When it comes to market research for international audiences, it’s tempting to outsource everything if you can afford it. And today many people today try to do their international market research online. But when you do lots of online research you can get complacent.

No matter what your business is, there comes a time when you must have direct contact with the people. People in your international markets.  You can pick up lots of useful information when you communicate with others in person. And this information can prove to be vital when it comes to people who live in a different country, have a different lifestyle and a different way of thinking. Unfortunately I meet a number of people who seem to avoid picking up the phone.

Here are the most useful tips I have found when connecting with people in your international markets by phone.

#1: Do Your Prep Work

First of all, remember why you are seeking direct contact. Take a few steps back and review your situation. You want to see the big picture and not get bogged down in too many details. You’ll hear more feedback when you are open to what could be of interest to you.

#2: Get Comfortable With The Phone

Get social!
(CC licensed Flickr photo by the waving cat)

 
Sometimes it’s easy to pick up the phone and call people located in your target country. And this is great!  Phone calls can be a great starting point.

And if you think it’s impossible to reach the right people by phone, try thinking outside of the box.  Look at the contacts you do have. Look at the social media contacts you already have, and the ones it would be easy to cultivate. With the notion of six pixels of separation, slowly start networking and look for a way to begin to get feedback from the right source.

#3: Who To Connect With

This is where many people jump into sticky mud.  In some cultures you could get away with reaching out directly to the person you’re interested in. But in many cultures this is not the best place to start.  And you could hinder relationships by Why not start with the outer circle of your contacts and gradually move inwards towards the people you are most interested in connecting with? This takes a bit longer, but if can give you insights into how best to proceed.

#4: Review Context Before You Call

Context is everything. Review the reasons why you are calling this particular person before you pick up the phone. Think of what you’re going to say. Now imagine the person on the other end of the phone. Will this seem normal to him?

One clear goal per phone call usually works best. Because if you ask for too much information or want to get too much out of a call, this can confuse people from different cultures or send wrong messages. You want them to quickly understand why you are calling them and the context has to be relevant to both of you.

#5: Stay Focused

There’s a balance to find in being clear about what you want and remaining open for helpful feedback. And this is how a few well planned questions can come in handy. But in order to get useful feedback from your international contacts you’ll also need to go with the flow because that’s where you can uncover some gems of information. So, you’ll need to remember to stay focused on the big picture.

#6: Keep A Mental Tab Of What You Can Say

I just mentioned having a few well planned questions, but you can also review a few other things you can say to get the conversation going. And when talking to people of different cultures over the phone you might find you need to adjust your usual communication tactics. Here are some good things to keep in mind.

• Confirm what you know, what you understand from this and ask if this is accurate.
• Ask if there’s more information you need to know
• Ask for suggestions and then try to understand the relevancy

When doing international market research by phone I like to cross-reference the same general questions with several sources. This makes it much easier to understand cultural differences.

#7: Get Over The Fear

It is normal to be apprehensive about calling someone you do not know.  And when you are calling to a different country it can even be daunting.  Add in the factor that you may not know if the person speaks English and you may not feel like reaching out. There’s no need to be afraid. People are basically polite.  Even more so when they feel they are helping you.

#8: Cultivate Curiosity To Open Communication

When you call someone thousands of miles away, they will be curious why. This can be a great way to start conversations and get the information you’re looking for.

#9: Create Better Connections With Your International Markets

Make these eight steps a habit. Whenever you interact with someone related to your international market be open to feedback and try to learn a little bit more. This is how you’ll learn to build stronger connections and ultimately have a better foundation for understanding your international markets.

A Better Understanding Of Your International Markets

The knowledge you can gain through simple phone conversations with your international markets can help you improve your international strategies and get more international clients. Of course you’ll need more research, and even in-person meetings, but connecting by phone is very easy to incorporate into your schedule and can help you to understand your international markets much better.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

9 Tips To Learn More About Your International Markets Over The Phone

International Business Networking

Business networking habits play an important role in international business.  It’s how we discover international opportunities and avoid cultural blunders.  Our business networking habits help us to learn how to do business in other cultures.

