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

In international business your clients will look for you online because they expect a certain form of communication online from an international business. But they’ll need to find you online first and this is why search marketing is critical for your international marketing success today.

I recently came back from a trip to Toronto where I attended the Search Engine Strategies Conference. At the summit much of the talk on international search was about language and how many people fail to get the “translation” right for search marketing and this causes businesses to lose money.

But international marketers know that language is just the visible part of the challenge. Mastering the navigation among different languages while keeping your business focus requires a deeper skill set. And beyond this, there are the fundamental cross-cultural challenges of doing business with people who are different to your home market. This is where businesses are challenged to deepen their knowledge of marketing and how to learn about their own markets.

With this is mind, here are five tips for successful international search marketing that go beyond language skills and translation.

#1: Get To Know Your International Audiences

This is where your international business begins. People from different cultures are different. There are often opposing differences in how people like to do business. You can’t expect to connect with people in any meaningful manner unless you understand them well.

First you need to research your market. You also need to stimulate as much feedback as you can from each of your international markets. And while doing both of these you need to adopt a sort of cross-cultural lens to ensure that you come to the right conclusions.

Understanding your international audience starts with language and communication, but you also need cross-cultural competency to connect on a level deep enough to develop an international business.

#2: Get Your Research Right

There are a few ways where you can get your research wrong right from the beginning.

• How you carry out your international search marketing campaign will depend on your business objectives. You’ll have different strategies for branding, selling products or qualifying leads. And you’ll need to adapt the research you carry out for each of these different business objectives.
• There are a variety of reasons why it’s not always easy to interpret statistics and research in an international context.  Most of these reasons relate back to cultural differences, different ways of doing things and differences in markets.  Although you may get more traffic from one country, your best business opportunities may be within another country.
• These cultural differences also impact language translations.  The translations you use may not be the ones you need to obtain the information you need. This is why you need a local marketer to help find the right keywords to use. There are jobs where you absolutely must use humans… and humans with the right professional background.
• And to complicate things, you also need to have a good understanding of how local markets use the web in your particular industry. The web continues to evolve for everyone and you need to have this local knowledge to get your international search marketing right.

It’s not easy to research international markets without actual international business experience and local expertise in both your particular market and in search marketing. You can save time and avoid potential blunders by working with people with these skills. If you don’t have this option, start small, take your time doing your international market research, and above all question all of your own assumptions. (Learning how to recognize your assumptions is a skill by itself.)

#3: Learn About Local Search Engines

The Google algorithm is used by most of the search engines out there. The only exceptions are for a few countries with non-Latin alphabets. It’s easy enough to find out the leading search engines in the countries you are targeting. But don’t assume that just because they use the same Google algorithm as you are used to in your own country that everything’s the same.

Spend a bit of time looking at how the local search engines work and monitor this regularly. Keep your search marketer’s hat on while doing this and you’ll probably notice some little differences.  Use these little differences can help you strengthen your own international search marketing campaigns.

It’s often easier to rank for keywords in countries outside of the US, simply because there is less content, which means less competition for those keywords.  So you need some fine skills in analyzing which keywords to target in different countries.

#4: Use Multiple Competencies

Language competency is essential to getting good international search results. But so is are good marketing skills, and marketing skills are needed both in understanding the local market and also in how this is applied online specifically for search marketing. This is why a successful international search marketing campaign is the fruit of good:

• Translation
• Search marketing
• Local marketing expertise in your industry

Keep this in mind. You don’t want to rely solely on a translator or a search marketer or a local marketing expert.  You’ll need to find the right balance within your international marketing team.

#5: Invest In Localization

This is just a reminder… For best results you’ll always need to have a localized web presence and this means:

• Local language content
• Local web host
• Local domain registered locally
• Local currency
• Local address and shipping practices
• Local physical address
• And anything else that’s specific to your industry that needs to be local

Although it’s usually not possible to begin with 100% localization, you should keep striving towards this goal. Think local until it becomes second nature and you’ll get better results from your international marketing.

Now it’s your turn…

• What tips can you share for successful international search marketing?
• How important is search marketing to your international business success?
• How does language impact your current international search marketing results?

