EWISE Communications: Joanne Sanders, on Hurdles of International Marketing

IndustrialSage

Joanne Sanders of EWISE Communications shares unexpected hang-ups from expanding into international markets without proper preparation.

Danny:

Alright, so you are in a treat for today’s episode here on IndustrialSage. I’ve got a very special guest. Her name is Joanne Sanders from EWISE Communications, and she’s going to be joining us today, talking about the importance of messaging with, particularly if you’ve got international companies and you’re expanding, looking to go outside the United States, or if you’re a foreign company and you’re coming here. Joanne has a ton of experience and knowledge there. She’s also on the board of directors for the World Trade Center of Atlanta.

She also serves as– let me look at this because there’s so many things– serves as international marketing liaison for the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance and this year as well. She is very, very popular. She won the Georgia Latina Excellence Award for business and technology. And not only that, the city of Atlanta actually gave her an award as well. So she’s been incredibly busy. Stick around for this episode of IndustrialSage. You’re not going to want to miss it; it’s going to be awesome. I’m Danny Gonzales, and this is IndustrialSage.

So Joanne, thanks so much for joining us on this episode of IndustrialSage. Before we really get going, and we had an intro… you’ve got a lot of great background there. But if you could just introduce our audience to who EWISE is a little bit deeper EWISE Communications and yourself and a little bit more of your background, that’d be awesome.

Joanne:

Yeah, so really, the way that I explain EWISE is really explaining how EWISE began. Really, I’m a former sales executive that was really, quite honestly, frustrated with marketing.

Danny:

Wait, frustrated with marketing? That never happens.

Joanne:

That’s right. So frustrated with marketing, meaning that they were producing a lot of materials that were great, that were beautiful, but they weren’t in alignment to the buying process. They didn’t speak to my buyer. They actually weren’t helping me close the deal. So a lot of times what I would do is I would receive these marketing pieces that weren’t really helping me, so I would basically end up redoing them. And so finally, after a while, I thought, you know what? Why don’t I go ahead and start my own group here, my own agency? And so EWISE came about. That was about nine years ago, and because of that sales background, really EWISE has turned into a target marketing agency.

EWISE really focuses on helping companies launch products, launch into new industries, launch into new regions. A lot of companies have their own marketing person, but when it comes to expanding and really making a big leap into a new market and so forth– and really, it’s a business decision much more than even a marketing decision– that’s usually when they bring me in. And because of that, we’ve actually done a lot of work on the international front. We’ve worked with a lot of international manufacturers, in fact, that are trying to come into the US or to the European market. And we’ve also worked with domestic manufacturers that are trying to expand overseas. That’s a little bit about EWISE.

Danny:

No, I love it. I love the whole–there’s so much friction a lot of times between sales and marketing, and so you hit the nail on the head there. But segueing into our topic and everything that we’re going to be going on as far as the international companies and that specialty, talk to me a little bit about that. What are some of those challenges? Are there challenges around that?

Joanne:

Definitely. The thing about it is that there’s a lot of different nuances when it comes to doing international marketing. So general marketing is really packaging a company, understanding your brand, getting your messaging, your value proposition, really articulating that, and then turning that into pieces that support that and then campaigns that reinforce it to your target audience. But when you’re dealing with international, you really have to take a look at all of those things because you do all of those things. But you have to look at it from a universal perspective. You have to make sure that a message is universal and that message, yet, can apply to different regions and that you can massage that particular message, that brand, to be applicable and to seem localized, yet it’s still communicating at a broader audience. There is cultural nuances that you have to take into account. And so there’s a whole other dimension of things that you really have to think about when you’re doing international marketing. There’s really no room for assumptions. There’s no room for that. You really have to be careful when you’re doing that.

Danny:

And that makes a lot of sense. I know there’s a tremendous amount of companies that are foreign that are making their entrance into the US markets. I know here in Atlanta and Alpharetta, there’s a ton of all kinds of European companies and Asian companies that are here. So what are some of those challenges that they might be facing, coming in as a foreign company, an international company, trying to break into a new industry in the US market in particular. What are some of those challenges from that marketing, that messaging standpoint they might be looking at?