One of the important things about international business networking is that it needs to be done consistently.  It needs to become a long term habit. You cannot jump in, network for a month or two, and then stop because you think you have all the answers you need to take action.  The risk of making a cultural blunder is too great.  Consistent networking ensures that we stay current and it’s how we verify our understanding of our international markets.

This explains why networking has become second nature. And why I’ve used this networking habit to build my international business network after first connecting online.

Daily Skype Calls To Connect With New People On Twitter

At the beginning of last year I decided to implement a new business networking habit by regularly speaking to interesting people I meet on Twitter. It was simple: I tried to Skype one person every day as often as I could.

This may seem a lot, especially when you consider calls almost always last more than 30 minutes and often a full hour. But I’m lucky, the time difference plays in my favor. You see, I try to schedule these calls late in the afternoon just before wrapping up and this happens to be mornings on the other side of the Atlantic.  And I although I’m fairly flexible on the time, I always keep the calls limited to an hour.  So I aimed to spend an hour every day whenever possible to connect to someone I had never spoken to before.

The first 6 months of last year I probably averaged about 3-4 calls to new people I met on Twitter each week. After a while this lead to regular Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews. And again I called first and got to know each person before the Twitter interview.

In the second half of the year I paid less attention to how many new people I connected with. This was partly because I started speaking to several people on a regular basis and did not keep track of how many new people I spoke to during the week.  And after 6 months of consciously choosing to spend an hour to reach out and connecting with people on Skype it simply became a habit at the end of my day.

The results?  To put it simply: this works. While networking on Skype I meet valuable people to add to my international business network. I don’t add everyone I speak to.  But I now have a great list of valuable business contacts.

Weekly Guest Posts To Connect With A Broad Audience

As last year’s business networking tactic has now become a habit, I’d like to start using another business networking tactic on a regular basis. The habit I’d like to install this year is weekly guest posting. As you may know, I already write content on a regular basis for several different blogs:

• Social Media Examiner
• Top Sales Experts
• ClickInsights
• Bloggertone
• Sales Bloggers

But I’d like to add a bit more variety to this mix to fit some of my other online activities.  Two things happened recently to make me take this decision.

Guest Posting. I read Chris Garrett’s ebook which explains how to guest post and why you should do it. It costs about $10 and yes, this is an affiliate link.  After reading this ebook I was convinced of the value in adding more variety to my guest posting.

My Blog Guest.  I discovered Ann Smarty’s online community where you can both ask for guest posts and also find blogs open to publishing your guest posts.  It’s also a great place to share guest posting tips and experiences.  Ann has set up a grading system for the blogs open to accepting guest posts.  I have to say I’m impressed with how this is set up and the quality of members there.  My Blog Guest makes it easy to find guest posting opportunities.

My Guest Posting Plan

So this year my business networking plan is to write at least 1 guest post a week in addition to my current activities.  Why?

• To reach a wider audience
• To also write articles on 2 new web marketing activities: WishList membership sites on WordPress and product launch management

My core expertise is international marketing and sales strategy for international business development through social media.  This involves several different domains of competence and I need to stay current to apply these skills online.

This is why I’ve decided to use guest posting to expand my international network within the areas of my different skills.

What about you?

• What tactics do you use to grow your international business network?
• Do you think guest posting would help your online business networking?
• Would you like me to write a guest post for you on membership site marketing or business networking for product launches?

More on International Business Networking:

• Networking With The Wrong Questions
• 2 Habits To Grow Your International Network
• The Biggest Mistake In International Networking
• Follow Up With Your First International Clients
• Online Business Networking When Cultural Communication Styles Clash

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Two Great Business Networking Habits To Grow Your International Network

International Content Creation

I just read Denise Wakeman’s 7 Tips to Create Better Blog Posts and realized how my reading habits have changed dramatically over the last few years. I used to always take the time to read meaty articles, but not any more. I now skim through everything I read and within a few seconds decide whether I want to give it another minute or two and a second evaluation, or if I want to stop reading immediately. After the second review, I usually stop reading the article, unless it really grabs my interest. And only then will I take the time to read it properly. Yes, everything I read goes through 2 reviews before I decide to read it.

