Mistakes Made in International Marketing

Mistakes Made in International Marketing There are many common mistakes made in International marketing and they usually happen through lack of understanding of the market that you're trying to penetrate. The basal mistakes can sometimes be both humorous and devastating once you are made aware of the errors. Not Understanding the Language Translation Among the basal mistakes is in the translation of words. What appears in English as a benign, friendly, kind or gentle name can often translate into a totally different meaning of the word in a foreign language. Let me share a true story with you to emphasis this statement. Years ago, I was involved in International marketing sourcing products for Taiwan to sell into China. My co-partner in that enterprise was a Taiwanese National resident in Australia. Among the local businesses who wanted us to take their product into Taiwan and China was a firm that produced bottled ground water from a fountain in the area. They wanted to call their product "Paradise Water" and sought my partners input into the name and the likelihood of success for this product. Even today, I can see my partners face when he heard the proposed name. He looked shocked so burst into a big grin as he explained that the name was totally inappropriate. Paradise Water in Chinese had connotations of death. People would not buy something that was labelled to kill them. Lack of Understanding the Culture Too many businesses attempt to enter a market without thorough research. Every country does business differently. Among the huge differences I found between the Chinese way of doing business and the ways of the west is in understanding partnerships. Many westerners' do not understand the importance that personal character plays in trade partnerships. The Chinese way is slow and long. They'll not introduce you into their network until they are sure that your character is appropriate. That is, you must prove yourself first to be of good character. That's, you don't lie, cheat, take short-cuts, manipulate, can think on your feet, have a good network of responsible and respectable people. The Chinese do business on a handshake and a person's word before they sign any contracts. If you are western business looking to do business in China, to use my ex-partners phrase "Don't tie them up first". That doesn't mean that you give away the farm to do business, it simply means allow some flexibility for exploring what will bring the most profit in before you sign any contracts. Understand how networking works. Networking in western business culture is not taken as seriously as it is in China. The Chinese bourgeois respects and protects their network more than westerners do. The western business culture involves more socializing and enlarging their list of contacts while in China a network does involve socializing but it's far more implicated with the quality of the people introduced into it. You see, once you introduce someone into your Network, if they do something wrong, it reflects and casts doubt on your character. This tends to make people very responsible members and forms a firm foundation for every good business network. These networks are hard to find, take many time to get into, but are invaluable and very profitable to everyone in the group. To consider penetrating a new International Market there are many things to be researched and developed first and these all take time. Too many western businesses dive-in without considering all the facts. International marketing involves a lot more than just 'doing-the-numbers'.

Anda baru saja membaca artikel yang berkategori dengan judul Mistakes Made in International Marketing. Anda bisa bookmark halaman ini dengan URL http://economyarticle182.blogspot.com/2012/10/mistakes-made-in-international-marketing.html. Terima kasih!

Ditulis oleh: Unknown - Tuesday, October 30, 2012