Joanne:

So if you split them up both ways, there’s the foreign companies that have moved into the US market. They’re trying to further anchor into the US market. And a lot of times, those companies… they were successful overseas. And so they’re trying to come into this market, and they’re applying basically the same rules of engagement—

Danny:

We’re going to rubber-stamp it.

Joanne:

That’s right, exactly. And they’re applying the same kind of rules of engagement into this market, and you can’t do that. And so they’re having trouble recruiting workforce or recruiting people to come to their company. They’re having trouble sticking the landing when it comes to this particular market. So a lot of times, it’s a lot of cultural, just a lot of understanding the different business models and the different business dynamics when you’re a foreign company. But when you’re a domestic company that’s trying to expand overseas, you almost have to apply that in the other direction. You can’t assume that the business culture and your business practices and whatever has led you to be successful in one particular market will apply to the other. And so you’ve got to make sure that you open your mind. You check everything, and you don’t run on assumptions.

That’s one of the biggest things that people do is that they assume a gazillion things, and they assume that– Well, I’ll give you some examples. A lot of companies, of course, they’re working on digital marketing campaigns. And they assume that, here in the US you’re doing Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn, and you’ve got a model here. And so they assume that, well, I’ll just replicate that model, and I’ll do it in Spanish. Or I’ll do it in another language. Well, the reality is that there are rules in different cultures. So for example, if you try to do a digital marketing campaign in China, in Asia, there’s other social media platforms in that market that are different, that no one has heard about here in the US. When you’re translating different campaigns and different things, you have to make sure that those messages resonate in different languages. Otherwise, you could really step in it. For example, a lot of times they include email marketing as part of those digital campaigns, and if you’re trying to do email marketing in Europe, Europe has ridiculously strict email privacy laws. And if you start doing email marketing, something as innocent as sending an email or an advertisement through that medium and you violate some of those rules, you can get heavily fined, and in some cases, you can even end up in jail.

Danny:

Really, in jail?

Joanne:

Right, and so you’ve got to really be careful. You can’t assume that a particular marketing initiative that worked in one country or in one region is going to work for another.

Danny:

Right. Well, it sounds like there’s a lot of different things. Outside of the culture, it’s also understanding, what are the rules? What are the rules of the playground over here?

Joanne:

Absolutely. Well, here’s another example. For example, a lot of times people assume that the purchase path of a product is the same in one region versus another. I was raised overseas; I was raised in the Caribbean. And here, if you buy something, if you’re manufacturing tomato sauce or something like that, and you buy it here at the grocery store. You also buy it at the grocery store in Latin America, but there’s also small convenience stores, and then there’s whole communities around those convenience stores, and they’re at every single corner. But actually, if you just focus on the grocery store, you miss out on a huge part of the purchase path of most people that are buying that particular product. And so a lot of times, people don’t think about– they think about, how do I create awareness, and how do I do that? But they don’t think about the supply chain and the purchase path and where the buyer is and how they are buying. And that’s really different in the different countries, based on infrastructure and for a variety of reasons.

Danny:

That’s really interesting. So note to self, no spamming in Europe.

Joanne:

That’s right, no spamming in Europe.

Danny:

It might work here, mainly. But over there, you said you might get in—

Joanne:

You could get into trouble. You can get into big trouble, yes.

Danny:

That’s pretty interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ll see that maybe down the road over here. I know Europe went through a lot of privacy issues and things. And I’m sure that’ll make its way over here to the United States at some point.

Joanne:

Yeah, well and I was just going to add, so I recently spoke at the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance. They had their annual conference about three weeks ago now. And that was one of the things that caught everybody’s attention. They thought, oh, my gosh, I didn’t realize. It’s like I said. Something as innocent as that could get you into a heap of trouble. So you really need to work with experts that really understand what they’re doing and really can at least set that foundation from an international marketing perspective and help others understand what kind of systems that you need to put in place in order to make sure you’re successful.