So I need white space and frequence subheads in blog posts – otherwise I cannot skim through it properly. When I skim through an article the first time I only read the title, subheads, the first couple of bullets, maybe a short callout or a quote and 2 sentence paragraphs that look interesting. That’s it… and this is not a lot of content to grab my interest, is it?

Another new habit I’ve acquired is listening to audios. Whenever I’m doing a task that does not occupy all of my brain space, I put on an audio version of something I want to read.

Multiple New Habits In Consuming Content

I’m not the only one who has changed their habits in consuming information. Many others have too. And this is not including the new habits we have of reading the different types of content now available on social media.

Social media platforms have specific atmospheres about them:

• Facebook is full of networking games
• LinkedIn has a business feel to most of the conversations
• Twitter folk do not like sales pitches

Have you noticed the variety in content styles between each of these social media platforms?

And looking at this from the other side, from the readers point of view, there are even subgroups of further differences in how people like to consume content. When you add cultural preferences into these different ways of consuming content, things can get complicated.

Below we are going to look at the different types of content from two different angles:

• Personal consumption preferences
• The broader audiences you want to reach

And finally we’ll see how complex content creation can become when international audiences also listen in to what you share with the people next door to you.

3 Different Personal Preferences For Content Consumption

Here are 3 different reasons why you need different types of content in your online marketing.

1 – Connecting With People With Different Time Constraints

Let’s face it, some of us always busy for certain information. Some of us will always take the time to read certain types of information.

Who do you want to reach? What are they like? How much time do they want to spend reading your stuff?

2 – Grabbing People’s Attention With The Right Information

Sometimes the same information delivered with a slightly different point of view is all it takes to grab people’s attention.

Do you know how your readers prefer to get the information you want to share with them?

3 – Engaging With People Who Consume Your Content In Different Environments

It is easy to understand how sound should be avoided in some environments. If many of your readers use phone applications to visit your site, they will not appreciate anything slow to load. The same people who connect with you during their business hours for a certain type of content, may also like to connect with you first thing in the morning with another type of content.

Do you know where your readers prefer reading your content?

3 Different Audiences For Your Content

But you cannot only look at the personal preferences in how people want to consume your content.  There are also the different ways you can target your audiences where you need different content.  The next 3 points look at different factors you can use when creating your content.

4 – Bringing People To Take The Next Step Most Appropriate For Them

We all write content for a reason.  What do you want your reader to do after reading your content?  Different readers will be willing to take steps of various sizes.

Do you have content with the most appropriate  obvous next step for your audience?

5 – Appealing To People From Different Cultures

You need different content to engage effectively with different cultures.  Even when these cultures speak the same language, you will get a better response from your audience, if you use the right vocabulary and hit the emotional buttons that appeal to the specific culture you want to connect with.

Does your content speak to your audience?  Can your audience easily identify themselves with what you say?

6 – Avoid Excluding International Audiences

The web is a global one and different cultures have different communication styles.  What is polite and friendly in one culture, can have the opposite effect in another.  What can seem insignificant in one culture can have a big impact on your communication with another cultures.  This is easy to understand.  But when you look closely at the content you publish online, who is it for?  It is great to write for a specific audience, that’s what we should do.  The question is whether there are any small things we can do to facilitate reading by international audiences.

Do you put international readers off without realizing it?  Does this bother you?

Complex Global Audiences

The last thing to remember is the complexity of today’s audiences.

7 – Managing Mixed Audiences

Situations can become complex:  you may have international readers who use phone applications to read your online content while your reader next door wants to take read the same content slowly with his morning coffee.

What do you do? Is there a way to publish content strategically on different social media platforms?

