Description
It amazes me that companies of all sizes are competing globally today. Amongst our clients are $10 million software companies forming channel partnerships in India, $100 million manufacturers with specific marketing plans for seven different European countries, and another whose president wrote a book on how China is reshaping global business realities.
Copyright 2010 Schermer Kuehl
IDENTIFYING AND OVERCOMING THE
CHALLENGES OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Chris Schermer, Schermer Kuehl
It amazes me that companies of all sizes are competing globally today. Amongst our clients are $10 million
software companies forming channel partnerships in India, $100 million manufacturers with specific
marketing plans for seven different European countries, and another whose president wrote a book on
how China is reshaping global business realities.
It’s no longer just the big conglomerates that are multi-national; it’s you too. As a marketer, you have
access to the same Internet, the same media, and the same prospects as they do. But do you have
access to all of the same technology, people and resources? Doubtful. That’s what our B2B Marketing
Roundtable participants discussed in January, and what you’re tackling today. This article will share some
of the key issues and takeaways of senior marketing professionals at local B2B technology companies.
After synthesizing the discussion and comments from the Roundtable, I saw a trend emerge. All of the
issues could be summarized as a struggle between Corporate Control and In-Country Implementation.
This is akin to the ongoing struggle between Marketers in their “ivory tower” and Sales people “down in the
trenches”; the classic struggle of Strategy vs. Execution.
In essence, the fundamental issue you face is trying to be relevant in a world that has different values in
different places. How do you stay relevant and control your brand at the same time? If you favor relevancy
over control, you’re allowing your international brand to grow without control. If you try to control your
brand so much that it stifles your in-country sales/marketing organization, you aren’t going to gain much
traction.
The truth? You’ve got to do both. You’ve got to have control, but let the horses run a little. You’ve got to
make your brand stand for something, but know what is relevant locally and promote it. You’ve got to let
your partners take control on the ground as you set strategies from afar. That’s the only way you’re going
to win this battle. Take a look at the core international marketing issues below and see if you can frame
your challenges into one or more of these categories. There are no pat answers, but understanding the
issues may help you discover and direct the appropriate brand and marketing strategies. Good luck!
Corporate Control Vs. In-country Implementation
Below are four examples of the core international marketing issue – corporate control vs. in-country
implementation.
Brand Vs. Point Solution
Issue:
How do you create a consistent brand that provides awareness and future value, while promoting
appropriate solutions at the regional / market level?
Resolution:
This is a core issue for a marketing group: achieving the balance between supporting international
business goals and sales objectives.
Companies with multiple products or solutions may have a stronger brand portfolio, but are often at a
disadvantage globally because they may be competing against a strong local competitor that is offering
only a point solution. They can go for the sale while your organization tries to create a brand that makes
end-users pull through, which is often a time- and resource-consuming endeavor. Unless you have the
Copyright 2010 Schermer Kuehl
budget and the ability to be patient and diligent with your awareness campaigns and brand building, these
competitive point solutions are going to eat you up when it comes to the point of sale.
A brand’s objective is to build trust, to stand for an expected experience. That is what you should strive to
provide to your global counterparts. Make it easier for them to get an appointment, make it so that their
prospects have heard of the company they represent, make it so that their product/offer looks legitimate.
Then let them sell.
Consistency Vs. Relevancy
Issue:
All participants noted this as one of their key problems; maintaining consistency of brand and marketing
messaging while remaining relevant to the local prospect.
Resolution:
Publish brand standards and guidelines that ensure consistency of identity, leaving room for versioning
and promotion relevant to the local market needs.
Create a messaging platform that identifies value propositions and key messages for specific market and
product/point solutions.
Focus Upstream message on business benefits that are more brand-oriented.
Focus Midstream message on operational advantages that speak to the value proposition of specific point
solutions, but support the brand promise of Upstream message.
Centralized Marketing and Decision Making Vs. Decentralized Marketing
and Decision Making
Issue:
International sales offices tend to think corporate marketing gets in the way, making obstacles that actually
make selling harder.
Resolution:
Resist the urge to wrestle all control and budget from your local counterparts, leaving them completely out
of the loop. Their input is essential to their buy-in and your success. So, solicit regional input before
creating marketing plans to get their ideas of how to support marketing/sales goals.