More On International Web Marketing

• Define International Marketing
• How Too Many Contributions Spoil International Communications
• International Article Marketing
• International Email Marketing
• International SEO For Quick Results
• Marketing Segmentation
• Mindset Differences Between Offline Marketers And Online Marketers
• More Segmentation = More International Sales
• My Own Case Study – Small Business Flexibility In An Online World
• The Difference Between An eMarketer And A Geek Marketer
• Ways To Enter International Marketing
• What Is Marketing?
• What Is Your Definition Of International Web Marketing
• Your International Marketing Choice

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

5 Tips For Great International Search Marketing

Twitter

Here is my article which was first published on Social Media Examiner:

Are you a newcomer to Twitter? Do you need a little help crafting tweets to engage people in meaningful conversations?

You can start a conversation on Twitter in many different ways, but they all come back this: be yourself and find the right tone to engage with people you want to get to know better.

In this post I’ll explore some easy ways to start Twitter conversations. You’ll see just how easy it is to take this first step in networking on Twitter in fewer than 140 characters at a time.

Social Media Examiner’s Facebook fans recently shared some great ways to engage people on Twitter. Based on their recommendations, here are 12 tips to better engage people on Twitter:

#1: Publish Useful Tips or Facts

One of the first ways you can contribute to the conversation is to share useful information. This is always welcome when it’s given from a fresh perspective. And it’s a great way to grab the attention of the people you want to reach.

Cyndy Hoenig offers about five PR tips a day… Notice how she used the word you in this tweet to grab readers’ interest.

#2: Retweet to Acknowledge Others

Retweeting other people’s tweets is a form of acknowledgment. Why not add a comment at the same time and add more to the conversation? Simply being social is a great way to get people to notice you and begin making connections.

Jonathan Saar is simply being social.

#3: Reach Out With Follow Friday

Although Follow Friday (#FF) has been around a while, it can still be a good way to initiate conversations when you put a little thought into it.

#4: Answer Other People’s Tweets

Another easy way to engage people is to respond to others’ tweets. Whether it’s a question or something that grabs your attention, try to respond in an authentic voice. People recognize sincerity and are more likely to respond to it.

Janice Campbell shows us how natural conversations can be on Twitter.

#5: Respond When Something Grabs Your Attention

When responding to something that interests you, show it. Show you care about what people have to say.

Cheryl Garrett adds a personal touch to her professional Twitter presence.

#6: Introduce Yourself to New Followers

Give your new followers a personal welcome that shows you care about getting to know them better. Some people do this in the public Twitter feed and some people prefer introductions in direct messages. Find out what’s best for your audience.

#7: Introduce Yourself at Twitter Events

You’ll notice people following live events on Twitter with a hashtag. When you attend your first event on Twitter, don’t get distracted by the tools and forget your social manners. Remember to introduce yourself to everyone. And why not follow up personally with a few of the other attendees after the event? This is a great way to meet new people with similar interests.

#8: Let People Know When You Add Them to Your Twitter List

As you add people to your Twitter lists, give them a shout-out to let them know. Everyone enjoys this small sign of recognition.

#9: Ask For Help

Many other people on Twitter are also looking to engage in meaningful conversations. Make it easy for others to respond to you and tell them what you are looking for.

Daniel Casciato uses Twitter to find sources to interview for his articles.

#10: Say Thank You

You’ll find many different reasons to thank people on Twitter.

Notice how Amy Porterfield is connecting with this person on both Facebook and Twitter.

#11: Say Thanks When Others Add You to Their Twitter Lists

The people who add you to their Twitter lists are often good connections because you share similar interests. Reach out to thank them and introduce yourself personally.

#12: Ask Questions

Questions work wonders on Twitter. With a little thought you can come up with great questions to find the people you want to engage with on Twitter.

Katie Fox asks a specific question to engage conversation of interest to her.

As you can see, it’s easy to start conversations on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn. What other Twitter conversation starters do you use? Please share your comments below.conversation starters do you use? Please share your comments below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

12 Tips to Engage People on Twitter

Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews

Moving abroad for the first time can be daunting. And yet many international business professionals are faced with this option at some stage in their career.

The thought of living in a different culture raises a number of questions. And it’s natural to turn to others for advice. Here are some tips from twitter on what to do to make your move abroad an easy one.