Getting Your Content Right

Consumption preferences for different market segments will differ for each social media platform. This is why you need to:

• Adopt one social media content plan at a time
• Engage with your readers to tweak it and find their preferences

You only know how to write web content when you know what, where, when and and how your reader wants to read it. But the list of different online content above shows us the two trends we also have to be aware of:

• The changes in how different people deal with the amount of information they have to process
• The variety of the different types of content businesses need to publish online

What about you?  What do you think about your online content needs?

• What are your business goals for the content you publish online?
• What does your audience want to read from you online?
• What different kinds of content do you need to publish online to reach international audiences?

More on International Content Creation:

• An International Development Template
• Foreign Language Communication Simplified
• International Content As An International Business Development Strategy
• The One Important Step Missing In Many Guidelines For Good Websites And Landing Pages
• Third Transition To A Global Market Internet Business
• What Are Your Words Saying To Your International Market?
• Web Content Conference In French
• Who Do You Need To Write Your Foreign Content

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides:

• Connect With Your International Markets
• International English
• Culture Customized Content
• Cultural Web Tools

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

7 Reasons For Different Online Content

International Business Networking

Like most bloggers I often get link exchange requests. I usually just delete the ones that look like standard form emails. After all anyone who reads my blog knows how to easily get a link from me.  But yesterday I had a request come in through Twitter and the person said something that surprised me.  This person said “I always reciprocate”.  And this struck me as somehow being negative and I had to think about this for a while before I discovered why.

Free Links To Share Value

You see, I don’t do link exchanges. I give my links freely to people I find have something valuable to add to my blog. Now, although I give links freely,  I do have my quirks:

• I decide where the link goes and what it looks like. When people ask me to change their links once too often I usually simply delete the link. The drawback of giving lots of links freely is there is not much time for maintenance.
• I notice others who network “freely” too.  People who give simply because they like what you do. This is natural isn’t it? And it’s natural that I like networking more with these people too.

This lead me to dig deeper to find out what bothered me so much about this statement: “I always reciprocate”. Well, I noticed there was no giving freely, and no giving first. It is surprising the number of people who wait for you to give first before they give anything to you… and these are almost always the people who  give less than you do.  But this does not bother me. I’ll still put a link through to content I find of value for my own blog readers. So that wasn’t what bothered me with “I always reciprocate”. Then I realized something else.

Networking For International Business Development

I’m totally focused on networking for international business development. And this is where this “you give first before I give you anything” attitude just does not work. Now, I network heavily for my business. I have to. I’m based in France and I like working with English speaking clients. I network to develop my international business. Luckily the time difference works in my favor. The only time I can work with North Americans is from mid-afternoons my time onwards. So before my day comes to I end, I usually spend a good hour or two networking on the phone and by Skype. Of course, I also network through email too. That’s for the direct networking. But I also network extensively on social media, by providing useful information to my followers. This is how I identify the people I want to connect with.  I share non-stop because at the same time I actively work on developing my international business networks. Does this work? You bet it does. I’ve met some great professionals all over the world.

• Some of them are great sources of referrals for my business
• Some will become joint venture partners
• Some are just becoming good business peers right now

Give First And Give Freely

These are people I would never have been able to meet without giving first. These are also people I would never have thought of seeking out.  My sharing information first an giving links first created the beginning of some very useful dialogues for my business. And you know what, it all starts with the attitude of giving and sharing first. This is what bothered me with the remark “I always reciprocate”.  I was interested in connecting with this person much more than a link exchange, but she does not have the right attitude for international business development. You simply need to be someone who shares first, without any expectations of anything in return.

Nurturing Trust In International Networking

This is one of the secrets to successful international networking.  You have to be comfortable making the first step.  In fact, you have to be very comfortable going down half of the path separating you from your international contacts. Occasionally it feels like I go three quarters of the distance alone.  This does not happen often, but it is this willingness to turn and go as far as necessary to greet people in their own comfort zones that creates international business opportunities. The biggest mistake you can make is not giving first.  This is a sign you are not really open to doing business with people outside of your own comfort zone. You do not have what it takes to develop an international business. If you have issues about giving your time and effort first then you need to do some personal work and carefully examine the personal baggage you have with regards to this.  This is the only path to successful international networking. It is linked to several important factors in building strong international relationships, the most important one being trust. Trust across cultures is difficult to establish. Cross-cultural differences create a minefield of potential trust breakers. And when you do not give first, but sit back and wait, or expect others to give first, this does not create a good environment for reciprocal trust in cross-cultural relationships. Besides, you don’t build a business by sitting back and waiting for someone to give you something to which you can reciprocate. Do you?  Start sharing and building your international business networks now. What about you?

