive in and write the plans. The plans bring order to chaos.
You may be a start-up or established business and do not see marketing or PR plans as important as getting products sold. But if you do all the market research on your competition and set sales goals, why not take another few days on creating marketing and PR plans? It will make all the difference in ensuring there are synergies between the three.
And if you don’t have the time or resources to devote to a full-time marketing or PR associate, consider outsourcing. I’m available!
05.23.09
Global investments in wine increasing
I love wine. Even with as many headaches it may give me, I can’t help it. I’m still weeding out the “ones that cause headaches” with the wines that are “safe”. The New World wines, like California and Australia are on the “headache” list, though I love them. So, when I read a Tweet from the NY Times Dining this morning on investing in wine, it really caught my attention.
The article “Investing in Wine: Now May Be the Time” was pretty interesting. Not only did I learn that wine asset management is growing as it can now be traded as a commodity like pork bellies (or they are working towards it), but it also got me wondering…has there been a wine “bubble” or is the market just correcting itself?
Basically, wine is now like real estate. The prices of wine have decreased 20 to 40 percent on most vintages. What I found even more interesting correlates to my line of work in global marketing, emerging market populations in China, Brazil and Russia are starting to invest in wine on the open market. I know that China and Brazil produce their own wines (not sure about Russia). With the rise in incomes and lower prices, there has been an increase in investment, whether it be in real estate, wine or anything else (the capitalist way of supply and demand).
This is particularly true for my client, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), now marketing specialty cheese globally. With the emerging markets the CMAB is currently targeting (China, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam), the rise in income brings demand of higher quality food and other products. Wine sales are also up in those countries.
Point being that we need to look outside the US, where 96 percent of the world’s population lives, in order to help pull us out of this global recession, whether they are investing in wine, pork bellies, real estate or toothbrushes. Believe it or not, the recession has not hit some countries as hard as others.
With global investments of wine increasing, this is very good news for the California cheese and wine industries!
04.26.09
Not everything goes smoothly sometimes…
Greetings from Vietnam!
For almost four months, I have been working on behalf of my client, the California Milk Advisory Board, to plan receptions and culinary training seminars in 5 Asian cities – Shanghai, Beijing, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Jakarta (photos/info to be posted soon). The Shanghai, Beijing and Manila activities occurred in March, while Saigon and Jakarta are in April. Saigon was last week to be exact.
In preparation for the activity in Saigon, I made a visit here before heading to Shanghai last month. I met with the Chamber of Commerce who were on the ground helping me plan the activities by inviting guests, getting in touch with the media, language translation, etc. I also met with the hotel to go through the reception plans, as well as what we needed for cooking demonstrations for the next day. It was all spelled out in the contract, “i’s were dotted, the “t”s were crossed. Somewhere between my visit and arriving back in Saigon, something went wrong…
The hotel representative who spoke better English than I left to get married. While I’m sure she tried (ok, I hope) to do her best in turning over my file/expectations, upon arrival, nothing went right. The deck ovens we needed were really not available in the first place…the entire reason why I chose the hotel ( I requested to do the training at a culinary school, but was told it was too far away–not sure if that’s correct but I have the USDA on it). All of our expectations, wishes, etc, were negated once the file was handed over to another banquet person. Had I known the hotel rep was leaving, I would have requested her replacement be at the meeting.
The lessons:
- Culture…”Yes” does not actually mean yes
- Communication…Everything can get lost in translation
- Flexibility…It’s a given that one needs to be flexible when working in international trade, I think this time took it to the limit.
- Patience…I have even more after this visit.
The resolution:
I had a meeting with the banquet manager and calmly let her know my dissatisfaction. She agreed that this was a learning lesson in that when dealing with Western cultures, don’t tell me yes when you can’t do it, just to get the business (did I mention this is a French owned/operated hotel?). Needless to say, I was not charged for a half day’s room rental.
As Westerners, we need to learn the culture/ways of business globally. But, when a hotel promises services it cannot deliver, it doesn’t matter what hemisphere one is from when their expectations are not met. One party is not going to be satisfied. During my meeting with the hotel rep, I also informed her of the inability to present a half day’s training to our target audience gave them the impression of inadequacy and totally ruined my relationship with the hotel. I would not be using/staying there when I return, nor will I recommend the hotel to the rest of my US counterparts who will be conducting activities in the city. The look on her face said it all…she understood what I was saying.
Let’s just hope everything goes smoothly in Jakarta. So far, my chef is delayed coming in from Saigon, the cheese that was shipped from the US hasn’t been released from customs and we HOPE it has been refrigerated since its arrival. The good news…I made it through customs with the cheese I had to bring for the chef…
03.10.09
US Commercial Real Estate…a bargain for global investors
As the US real estate market continues to find the floor in terms of prices, two Atlanta lawyers are looking around the world to find investors.
Abe Schear and Philip Skinner, partners at Atlanta’s Arnall Golden Gregory, note global buyers seek long-term investment properties. In addition to falling real estate prices in the US, currency valuations make purchases in the US extremely attractive. For more, see the interview.