21 Tips On Living Abroad

1. Know what your doing. Compare prices of movers. Haggle. Decide: Rent or Buy? Visit your destination prior 2 moving – @HoeferleConsult
2. Visit the country & talk to people who lived there, discard your expectations you have through books, movies or vacations – learning the language is essential but not enough …don’t underestimate cultural differences! If starting a company get cross-cultural advise. It’s disheartening to see, that so many companies from abroad fail in the US by not getting expert advise in cross cultural matters – Walmart in Germany could have been successful if they would have followed intercultural advisers - @transdomo
3. Expect the unexpected & to be challenged, be open-minded and flexible, learn the language… and finally…move out of yr comfort zone and the expat community – @culturematters
4. Study the language first. It will give u invaluable clues about socialization. Talk with people who lived where u go – @tdebaillon
5. A tip to people moving abroad is learn polite terms & greetings in host country & don’t be afraid to use them. – @DR4Ward
6. Listen 2 music by country’s most famous composer. Its spirit is part of personality of people u’ll have 2 work with – @XCulture
7. Really get in to your new culture and embrace it. You begin to value your own a lot more. – @jackyan
8. Don’t assume that your approach or solution, which may be common practice back home… is the default/preferred method. Culture affects how people look at problems and brainstorm solutions. In short, what may have worked back home may not work elsewhere!  Can I add one more comment on the last question?  Read, read, read! This will help you acclimatize. It will also help you lessen culture shock. – @CotterHUE
9. Engage with people before you go, build friends – @wisequeen
10. A tip for those moving abroad? Familiarize yourself with food, music, art; history can be gr8 icebreaker, equalizer to interact – @DoreenatDMS
11. Learn as much as you can of the language before you arrive. Helps you feel more comfortable in the first days and go with an open mind – expect things to be different – @pocketcultures
12. Be open to pushing your boundaries to “walk in their shoes”; e.g.,mostly I am vegetarian,except when I travel – @psitutor
13. Learn the language, visit the country beforehand & do some business with local people, before deciding to move there. – @culturalrealms
14. Before you move abroad, study the country and its history, read books, and talk with people living there. – @lyceum
15. Give yourself at least a month before you start working, and try to make friends pre-arrival, via web/Twitter. – @SeanJamesOliver
16. Attempt to learn the language & appreciate the way of life of the community you find yourself living. Also, have fun & explore! – @DavidComp
17. Embrace the experience you have, let go of unrealistic expectations. And get lots of sleep. Living in another country means going off cultural autopilot and that can be tiring! - @CateBrubaker
18. People moving abroad should take it seriously (even as permanent resident) and consider all parameters, exactly as investors do. – @MATCOM
19. Visit the place first – @JinanAlrawi
20. Make sure you check your assumptions! Behaviours may be different, and should be interpreted carefully. – @IENsinMB
21. Learn as much as you can before the move, but realize that you won’t learn everything about this new culture even after a year of living there.  Enjoy the experience and have fun. – @CindyKing

What Is Your Tip For Living Abroad?

Which tip do you like most?

• Do you have a favorite?
• Does one stand out and resonate with you?
• Do you have another one to add?

Share your tips on living abroad below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

21 Tips On Living Abroad

Cross-Cultural Twitter Interviews

You need strong cross-cultural skills when you travel or live abroad and when you work or interact often with people from different cultures.

It’s not always easy to develop your cross-cultural skills because it requires a fair amount of personal work to get to know yourself better. But the rewards are often worth the effort.

Here are some tips from the Cross-Cultural Twitter Interview series.