Danny:

That’s some really great information there. Didn’t know that. So it goes back a little bit to, and we talk about it here all the time, is really strategy personas, looking at that persona development, that’s another level. So you could have your personas leveled out here for the US. But then it’s like that is not necessarily going to translate to somebody overseas. Or maybe it does, but how you reach them is going to be completely different.

Joanne:

Absolutely. If you’re trying to get into the healthcare market in Brazil, it’s going to be very different than trying to penetrate the healthcare market in Asia or in Europe. And it’s all about, there’s different buyers involved, and you have to understand who that persona is and that buyer profile. There’s different buyers. There’s different people that are part of that purchase process and that decision-making path. So it really is. You cannot assume that whatever has worked in one market is going to work in the other. You just can’t assume anything. That’s probably one of the biggest things is that, when you’re dealing with international marketing, you almost need to go back and go back again and go back again and make sure that you cross your T’s and dot your I’s and there’s no assuming anything.

Danny:

That sounds like a whole lot of fun, dealing with some of these things.

Joanne:

Yes, it’s a lot of detail-oriented work, yes.

Danny:

I can only imagine. So bearing this in mind, what are some high-level things to keep in the back of your mind to… expanding into a global market or even those companies that are here?

Joanne:

So I think two things. I think messaging is really important. And it’s important to make sure that you have a universal message and one that is simple. And a simple message doesn’t mean generic; it doesn’t mean boring. It means that you’re just keeping it simple, that you’re using words that everybody understands in order for you to, at a macro level, be able to communicate with everybody. For example, FedEx, “The world on time.” Simple statement, everybody understands that. And they can then mature that and say, “The world on time” or “Brazil on time.” They can take that and massage it for the specific markets that they’re dealing with. But at the end of the day, it’s something that encompasses everything. The other thing I would say is, when you are communicating, make sure that you’re using the power of communicating through words and communicating through design. Visuals can really help cut through a lot of issues, especially when you’re dealing with international markets. And it’s important to make sure that you’re cognizant of how those two are working together. I was reading an article about Louisiana. And Louisiana, nothing is more mouth-watering in Louisiana than a picture of a crawfish with the word Cajun on it.

Danny:

I’m hungry now.

Joanne:

But the reality is that not everybody understands or has seen a crawfish. Not everybody understands the word Cajun. So if Louisiana’s trying to target and market to other people that have never visited, then what they need to do is they need to adjust that picture. You need to be able to communicate. They need to, instead of a close-up, because that could look like a scary animal, you have to draw back, put it on a plate, instead of just saying Cajun which everybody there understands, you have to talk about unique spices that come from this region that will make unique seafood taste mouth-watering good. And when you explain it like that, it’s simple terminology, but it speaks to everybody and actually allows people to grasp at what you’re trying to communicate to them. And it’s just really important that again, you have a simple message that everybody understands and then, you marry communicating through words and design. That’s usually the ticket to being successful.

Danny:

Interesting. So… makes sense. I imagine, though, that not everybody takes this to heart and actually implements this the way that they probably should or could. Any notable blunders that come to mind of any–a little bit, a few?

Joanne:

A few, yeah. Yeah, I’ve got a couple. So there was a–this is one that I shared at the summit with the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance. There was a golf ball manufacturer who was doing very well in Japan. And they were selling large packages of golf balls, and they were doing great. So they thought, how do we take things to the next level? Why don’t we create a smaller package that people could pick up at the cashier, at the convenience store, wherever else. And so they created this sleeve with four golf balls in it. Well, the problem is that the number four in Japan, the sound of the number four means death. So nothing in Japan is in fours. They’re in threes and fives, but they’re not in fours. And that’s a cultural element that the marketing department didn’t realize. So think about it. They produced all of these packages. There was packaging that had to be reassessed. They had to do promotional materials around this. They had to do all of this stuff just to then lose money because then, all of their sales started going down. They’re like, well, what happened? Wait a minute; this is a cheaper product. This was going so well. This is actually a cheaper product. Why are we losing money on it? Well, because they forgot that cultural detail. And see how one little simple thing made a huge difference.