Create marketing programs next, tying to business objectives. Establish monthly conference calls and
quarterly/biannual meetings with international counterparts to plan and review.
Executive sponsorship is vital to make it all happen. Senior leadership has to be the bridge between Sales
and Marketing, and between the brand and promotional efforts of company.
Infrastructure Vs. Channel
Issue:
Should you try to establish a marketing organization in-country, or rely on channel partners to help you
establish your brand and spread your messages?
In addition, where do you spend your marketing dollars: in end-user-focused awareness building efforts or
channel-focused sales building efforts. This can lead to “fragmentation” of your budget, which occurs when
marketing efforts are spread thinly. This could be a major factor for slow progress of growth goals.
Copyright 2010 Schermer Kuehl
Resolution:
For most small- to mid-sized B2B companies, establishing an in-country marketing department or
organization is not feasible, unless it’s through an acquired company with an established department.
Therefore, a local sales office or representative often substitutes as your marketing resource. This is
adequate for testing messages and translations, or assisting you in finding local media resources.
But be wary of their understanding or support of pure business and marketing objectives. They are thinking
about sales first, their customers second and maybe the company’s marketing and brand objectives as a
distant third. And don’t take their “word” as research. They are one perspective, often closer to the truth
than you, but still just an opinion and no substitute for research.
Other organizations have established a channel partner or reseller in-country. In this case, a manufacturer
controls the brand-building portion of the budget, and establishes a co-op marketing fund to be spent on
sales-building initiatives at the discretion of the partner.
For these relationships, it is important to invest in a solid brand identity program that partners can draw
from as a basis for their own efforts, i.e. PowerPoints, trade show graphics, ad and collateral templates.
Add a partner portal for communicating programs and centralizing marketing resources. Promote your
programs to partners like they are a primary target audience.
Chris Schermer is President at Schermer Kuehl, a marketing communications agency specializing in Driving Brand Demand for
business-to-business companies. Contact him at [email protected].
doc_631764664.pdf
It amazes me that companies of all sizes are competing globally today. Amongst our clients are $10 million software companies forming channel partnerships in India, $100 million manufacturers with specific marketing plans for seven different European countries, and another whose president wrote a book on how China is reshaping global business realities.
Copyright 2010 Schermer Kuehl
IDENTIFYING AND OVERCOMING THE
CHALLENGES OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Chris Schermer, Schermer Kuehl
It amazes me that companies of all sizes are competing globally today. Amongst our clients are $10 million
software companies forming channel partnerships in India, $100 million manufacturers with specific
marketing plans for seven different European countries, and another whose president wrote a book on
how China is reshaping global business realities.
It’s no longer just the big conglomerates that are multi-national; it’s you too. As a marketer, you have
access to the same Internet, the same media, and the same prospects as they do. But do you have
access to all of the same technology, people and resources? Doubtful. That’s what our B2B Marketing
Roundtable participants discussed in January, and what you’re tackling today. This article will share some
of the key issues and takeaways of senior marketing professionals at local B2B technology companies.
After synthesizing the discussion and comments from the Roundtable, I saw a trend emerge. All of the
issues could be summarized as a struggle between Corporate Control and In-Country Implementation.
This is akin to the ongoing struggle between Marketers in their “ivory tower” and Sales people “down in the
trenches”; the classic struggle of Strategy vs. Execution.
In essence, the fundamental issue you face is trying to be relevant in a world that has different values in
different places. How do you stay relevant and control your brand at the same time? If you favor relevancy
over control, you’re allowing your international brand to grow without control. If you try to control your
brand so much that it stifles your in-country sales/marketing organization, you aren’t going to gain much
traction.
The truth? You’ve got to do both. You’ve got to have control, but let the horses run a little. You’ve got to
make your brand stand for something, but know what is relevant locally and promote it. You’ve got to let
your partners take control on the ground as you set strategies from afar. That’s the only way you’re going
to win this battle. Take a look at the core international marketing issues below and see if you can frame
your challenges into one or more of these categories. There are no pat answers, but understanding the
issues may help you discover and direct the appropriate brand and marketing strategies. Good luck!