21 Tips To Grow Your Cross-Cultural Skills

1. Understand that EVERYTHING in life is culturally coded from when we were very young. So we all think differently about things: our meanings for things are deeply buried in our unconscious mind, what is a business for? how we think about our boss; what is luxury; quality; love; etc.  Individualism in Far East seen as immaturity- @deborahswallow
2. Research and appreciate the cultural diversity of the market you are preparing to visit before you travel there – @ohh_la_la
3. 1st, understand your OWN culture -> try to be understanding of others’ backgrounds. Now meet half way for common ground.- @HoeferleConsult
4. Visit the countries, get to know the people, try and see the world through their eyes. Learn from the experts including @CindyKing- @dkiernan
5. Immerse yourself deeply into other cultures by living & working in their country for at least six months- @transdomo
6. One tip to improve your cross-cultural skills…Know thyself–>Listen & Observe–>Communicate… in that order! – @culturematters
7. Be less self-righteous than who you are dealing with. The more humble you are, the more you are going to gain.- @PicSeshu
8. Travel, as “bare” as possible. When you are in need of something, you see how people react to your misery. Discovering people when out of your comfort zone is the greatest lesson ever! – @tdebaillon
9. One tip to improve cross-cultural skills is understand your own values & attitudes 1st so you can compare & contrast – @DR4Ward
10. Develop ability 2 appreciate historical backgrounds Honor experiences that might contradict ur way of looking @ life – @XCulture
11. Put yourself in the other culture’s shoes and think about what stereotypes exist about your own culture. – @jackyan
12. Learn a foreign language. Language and culture are so intertwined that… to fully understand the psyche of another nationality, you must know the language… – @CotterHUE
13. Learn another language – @wisequeen
14. Practice patience & never underestimate power of observation & ability to listen; if u make an effort … prepare to be pleasantly surprised; people care about you when you care and are genuinely interested in them – @DoreenatDMS
15. Be flexible when facing different values – try to understand what reasons lie behind other ways of thinking – @pocketcultures
16. Get out there amongst it! As a global village most people have many ethnicities within their community~and then there is the Internet~Skye, chat rooms, online classrooms, forums, blogs, email, video etc – @psitutor
17. Travel & try to understand local cultures. That open minds, changes perspectives & creates cross-cultural skills. – @culturalrealms
18. Adapt to the occasion, learn different languages, respect other cultures AND don’t hesitate to ask. – @mintblogger
19. Take the jump and just “do it,” i.e., travel and move abroad. – @lyceum
20. “Common Sense”, and all our underlying assumptions about everything are learned, and vary between cultures. Interact with different cultures with the knowledge that things you take for granted as true, are not universal. – @SeanJamesOliver
21. Other ways of doing & thinking just might be better so enter with an open mind – @DavidComp
22. I’d say be curious. If you’re curious, you’re observing, listening, questioning, reflecting and learning – @CateBrubaker

What Is Your Tip To Grow Your Cross-Cultural Skills?

Which one of the tipdo you like most?

• Do you have a favorite?
• Does one stand out and resonate with you?
• Do you have another one to add?

Share your 1-word definitions below.

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

21 Tips To Grow Your Cross-Cultural Skills

Improve Your Cross-Cultural Communication

This year I am running 4 different month-long cross-cultural communication challenges. During each of these monthly challenges there is a new tip each day to help you build your cultural skills.

Why 4 Cross-Cultural Challenges?

For 2 main reasons.

First, I notice that many of the issues people have with developing their business internationally are related to their own cross-cultural skills.  Cross-cultural communication plays a major role in developing these cultural skills.

The trouble is that many people:

• Do not think they need to improve their skills
• Think it is beyond them
• Do not realize how easy it is to improve cross-cultural communication if you take it in small steps

This is why I broke cross-cultural communication into 4 areas.  There are probably more ways to look at developing cross-cultural skills, but these are the 4 different areas that I find the most important ones to look at first.  Here are the 4 different angles:

• Mindset
• Clarity
• Trust
• Personal Development

The second reason why there are 4 challenges, is simply because I did not have the time to tackle this all at once.  This is why I decided to spread the work out over the year.  Of course, I hope to put all 4 parts together early next year to give you one complete guide to improve cross-cultural communication skills.

I also feel that if you are serious about international business and want to develop your cultural skills, it takes time.  These 4 challenges spread out every 3 months make them easy to follow and absorb.  Strong cross-cultural skills requires personal involvement.  It is not just a question of reading tips and books.  Cross-cultural skills require some introspection and small steps of improvement.  These 4 challenges are spaced out to give you time to make these adjustments.

The First 2 Cross-Cultural Challenges

The first 2 cross-cultural communication challenges covered ways to:

1. Expand your mindset
2. Get extreme with clarity

Click on the links above to see a list of all of the tips.  And don’t forget to download and print out the one page posters:

1. Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset Poster
2. Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity Poster

The Next Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge = Cultivate Trust

The next cross-cultural communication challenge is during the month of September. This time we look at how we can cultivate trust in our communication.  Trust is a huge issue in cross-cultural communication and even more so for international business.