• How do you go about international business networking?
• What do you like most about international business networking?
• What are you biggest challenges in international business networking?

Please leave your comments below.

More on International Business Networking:

• Networking With The Wrong Questions
• 2 Habits To Grow Your International Network
• Follow Up With Your First International Clients
• Online Business Networking When Cultural Communication Styles Clash

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

The Biggest Mistake In International Networking

How To Create An International Business Blog

Can you promote your services to international audiences with a blog ? Yes, this is what I do with my blog and it works very well because of my particular situation.  But different businesses are in different situations. And, in these different situations, is a blog still a good option to connect with an international audience? You need to dig deeper to find out.

Your International Audience

When defining your international audience and establishing the right communication to engage with this audience, you can look at this audience from different angles.

You can use a blog to connect with you international clients, potential clients, business partners, suppliers, employees and other business contacts you may have.  This is one way to look at your audience.  And it is an important one.

But before speeding ahead and analyzing this in detail, remember to take the step backgrounds and look at the very first level of your communication on an international blog.

Don’t miss this very first step in determining whether an international blog is right for your business. In my experience, many missed international business opportunities are due to skimming over some of the most basic research.

Communication Challenges

The first step is to establish the communication challenges related to who you are and who you want to reach. If you read this blog regularly, you know how important it is to question yourself first.  It is the same with an international blog.  Before you can successfully blog across cultures, you need to have a very clear understanding of you, your business, your international blog and where all of this is in relation to your audience.

Here are 3 different situations, each with different communication challenges to consider before you start your international blog.

1 – English speaking companies targeting audiences in other English speaking countries

Even if you speak the same language, if you want to develop specific English speaking international markets, you still need to pay attention to your cross-cultural communication and marketing. Many businesses forget this and do not adapt their communication to other English speaking markets

Business Opportunity: Country-specific marketing. If you are already getting some clients from another English-speaking country, imagine the potential of developing this market even further with some country-specific marketing.  A blog can be the hub from which you do this.

2 – Non-English speaking companies targeting audiences in English speaking countries

The task is almost the same as above, except this time it is more obvious… and therein lies the problem.   You see, this time there are not only different languages but also different cultures involved. And people from different cultures may not realize the value of having a blog in English. They hesitate longer and increase the size of the obstacles to overcome.  Language issues often become bigger than they need to become.

The good news is if your business is currently selling to English speaking markets, this is not usually a big hurdle to cross.  It can even be easier to market abroad with your native language reserved for your home audience, and English to target your main international audience.

Business Opportunity: This is a no-brainer.  All non-English speaking companies targeting an English speaking market should have an English language blog, more on this below.  A blog and social media makes it easy to conduct a variety of different international marketing tasks.  If what you offer appeals to people in English speaking countries, it is foolish to not invest in an English language blog.

3 – English speaking companies targeting audiences in non-English speaking countries

There are a few additional points to consider. The most important ones are:

• Whether blogs are common in the country you want to reach
• How people in this country use blogs

You need to be a bit more methodical in your research. And a few other tasks important in standard international marketing practices are critical at this first stage:  risk analysis and monitoring, flexibility and adaptability to new environments.

Business Opportunity: There are almost always opportunities for international business research.  Instead of thinking about a blog all about you and your sales pitch, think about market research possibilities.  If you use your blog to try to look for international business opportunities, there are many possibilities with a little research and some thinking outside of the box.  Remember, today a blog does not need to look like a blog and it is much cheaper than on-site research.