Corporate Control Vs. In-country Implementation
Below are four examples of the core international marketing issue – corporate control vs. in-country
implementation.
Brand Vs. Point Solution
Issue:
How do you create a consistent brand that provides awareness and future value, while promoting
appropriate solutions at the regional / market level?
Resolution:
This is a core issue for a marketing group: achieving the balance between supporting international
business goals and sales objectives.
Companies with multiple products or solutions may have a stronger brand portfolio, but are often at a
disadvantage globally because they may be competing against a strong local competitor that is offering
only a point solution. They can go for the sale while your organization tries to create a brand that makes
end-users pull through, which is often a time- and resource-consuming endeavor. Unless you have the
Copyright 2010 Schermer Kuehl
budget and the ability to be patient and diligent with your awareness campaigns and brand building, these
competitive point solutions are going to eat you up when it comes to the point of sale.
A brand’s objective is to build trust, to stand for an expected experience. That is what you should strive to
provide to your global counterparts. Make it easier for them to get an appointment, make it so that their
prospects have heard of the company they represent, make it so that their product/offer looks legitimate.
Then let them sell.
Consistency Vs. Relevancy
Issue:
All participants noted this as one of their key problems; maintaining consistency of brand and marketing
messaging while remaining relevant to the local prospect.
Resolution:
Publish brand standards and guidelines that ensure consistency of identity, leaving room for versioning
and promotion relevant to the local market needs.
Create a messaging platform that identifies value propositions and key messages for specific market and
product/point solutions.
Focus Upstream message on business benefits that are more brand-oriented.
Focus Midstream message on operational advantages that speak to the value proposition of specific point
solutions, but support the brand promise of Upstream message.
Centralized Marketing and Decision Making Vs. Decentralized Marketing
and Decision Making
Issue:
International sales offices tend to think corporate marketing gets in the way, making obstacles that actually
make selling harder.
Resolution:
Resist the urge to wrestle all control and budget from your local counterparts, leaving them completely out
of the loop. Their input is essential to their buy-in and your success. So, solicit regional input before
creating marketing plans to get their ideas of how to support marketing/sales goals.
Create marketing programs next, tying to business objectives. Establish monthly conference calls and
quarterly/biannual meetings with international counterparts to plan and review.
Executive sponsorship is vital to make it all happen. Senior leadership has to be the bridge between Sales
and Marketing, and between the brand and promotional efforts of company.
Infrastructure Vs. Channel
Issue:
Should you try to establish a marketing organization in-country, or rely on channel partners to help you
establish your brand and spread your messages?
In addition, where do you spend your marketing dollars: in end-user-focused awareness building efforts or
channel-focused sales building efforts. This can lead to “fragmentation” of your budget, which occurs when
marketing efforts are spread thinly. This could be a major factor for slow progress of growth goals.
Copyright 2010 Schermer Kuehl
Resolution:
For most small- to mid-sized B2B companies, establishing an in-country marketing department or
organization is not feasible, unless it’s through an acquired company with an established department.
Therefore, a local sales office or representative often substitutes as your marketing resource. This is
adequate for testing messages and translations, or assisting you in finding local media resources.
But be wary of their understanding or support of pure business and marketing objectives. They are thinking
about sales first, their customers second and maybe the company’s marketing and brand objectives as a
distant third. And don’t take their “word” as research. They are one perspective, often closer to the truth
than you, but still just an opinion and no substitute for research.
Other organizations have established a channel partner or reseller in-country. In this case, a manufacturer
controls the brand-building portion of the budget, and establishes a co-op marketing fund to be spent on
sales-building initiatives at the discretion of the partner.
For these relationships, it is important to invest in a solid brand identity program that partners can draw
from as a basis for their own efforts, i.e. PowerPoints, trade show graphics, ad and collateral templates.
Add a partner portal for communicating programs and centralizing marketing resources. Promote your
programs to partners like they are a primary target audience.
Chris Schermer is President at Schermer Kuehl, a marketing communications agency specializing in Driving Brand Demand for
business-to-business companies. Contact him at [email protected].
doc_631764664.pdf