Cross-cultural differences naturally create barriers.  All sorts of barriers.  And the consequence is that:

• Building trust demands constant attention
• You can lose trust in the blink of an eye

These cross-cultural differences can run as undercurrents in international business.  It is important to understand how you can build trust and where things can go wrong.  Because when you do lose trust in an international environment, the cultural differences make it very hard to regain any lost ground.

No matter how you look at it, the more you work at building and maintaining trust, the easier it is to make international sales.

The Critical Element Of Trust In International Sales

After each of these cross-cultural communication challenges, I spend the following month reviewing each of the communication tips again… with a difference. Instead of focusing on improving communication, the following month we put this into an international sales context.  And when I look at the sales context I use one of Jeffrey Gitomer’s little books.

So in October we will review the cross-cultural communication tips in a sales context with the help of short quotes from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Teal Book Of Trust.

Can You Help Me?

Do you have any cross-cultural communication tips to share? 

Of course, I would love any tips specifically aimed at building and maintaining trust in international business, but all other culture tips are welcome. I regularly share all kinds of tips to improve cross-cultural competence.

If so, please leave them in the comments below.  If I can use your tip in next month’s challenge, I will mention your name.

• Do you have any culture tips to share on developing trust in international business?
• What culture tip has helped you the most to develop strong culture skills?
• How have you built trust in cross-cultural communication with international clients?

More On How To Improve Your Cross-Cultural Communication:

• Do You Have Any Culture Tips To Share?
• Where Cultural Miscommunication Happens
• 7 Tips For Easy Cross-Cultural Encounters
• Avoid Acronyms For Better Cross-Cultural Communication
• Better Cross-Cultural Communication – Rephrase, Don’t Shout
• Cultural Dimensions – A New Tool

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

• Guide 5 – Connect With Your International Markets
• Guide To Cultural Web Tools

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Do You Have Any Culture Tips To Share?

Culture Tips & International Links

There are some very useful links this week that are now going onto the Useful Resource Pages you see in the right sidebar.

This week I experienced my first problems using Twitter.  Although this slowed down my Tweet Plan a bit and there are fewer Tweets this week, things are back to normal again. With so many people on Twitter, I did not expect my help desk ticket to get such a quick response, but their support service was top.

Do you have an interesting or useful link on international business, or of cultural interest? Tweet me a link.