Opportunity To Reach English-Speaking Markets

Many businesses in English-speaking countries realize the need for a blog now. Unfortunately this is generally not the case for businesses on continental Europe and other parts of the world.  If only they knew how publishing a few blog posts in English each week could open international audiences for their business.

What do you think?

• Are you interested in reaching international audiences with a blog?
• How does your blog engage international clients?
• Who should use a blog to develop international business?

Please share your comments below.

More on How To Create An International Business Blog:

• My International Blog Promotion Secret
• Investment In An International Business Blog
• Business Blogs For Sales Conversion
• Business Blogs To Get International Clients
• Business Blogs To Open Foreign Markets

More on International Social Media

• An International Business Blog To Discover New Markets

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• International Web Marketing
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

3 Different Communication Challenges Of An International Blog

International Business Networking

How would you like to start your international marketing with one simple tactic? One you can start using with your very first international clients. Do this one tactic and you will also:

• Improve your international market intelligence
• Get the information you need to get more international sales.

Many small businesses put off doing this good international marketing tactic when they first begin to get international clients. There are several reasons for this.  They may:

• Imagine international marketing costs more money than they may have
• Simply not know how to go about marketing to foreign markets
• Feel awkward around different cultures
• Be afraid of making mistakes
• Think it requires a lot of time
• Feel inadequate with people that do not speak the same language

All of these reasons are normal the first time selling to a different country.  But your first international sales can be a source of useful information to use to close more international sales.

The problem with not doing anything is that it wastes time. How many sales slip by when you waste time without taking action?

So what is this one simple thing you can do to start your international marketing?

Follow Up All International Sales By Phone

This simple action often gives you more valuable market information than any other marketing tool for new international markets.

• Systematically follow up with all of your international customers.

And, the best way to follow-up for international clients is by phone. When you speak to your international clients in person, you will get much more than just feedback.

• Systematically following up your international clients by phone rapidly increases your market intelligence for specific countries.
• You will pick up buying patterns on different levels.
• You will identify how each specific foreign market responds to your communication, your product, your offer and your positioning.
• In addition, you never know what gems you may discover.

What To Say When You Follow Up

Do not approach this as a typical after-sales call.  Widen your scope.  Try to understand your international client’s entire sales process:

• Their initial problem and the reasons behind this problem
• Their motivations in looking for your particular product or service
• What they need to consider
• Why they were interested in your offer
• Why they bought from you when they did
• What are they happy about
• What they would change

Instead of treating this like a survey, strike up a real conversation.  Get curious and try to learn more about your international clients. Here are a few guidelines on how to call:

• Call them before they forget you. Do not wait or make excuses.
• Tell them how you value them as a client.
• Keep track of everything. Note the details. Do not summarize or make assumptions.
• Ask them to give you specifics, to explain why they say something.
• Dig a little to understand what got them to buy, what motivated them, what their problem was, what they like about your product and what they did not like, and what you can do to make it better.
• Keep your ears open for other marketing opportunities. Testimonials or referrals. Can you start a selection of international case studies?
• Share other ways clients use your products, give different perspectives on how your product is used.
• Afterward, try to find the little touch that says thank you and shows you listened to your client.

Before you start calling…

International Calls Can Go Wrong

Following up by phone sounds simple enough, right? It is. If do not forget some basic international business skills. Are you just beginning to sell to different countries? Then make sure you:

• Check your time zones before dialing.
• Check days considered as “weekend” days – in Middle Eastern countries.
• Avoid calling on Sunday’s for Saturday/Sunday weekend countries.
• Verify if the number you have is a home number, or an office number and which one is best for your client.
• Do not think that you need to speak their language.  If they bought from you, they must speak your language at least a little.  Be attentive to how they understand you, and adjust your communication to make it easy for them.

More Out Of Your Follow Up Calls

To get the most out of your follow up calls:

• First, remember to note details of the information you get back. You may not be able to identify triggers for sales until you can see a pattern. Review this information regularly.
• Second, try to have the same person call to follow up. If this is not possible, try to get one person per country. And, if this is not possible, arrange for everyone involved to share their information and review it regularly.

