Blog courtesy of Bridge Global Strategies

Cultural differences are extremely important in marketing and communications, yet we see overseas companies ignoring them in the U.S. and U.S. companies ignoring them overseas. Since international PR is one of our primary specialties, this is an area I’ve given a lot of thought to over many years.

The first step is to understand and acknowledge the importance of these cultural differences.

Many executives tend to think, “It worked at home, why shouldn’t it work here?” Gut instincts about what worked at home aren’t a good basis for making decisions in a new market – no research is a recipe for disaster.

Here’s an example. A couple of years ago we met with an overseas company that was in the process of entering the U.S. market with a hand-held shower that was excellent at saving water, and yet still produced a very strong shower spray, using a new technology that other showers here didn’t have. The marketing executive from the company told us that they had chosen New York – Manhattan – as a test market for their product. I told him that most people in Manhattan live in apartments, and according to the New York Times, two thirds of New Yorkers rent rather than own their apartments (probably even a higher percentage if you just look at Manhattan). Apartment renters do not change the plumbing in their bathrooms. Furthermore, most showers in the U.S. are not handheld, but are attached directly to the wall. Our overseas visitor was very surprised to hear this, since handheld showers are extremely popular in his country. He hadn’t considered the renters-versus-buyers situation in Manhattan. If he’d proceeded with Manhattan as his test market, he wouldn’t have gotten a clear picture of the demand for his product by the average American household.

Here are some tips for avoiding serious marketing mistakes in overseas markets:

  • Listen first before you do anything else. Know who you’re talking to, what their background is and find out how much they know about the services or products you’re selling.
  • Ask open-ended questions. You’ll learn a lot more and be able to position your company and products much more advantageously if you stay away from yes/no questions or from posing “multiple choice” answers. “What are your customers’ favorite beverages and when do they drink them?” will elicit much more information than, “Do your customers like carbonated wines?” or “Which do your customers prefer, carbonated wines or non-carbonated wines?” (The unspoken answers to the latter two questions could be, “Yes, but they don’t like them as much as non-carbonated wines or beer,” or “If most of our customers had to choose, they’d buy carbonated wine, but actually most people here don’t drink wine – beer and hard alcoholic beverages are much more popular.”
  • Educate the people you talk to through case studies and examples.
  • But don’t underestimate their intelligence and level of understanding. Many Americans are guilty of being condescending to people who don’t speak English, thinking that they are somehow lacking savvy and knowledge.  Just because someone isn’t too good with English doesn’t mean she doesn’t know much.  Remember that your overseas business meeting was conducted in English for your benefit, since you don’t have enough knowledge of the local language.
  • Don’t assume that American tastes translate well overseas. For example, different countries and cultures have different color preferences.  That should be kept in mind when designing products or developing marketing materials.
  • Minimize misunderstandings due to language, which are rife in overseas marketing. You want to make sure you understand the needs of the people you are speaking to and that they understand what you’re offering. Many people who speak English in other countries aren’t totally fluent, and it’s common for them to be too proud to admit they didn’t understand something.
    • Repeat back to them what you think they said.
    • Summarize your main points at the end of your conversation.
    • Stay away from using idioms, slang and acronyms. They are very unlikely to be understood, except by really proficient English-speakers.
    • Speak very slowly and enunciate every word carefully.
  • Don’t assume that a translator can actually write well.  Your English marketing materials won’t have much “oomph” in another language unless they are edited in the other language by people who write well in and understand marketing. Translators are not writers and they’re not specialists in marketing and communication.

There are thousands of true-to-life examples of translated materials that are really funny because they sound so awful in another language. Here are just a few:

  • Colgate launched a toothpaste in France named Cue, which also happened to be the name of a well-known porn magazine.
  • When Ford introduced its Pinto car in Brazil, sales were terrible. After the launch, they found out that Pinto is Brazilian slang for “tiny male genitals.” Wouldn’t it have been helpful to do a little local market research instead of assuming that the English name would work?
  • We’ve all seen the full-page ads for the Dairy Association with the slogan, “Got Milk?” The ads were so successful that the Dairy Association decided to translate the slogan into Spanish and expand the ad campaign into Mexico. However, they soon learned that the Spanish translation reads “Are you lactating?”

I’m sure some readers will have their own tips and horror stories. Please comment below and share them with us!

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR, marketing or social media campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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