1. Do not confuse an international business with the terms “global business” or “international trade”
2. Great brainstorming questions to improve your international web visibility – free for subscriber
3. Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty & flux and money is made by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected – G.Soros
4. Become a cultural detective
5. It’s World Press Freedom Day
6. Free online language courses
7. Cross-border negotiation on www.negotiation.biz
8. The CIA World Factbook
9. Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map of the World – another interesting way to view the world by different cultures
10. IBRC – International business resources aimed at small and medium-sized companies who want to go international
11. Ethnologue – An encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world’s 6,912 known living languages
12. International Marketing Review #50
13. Consider country- specific sub- domains or sub- categories instead of top level domain names for each country
14. RT @davidecorradi @andyatkinskruge Don’t expect an SEO to do translation or a translator to do SEO!
15. special characters and unicode symbols you can use in Twitter #1: ♥ ♠ ♤ ✩ ★ ❦ ☪ ☭ ☮ ☯ ✝ ☥ ✈ ☎ ☤ ✉ ✇ ☁ ☂ ☃ ☼ ☾ ☄ ✂ – via @davidecorradi
16. special characters and unicode symbols you can use in Twitter #2: ☺ ☻ ☹ ☠ ♺ ✌ ✏ ☛ ☚ ☝ ☟ ☟ ✍ ♬ ♫ ♪ ✔ ✖ ♛ ♝ ♞ ♘ ♖ ♟ ♕- via @davidecorradi
17. special characters and unicode symbols you can use in Twitter #3: ☑ ☒ ♀ ♂ ♨ ❁ ❀ ✿ ✾ ✽ ✺ ✵ ☉ ☇ ☈ ☡ ✠ ☊ ☋ ☌ ☍ ♁ ✇ ☢- via @davidecorradi
18. special characters and unicode symbols you can use in Twitter #4: ☣ ✣ ✡ ☞ ☜ ✜ ✛ ❥ ♈ ♉ ♊ ♋ ♌ ♍ ♎ ♏ ♐ ♑ ♒ ♓ ☬ ☫ ☨ ☧- via @davidecorradi
19. special characters and unicode symbols you can use in Twitter #5: ☦ ✁ ✃ ✄ ✎ ✐ ❂ ❉ ❆ ♅ ♇ ♆ ♙ ♟ ♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞- via @davidecorradi
20. special characters and unicode symbols you can use in Twitter #6: © ® ™ … ∞ ¥ € £ ƒ $ ≤ ≥ ∑ « » ç ∫ µ ◊ ı ∆ Ω ≈ * – via @davidecorradi
21. special characters & unicode symbols to use in Twitter #7: § • ¶ ¬ † & ¡ ¿ ø å ∂ œ Æ æ π ß ÷ ‰ √ ≠ % ˚ ˆ ˜ ˘ ¯ ∑ º ª ‽ – via @davidecorradi
22. Online Converter – To convert measurements of all kinds, even morse code
23. The Art of Building a Successful Social Site – via @mintblogger
24. Emergency Backup Blogging Kit (bloggers, you need to read this..) – via @wchingya
25. When all other means of communication fail, try words – unknown
26. Who is “morally inedible”? Globalization Is Without Question A Cause of This Influenza Epidemic
27. Caribbean fears witch hunt in tax haven crackdown
28. Media failing multicultural societies
29. Ansan City to Build Town for Foreigners – a special multicultural district south of Seoul
30. The number of Korean adolescents who have foreign mothers soaring due to the increase in multicultural marriages
31. Are Multinationals Good for America? Get the Facts
32. More than 90% of US organizations said they expect their cultural diversity to increase during the next 3-5 years
33. How to use social media to make your content viral - DM me yr questions if you can’t make it 2pm EST on BlogTalkRadio
34. White papers & social media marketing? Listen to Mr. White Paper – Mike Stelzner on BlogTalkRadio today 2pm EDT
35. Get International Clients With The Right Content
36. RT @officesociety – Lead a multicultural team effectively
37. France wrests title of sleeping giant: The industrialized country where people spend the longest periods sleeping.
38. Watch this video to see why Thesis is so special & much more than a WordPress theme. Best blog investment I made
39. Fabrice Grinda And A Free International Web Marketing Strategy
40. RT @Mike_Stelzner Introducing… my new apprentice @Apryl_Parcher Congrats Apryl!
41. @Apryl_Parcher – you have good reason to be! Congratulations on winning the White Paper apprentice competition!
42. Looking to Hire the Most Creative Employees? Find the Candidates Who Lived Abroad – via @AAATranslation
43. Tips on How to write a better White Paper from ClickInsights Expert Interview Series
44. RT @sinikkalw – Intercultural communication skills are essential today – don’t follow this guys example!
45. RT @TrainingTsar – Tsutomu Yamaguchi now age 93 visited Hiroshima , 08/06/45, returned to work in Nagasaki, 08/09/45
46. Global Directory - A community built guide to cross-cultural etiquette & understanding – via @vale24
47. Just want to share – I opened a Twitter helpdesk ticket about my DM problems & they helped IMMEDIATELY! Very happy to be back to normal
48. Should children’s books be more multicultural? A case for diversity in children’s books and other media
49. Cross-cultural communication & travel – RT @GoLocalTravel – Rude Travellers + Gentle Tourism
50. The International Business Awards
51. Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
52. RT @tweets2go – Phillip C. Winslow on the cultural cross-currents in the West Bank #politics #writing
53. @swoodruff – Here’s who I’d like to have a #ccc conversation with – #FollowFriday #FF2
54. Twitter FollowFriday – Dean Meyer
55. RT @nomad_chicken – Malaysia’s multicultural mix
56. Cross Cultural Development & Namco Bandai Games America - Japanese video gamers expanding West – via @declantest

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 19 of 2009

Culture Tips & International Links

The tweets below are based on my core Tweet Plan which includes:

• 5 daily tweets on cross-cultural marketing for international sales
• All of the other interesting links and retweets I run across during the week

These tweets are in the order tweeted.  Do you find them interesting?  Then be sure to check out the Useful Resource Pages in the sidebar on the right.  The most useful and interesting links in these Cross-Culture Tweets  make it to these Useful Resource Pages.