Follow-up phone calls are a fast way to get to know new foreign markets. They are simple to do, do not take up much time, and inexpensive with today’s international phone services. This is how systematic telephone follow-up becomes a key tactic for any international market entry strategy. Now, over to you…

• What is your favorite tip to follow up with international clients?
• How do you follow up with your first international clients in new markets?
• What stops you from following up with new international clients?

More on International Business Networking:

• Networking With The Wrong Questions
• 2 Habits To Grow Your International Network
• The Biggest Mistake In International Networking
• Online Business Networking When Cultural Communication Styles Clash

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Follow Up With Your First International Clients

White Papers For International Sales

As a content marketer I appreciate the important role white papers play in business-to-business lead generation.  But I have worked in two different cultural markets, North America and Europe.  What is interesting is there seems to be two different white paper marketing environments.

Are white papers used in the same way on both sides of the Atlantic?  Well, let’s have a look at some of the differences I have noticed.

First let me clarify:

This is about white papers for business and is not about white papers written by the European Union and other government bodies.

This is only about white papers and not sales brochures.

White papers are informative documents that do not include sales pitches.

They vary in length, generally about 10 pages long, and there is a strong trend towards shorter white papers.  Companies produce them to inform and educate their potential buyers.

White papers can be written for different audiences, not only engineers, but also for people with different roles in the buying decision.  And they can be written to be used at different times during the sales cycle, to address the different questions clients have. They are often used in web marketing campaigns.

Cultural Differences In European White Papers

No recognized structure. The first thing you notice about the white papers written by European businesses is there is not a clearly defined format for a white paper across Europe. 

• There are all sorts of lengths and some can be very long compared to North American white papers
• There are often “half-breeds”, or white papers with a soft sales pitch, or ones that are half technical guides

They are called all sorts of different things in the different European languages that vaguely translate back into “report”.

More formal. The white papers you come across in Europe are usually more formal than American white papers. But this is changing – see the current trends below.

Less marketing. As a marketer, what I notice most about European white papers is that they are usually written for a very technical audience and are limited to targeting one specific part of the sales cycle. There is simply less marketing done with European white papers.

Possible Reasons Behind These Differences

Of course, there might be a few cultural reasons behind these differences in white paper marketing:

• A stronger need to be sold to in person
• More in person meetings and presentations to fulfill the role of white papers

But these differences might also be due to a delay in “catching up” with marketing tactics used within the stronger consumer-oriented American society.

Current Trends In European White Papers

Moving towards the American model. European companies are adopting the American format of white papers more and more often.  I hear this from European marketing managers.  This is one of the reasons why I think the Europeans may still be “catching up”.  In addition, the large international companies probably influence the white paper practices used in the smaller companies.

Less formality. Although this depends on the industry, there is a clear trend towards less formality.  European white papers used to be very stiff and formal.  But they are imitating North American white papers more now, and talk to the readers much more than before.

Many companies asking for International English. In-house writers contact me regularly to ask how to write in “International English“.  Many large European companies have already taken steps to address the challenge of writing in English for broad international audiences.  And many more are realizing the need to make their content easy to understand and free of as much misinterpretation as possible across cultures.  Wondering what this is all about?  Then have a look at:  What is International English?

For example, one of the biggest challenges in British English is their use of the word “should”.  Most non-Brits translate this simply as a conditional sentence. The trouble is that Brits often use “should” as a polite recommendation or an order… where there is absolutelyno “condition” intended at all.

What Is Lacking In European White Papers?

The one area where I think European white papers could learn something from the American white papers is in the way they are used within a marketing strategy.

Less strategy. In Europe, white papers are not always planned as strategically as in the US.  Although there may be cultural reasons for this, European companies could probably improve their white paper marketing strategies.  One way would be in targeting their content to answer more specific questions at the different stages of the buying process.

Less web marketing. European companies do not seem to think of including white papers as often as American companies in their web marketing campaigns.  Now, this is a broad generalization and probably linked to stronger web marketing practices in the US.  But there is also the question of smaller local markets in the European countries and the cost in creating white papers.