There’s also another one that comes to mind. There’s a very popular beer company, and I probably shouldn’t say the name. A very popular beer company, they had a popular promotion here in the US called “Let it loose with” this company, just let it loose. And so really popular campaign here. They said, you know what? Perfect. We’re going to roll this out into Latin America. And so they did almost a verbatim translation. And so you can imagine, a verbatim translation actually meant, “you’ve got the runs” instead of kicking back and relaxing. And so it was incredibly embarrassing, and they were horrified. They had spent millions of dollars on advertisement just to then have to pull it all back. People were laughing at the brand. And so they ended up having to pull back. Those are some examples.

And I use blunders; I think blunders are good examples of how we can learn and how we can pay attention. You need to make sure that your message translates well, not just your brand message, but your marketing campaign messages. Make sure that it translates well. You’ve got to validate it. If you take the extra step of validating, you’re going to save–think about it. You save millions of dollars. These companies could’ve saved a whole lot of money. Talking to experts that are, again, looking at specific things to make sure that you’re not missing anything is just highly important. I do as much communication as possible around this in order to build awareness because a lot of companies here that are, again, trying to anchor further in need to be cognizant of those kind of things, too. So there’s a German company here that’s trying to–why aren’t people just buying my things? Focusing on the things that resonated with the buyer in Germany, you’ve got to make sure that it actually translates well into the US market, and the same the other way around.

Danny:

That makes a lot of sense, and it’s really interesting. To put it into perspective for their American viewer, talking about– I really like the Louisiana example. We know in the United States, Texas barbecue is really good, and so trying to market that. Maybe New England– New England clam chowder down in—

Joanne:

That’s right; exactly.

Danny:

But to your point, you’ve got audiences who don’t know that or have those nuances. That’s very, very, very difficult. And I can even see that happening here domestically as well, all the different regions and the areas. And so that’s definitely, it’s very important to be able to look at and assess that.

Joanne:

Yeah, well and I think particularly now that customer experience is really important and all those kind of things, it’s really about the buyer, really about the buyer processing information, experiencing everything. And you really just need to be very cognizant. The buyer has always been important, but now almost more than ever. And so you really need to pay attention to what you’re doing. And honestly, the world is becoming global, so this is good practice for any marketer to really start implementing international marketing. And if they’re not familiar, then bring in an expert, set that foundation, and then get going and let your marketing department go because the world is becoming smaller and smaller.

Danny:

Right. And I think you addressed as far as how to avoid some of those blunders. You mentioned really surrounding yourself with experts and people that really– Are there some key takeaways on that? Saying, look, if we want to go into the South American market or companies that are foreign and are coming into the United States, are there four key steps or something that they might be able to take? What would you recommend to those companies before they go whole-hog into something?

Joanne:

Well, so it’s funny because within the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance, I’ve now created an international manufacturing group, and it’s precisely for that reason because most people don’t know what to do. I’m a domestic manufacturer. I want to go overseas.

Danny:

Let’s expand.

Joanne:

Let’s expand, but where do I go? Do I go to Latin America? Do I go to Europe? Do I go here? Do I go there? Same thing for people trying to come into the US. The reality is that it always depends on your circumstance. But sometimes, if you’re trying to come into the US, foreign companies a lot of times, they don’t know about incentives that are available to them. They don’t know about those kinds of programs that are available through the economic development branches that are here within the state. And so part of the group’s purpose is to point people in the right direction depending on what they’re trying to do. If they’re domestic companies, they think, well, I can’t afford to start exporting. There’s grants for people that want to actually export. And so people don’t even realize that those kind of resources are available to them. When they’re expanding overseas, or they have an overseas workforce there’s things like taxes that change. And they’re like, okay, well what do I do now? And their local CPA might not really know about international tax. But then, there’s groups here that focus on that.