Do you have an interesting or useful link on international business, or of cultural interest? Tweet me a link.

1. Great brainstorming questions to develop your culture skills – free for subscribers
2. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. – Mark Twain
3. International Marketing Review #49
4. Need inspiration for international business ideas? Browse around here
5. International Sales Best Practice – Think You Can
6. RT@Nicochan33 – A look at cross cultural business failure. Have a look and let me know what you think.
7. Corporate Eye Media - The Case of Personal Branding: What Will Google Think of Next? - via @customersmatter
8. Great insights into international business development based on connecting with customers – People All Over the World – by @customersmatter
9. How to Analyze Your International Viability to Get International Clients
10. When was the last time you looked at websites from different countries?
11. The WiseMarketer
12. The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. – George Bernard Shaw
13. Intercultural Conflict Resolution Styles with a model for direct & indirect styles versus different emotional styles
14. Search Engine Optimisation for searchers from other countries
15. Vietnam’s online advertisement turnover reached US$2.81 million in 2008 and will increase to US$7.8 million by 2010
16. 25 Years to Bounce Back? Try 4½ – historical record isn’t as bleak as it looks – good news 4 current market decline?
17. RT @amandajevans Looking for freelance writers for email interview for new e-book @ or DM me and please RT
18. RT @finikiotis + The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs ~Joan Didion
19. RT @JWASHMARKETING @KyleGriffith – Translating your Tweets for a truly international service
20. RT @JaxLicurse @HJSWritergal One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. – Helen Keller
21. RT @RebekahZJones @PARKPLACEMTG – Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. – Jackson Browne
22. RT @FearlessFactor – @problogger HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Let it be a year of increasing prosperity and happiness.
23. RT @CatchOurDream @barbararae – It’s not our abilities that define us, it’s our choices!
24. LeadingBlog: What Games Do You Play? – via @mikehenrysr
25. The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. -Chinese proverb – via @unikeone
26. RT @catttaylor @TimothyCarter Everyone who got where he is has had to begin where he was. – Robert Louis Stevenson
27. RT @joekutchera “Everything you can imagine is real,” said Pablo Picasso. Love that quote! – so do I!
28. RT @SusanMazza @BoulderCoaching – Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes. – Benjamin Disraeli
29. Good tips on getting into the zone for amazing productivity – via @joekutchera
30. I’m attending Passing the Twitter and Google Test webinar feat. @smallbiztrends @lizstrauss @mvolpe and @brentleary
31. Have you read Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp? Fantastic book – via @jjude Improved creativity also helps cultural skills
32. How to improve Cross- Cultural Negotiation to Get International Clients
33. How are you getting over the language barriers to develop your international business?
34. Get curious and stay curious – this is the best tool for international market intelligence.
35. @deanmeistr It was great speaking with you Dean! Always inspiring to share thoughts with people who see things with different lenses
36. Great brainstorming questions to use multichannel marketing – free for subscribers
37. How have your cross- cultural communication skills helped you in your job?
38. International Business Etiquette Tips – via @Global_Collect
39. Ever considered taking your small business global? Read Laurel Delaney’s series on exporting – via @Global_Collect
40. RT @MaddOphelia – An interesting study in, um, cross-cultural philosophy? – or business beyond cultural borders?
41. China – Chinese Business Etiquette, Manners – via @MarjorieJanczak
42. International Business Directory, Free B2B Export Import Trade Leads – via @hellotext
43. International Sales Best Practice – Define Your Sales
44. What do you do to learn more about your international clients for more international sales?
45. Intercultural conflict - Are Chinese Singaporeans so different from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) counterparts?
46. Interesting insights: Cultural differences in online behavior + comparison in South Korean & Hostede behavior scales
47. Cataloging culture – Hofstede’s periodic tables – Critique of Hofstede’s approach
48. A presentation on culture and business
49. Short YouTube Video – Funny Guy – How to develop an international business? Use native speakers. Wearing mustache doesn’t work – via @davidecorradi