Cultural Differences Will Always Remain

Even if many European white papers become similar to American white papers in format, the cultural differences will always remain.  These cultural differences effect both the written communication and the style.

Have a look at Jonathan Kantor‘s very interesting article Comparing U.K. & U.S. Government White Papers.  Jonathan Kantor is the founder of The Appum Group, “The White Paper Company“, and he is also the author of the White Paper Pundit blog. His recent article compares white papers written by the governments of these two countries.  You can see the cultural differences in communication styles between these two English speaking countries.  In this article, Jonathan shows us how cultural differences can influence the style of white papers.

• Do you have any examples of white papers where the style is unexpected?
• Do you think white papers should have a standard format or more variety?
• What cultural differences have you noticed in white paper practices?

More on White Papers For International Sales:

• European Versus American White Paper Marketing
• Get International Clients With The Right Content
• The Best Sales Tool In A Slow Economy
• White Papers For International Lead Generation

More on International Lead Generation

• How To Avoid Wasting Your International Potential
• Create Front End Acquistion Information Products For International Sales
• International Lead Generation With An Information Product Strategy
• Up-Sell Expectations Across Cultures

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

• Run Your International Sales Strategy
• Guide To International Lead Generation
• Guide To Multicultural Marketing
• Connect With Your International Markets

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

European Versus American White Paper Marketing

How To Create An International Business Blog

Earlier this week we looked at how business blogging is a sales conversion tool and for international readers they are strongest at building relationships and making the connection across distance.  The question is, can you expect to get international clients out of a business blog?  Is an international business blog just as good at sales conversion as a business blog can be in it’s local environment?

Well it depends on several things:

• Whether you already have international clients, or not
• Where you are located and where your international clients are located
• What you sell and what you can sell to your international clients

How International Blogs Bring You Sales

First here are the reasons why an international blog can bring you international clients.  An international business blog can:

• Provide a platform to give more lifetime value to any international customers you may already have
• Make it easier to evaluate specific countries to explore further
• Create authority & relationships for an initial step into a foreign country
• Give your business visibility to bring in opportunities to create joint ventures or foreign partnerships

In order to get beyond the connection or communication platform you need something else.

The Secret Ingredient

An international business blog can only help you make sales if you find the way to develop relationships with your international blog readers.  And this will depend on who you want to reach.

To make a business blog successful in international markets requires a bit more effort.  You really need to dig and sift through your online options to find the right one or ones to use to create the authentic connection with your international audience.  Then you need to examine your communication strategy carefully to see how this fits in with the culture you are trying to connect with.

It is no secret.  Culture-customized content gets more sales.  This also means foreign language content gets more sales.

Although your end goal is to create culture-customized communication plan, you can decide to start off with one broad international communication plan. This can give you the time you need to come up with a good strategy and find the right foreign content providers.  You will need to transition through to fully customized content if you are serious about developing a foreign market.

One Possible Strategy

Here is an easy first step that works for many cases:

• One international business blog, targeting a broad audience
• Culture targeted social media marketing to promote your blog

This can create an online synergy and give you feedback on specific markets that can be of interest to you.  This process can help you make the business decision to choose which foreign markets to develop first.

Your next action would be to conduct further country-specific campaigns outside of your blog.  Your blog could then become a platform for your sales conversion process.  However, the distance your blog can take you along the path of sales conversion would depend on a variety of factors relative to your business.

What about you?

• How are you using your blog to engage with your international clients?
• What challenges do you face when using your blog to reach international markets?
• What successes have you had in connecting with international clients through your blog?

Please share your comments below.

More on How To Create An International Business Blog:

• 3 Different Communication Challenges Of An International Blog
• My International Blog Promotion Secret
• Investment In An International Business Blog
• Business Blogs For Sales Conversion
• Business Blogs To Open Foreign Markets

More on International Social Media

• An International Business Blog To Discover New Markets

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• International Web Marketing
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Business Blogs To Get International Clients