So part of the purpose of the group is to try to work with the foreign companies as well as the domestic companies and point everybody in the right direction. It always depends. I can’t list four things to think about, but I think the most important thing is just look out for resources. Surround yourself with people that are available. The good thing about Atlanta is that Atlanta does so much international marketing. There’s over 70 trade centers here and trade, as far as the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce and those kinds of trade groups here. And the reason they’ve invested here is because Atlanta does so much business with those foreign companies. Those organizations are great resources as well. Of course, each one of them is going to be a little bit partial. Come to Sweden; come to Brazil, and everything else. But they can answer a lot of questions as far as, if I was to go to Brazil because I just visited and I really liked it, how would I go about doing that and so forth? So there’s resources like that. There’s the State of Georgia. They’ve got a pretty robust international program there. And then there’s over 200 international organizations including the World Trade Center, which I’m a board member of that is there to basically do a lot of that match-making and to bring together a lot of expertise together and allow people to network. And so there’s a lot of resources available, and obviously within the group, with the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance, that’s part of my purpose is to try to point people in the right direction.

Danny:

So making the right connections there.

Joanne:

Pretty much.

Danny:

Surrounding yourself with experts and really jumping in, taking advantage of the resources that are available.

Joanne:

That’s exactly right. And a lot of times, it doesn’t cost you anything to do that exploration. And so it’s just about making the decision. Okay, we want to explore this in 2018, 2019, whatever it is, so let me start surrounding myself with the right people that can point me in the right direction, and getting knowledgeable because you want to be, you want to know what you’re buying before you buy. You want to know what you’re in before you embark on that, and that’s the smart thing to do.

Danny:

Well, this has been fantastic. It’s been a lot of great information.

Joanne:

Thanks.

Danny:

There’s a lot of nuggets of wisdom and great sound bites that I think is great. It’s really a good eye-opening conversation here. I think one of the big takeaways for me anyways, that I thought was interesting was about how some of the digital marketing tactics that are working here in the States, you can’t rubber-stamp that and say, oh, hey, that’s going to work in Europe. I don’t want to land in jail. or other–hey, you need to be aware of other social networks in other countries that we had no idea about. So really, at the end of the day, it goes back to that strategy and that persona, really getting an understanding of what’s working in that market. This has been fantastic.

Joanne:

Thanks. Thanks for having me.

Danny:

If anybody has any questions, they’d like to ask any questions after this, we’ll put all your information you’ve shown us. But what is the best way of reaching you?

Joanne:

You know, you can find my contact information on ewisecommunications.com. Or you can call me directly at 404-644-2779.

Danny:

Perfect. Thanks so much for joining us.

Joanne:

Thank you for having me.

Danny:

Well, thanks again for watching or listening if you’re on iTunes to this episode that we had here with IndustrialSage with Joanne Sanders with EWISE Communications. Really great; a lot of great information here all the way from companies that… if you are expanding into the United States or companies that are in the US, and they’re looking to go and expand their global reach. Some really strong considerations from a communications and a messaging standpoint that, hey look, the stuff that we’re doing here, whether you’re US-based or you’re foreign-based, may not work in the country that you’re looking to expand. So really, really surround yourself with experts who really understand how to take your product and your service and your messaging and really apply that to where you’re trying to expand and go.

And really jump into the resources. A lot of great resources around here, if you happen to be from Georgia. There’s the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance. Joanne started the international sector of that group there. Make sure that information is in the show notes there. But there’s a lot of resources out there to help you be more successful. So again, key takeaway, really invest. Research; look at where you’re going to go. See what’s going to apply and what isn’t. And thanks again for watching. Like always, if you have any questions, please reach out to us, IndustrialSage.com/questions. And be sure to like, subscribe, share, review, all that good stuff. We’d love to hear back from you. And we will talk to you next week. Thanks.

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