50. How do you implement your international market research into your international communication?
51. Use all marketing best practices even when you start your international marketing on a small scale to get more international sales
52. A Cereal Thriller – interesting insights into General Mills in 100 countries, with more than 100 consumer brands
53. The differences between men and women in web usability criteria – proves true in my home
54. @LuukChristiaens How do you use the Hofstede scales? I like to look at them after a problem, to look for inspiration for a solution.
55. The Disloyalty Issue in Multicultural America – some interesting thoughts, food for discussion
56. Cross-cultural communication gets beyond cultural differences in behaviors, perceptions and customs
57. White Paper Insider BlogTalkRadio May 6th – “Mr. White Paper” @Mike_Stelzner on social media marketing white papers
58. International sales can be a secondary source of revenue
59. What do you need to develop your business internationally?
60. I think that New York is not the cultural centre of America, but the business and administrative centre of American culture – Saul Bellow
61. When does international marketing bring you the most international sales?
62. One area of internationalization that is often overlooked is the value of teaching abroad
63. Economist article on why different countries elevate different careers to run them (US=lawyers/China=engineers) - via @jjude @mjasay
64. Need to understand your international clients more? Develop your own cross- cultural communication skills first
65. Preparation is key for all successful sales meetings. For international clients never forget to review the basics.
66. The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving – Oliver Wendell Holmes
67. RT @adsheik – List of multicultural ad networks
68. Do you think you only need one international website for all of your international clients?
69. Honda fears 95% plunge in ’09 operating profit – via @triploculturado
70. Global airfreight demand stabilises, says IATA - via @RCMBartley
71. Ali Velshi’s blog about the potential impact of H1N1 virus (swine flu) on the economy  – via @RCMBartley @alivelshi
72. International web marketing builds relationships across cultures
73. International Sales Best Practice – More Is Better
74. International Sales Best Practice – Have Fun
75. What is stopping you from developing your cross- cultural communication?
76. Interview @megtoland & @E_Murphy did with Eduardo Crespo on marketing to multicultural markets – via @E_Murphy
77. Awards for Bridging Cultures now open to promote inter-cultural dialogue #thirdsector #funding – via @community_media
78. An interesting look at what we know & how research has been done on stereotyping “Asian” vs. “Western” – via @mrteacup
79. A quick review of the cross-cultural values as defined by Hofstede – via @OBL_ezine
80. The Tricky Truth About Downsizing and why it often fails from Harvard Business Press – via @customersmatter
81. International Sales Best Practice – Honesty And Integrity
82. How does multichannel marketing help you get more international sales?
83. International Sales Best Practice – On Top Of The Details
84. Get to know your new international market before positioning your product in a different culture
85. A great list of culture films
86. Can You Prevent All Cultural Blunders? – just updated this blog post (please RT)
87. Only U.S. mask producers ups production to 24/7, operating at full capacity – via @Tosk59
88. What difference do you see in different marketing channels for different international markets?
89. These 2 guys are kind of cute in explaining US-German differences #intercultural – via @HoeferleConsult
90. RT @paullyoung – LOVE this @EthanZ post on ‘the importance of being a dork’ & cross-cultural understanding
91. Great brainstorming questions to improve trust with international clients – free for subscribers
92. Sweat Georgia Brown – tractor & guitar – a great cross cultural musical meme – via @ernieyacub
93. Twitter Quitters Post Roadblock to Long-Term Growth – when will Twitter’s reach level off? Facebook better?
94. Great Interview with Cross Cultural Corporate Exec Fabio Rizza (www.fabiorizza.com) today ! – via @LauriePR
95. RT @DamonToney – 10 Most Diabolical Fish on Earth - some interesting photos, only have the Moray Eel in the Bahamas
96. Freedom House’s ‘Freedom of the Press 2009′ country rankings – via @Tosk59 – Some countries will be surprised!
97. The travels of Wawa Bear, the Leatherback Sea Turtle (4,471 miles from Canada to French Guiana) – via @Tosk59
98. Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity – Lou Holtz

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Cross-Culture Tweets – Week 18 of 2009