Let’s not get carried away or be intimidated by the word AMAZING. It’s not that difficult, it’s about attention to detail, to the little things.

Here’s my Top 5 + 1 list of the simple things that add up to being amazing.

Put on your make-up and glad rags

Make your website attractive, interesting and easy to browse
For most businesses these days, the website is their shop front.  Ask yourself, will it grab the eye of your prospects and potential customers?  Are they likely to take a second glance, open the door and step in?

Think:

• Short and sharp messaging
• Attractive graphics
• Clear navigation
• Calls to action
• Fresh content

Simple things: limit the number of bullets: use a √ for bullets instead of • or any other symbols. It seems we like the √ best.
Too bad I can’t demo on wordpress content management system.

Get Found

Stand up and wave at those looking for you. Don’t hide under a bushel.  Get your SEO sorted.

Do your key word research: use google’s free tools. Make everyone in the company aware of your key words: be conscious when you are producing online content of your keywords and use them.  Get keyword density!

www.websitegrader.com is a great tool to help you assess the marketing effectiveness of your website and your ranking versus your competitors.  Get the loop going: run the report, implement their recommendations, run the report.  Watch your ranking improve.

Simple things: make sure you complete your metadata – your page titles and meta descriptions for each page.

Get Social

Social networking OR Social Media Marketing
I’m not going to get into the whole debate on marketing versus networking. How you chose to use all these fantastic social platforms is your business, literally and figuratively.  Suffice it to say, Facebook (the company) is focused on ad revenue generation: more and more people are joining Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin and using them to build brand and name awareness for their businesses.  Don’t forget, there are lots of people out there searching for solutions and YOU, all the time.

Simple things: set up a Linkedin Group for your business.  Invite all your clients, prospects and staff to join. Use it to offer discounts, special deals to this group: to broadcast any company news, product upgrades.  Get some discussions going.

Use the search function on Tweetdeck and the # tag.  Check out how your competitors use it.

Answer the phone: be polite and friendly

In other words, offer great customer service.

Simple things: don’t automatically assume your staff are good on the phone. Many are not. Many hate answering the phone.  Have a section on answering the phone as part of new staff induction.  Do some role play. Explain that it is expected that all staff pick up the phone when necessary.  Write some phone scripts!

Be Visible

Those who are visible get noticed! The current economic climate has all sorts of people out on the streets, networking, attending events, reeling off their one minute pitch.  This is great.  For many, it’s not a natural skill and it would be a lot easier to go home and flop on the sofa after a hard day’s work.  Persevere.  It gets easier. Relationships will form and build.

Simple things: ask first what someone does: then, tailor your pitch to how you think it might relate to his/her business.  If it doesn’t don’t flog a dead horse.  Move on, unless you’re having fun.  Enjoy the conversation, then move on.

Think Global, Act Local

Finally, if you are working in a global market place or international markets you need to apply the above in each market.

Go on, be amazing every day.

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This post is part of the HP SugarTone contest: “Making your business amazing”, sponsored by Hewlett Packard

Overseas communities have long played an important role in the economic development of their home countries.

Last month  saw the launch in Dublin of Gateway Ireland , an ambitious project to leverage these ancestral ties by connecting the modern Irish State with the Irish diaspora worldwide using Web 2.0 technology.

However, the Irish will not be the first ethnic group to extend the virtual border of their nation beyond geographical boundaries with Web 2.0 technology.

OneVietnam Network, which launched a beta site on 17^th June 2010, is the first social network site built by a diaspora to connect up geographically dispersed communities worldwide.  OneVietnam’s goal is to promote networking among the global Vietnamese to support  philanthropic activities and promote development in the motherland.

Vietnam Today is not Vietnam Yesterday

Hanoi Towers (c) E8Club www.flickr.com

Vietnam today bears little resemblance to the country represented in Hollywood movies of the last 50 years.

With one of Asia’s youngest populations, Vietnam  is a rapidly developing country of 86 million people with a vibrant, dynamic, high growth economy.  Twenty years since the government started the policy of modernization or ‘renovation’, the problems faced by the country today are as much to do with success as they are to do with underdevelopment.

Vietnam’s people at home and abroad are diligent, forward thinking, and smart.  There is a great sense of optimism that the country is successfully making the transition to a brighter future. Overseas communities have been actively cultivated by the government for many years and are playing a key role in development at home.

The worldwide overseas community is made up of several million first and second generation Vietnamese located in the USA, France, UK, Canada and over 26 other countries including Ireland.

The goal of the OneVietnam Network  is to provide a contemporary channel for what Vietnamese people have always done: collaborate for the benefit of families and communities, regardless of where they are located.

Who are OneVietnam?

OneVietnam was started by a group of young Vietnamese American professionals .  With the support of a heavyweight advisory board of US academic , philanthropic and IT business leaders, the project kicked off in 2009.   The project aim is to deliver an online platform  that uses the latest in Web 2.0 technology to connect up the Vietnamese global community for the purpose of philanthropy.

OneVietnam Network is non-political  and non-profit organisation.  It is funded by the East Meets West Foundation (EMWF).  One of EMWF’s biggest sponsors  is Chuck Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies, an organisation very well known to Irish readers.

The project has already gained serious momentum even before the official launch.  While the final platform was under development, the team started to recruit community through The OneVietnam  Facebook Page which has 5000+ fans and the OneVietnam  blog which contains  200+ original articles and received more than 50,000 hits in 2009.

How Does OneVietnam Work?

Click here to view the embedded video.

OneVietnam Network allows users to discover and take part in their community through a one-click, search find- and-contribute system. Users can instantly sign up to the philanthropic projects that matter to them most, like the construction of a new library in their hometown.

Another aim of OneVietnam Network is to open up dialogue opportunities between Vietnamese worldwide, helping younger generations to get reinvested in their motherland – as well as filling in the communication gap between individuals who want to contribute and nonprofits who can provide resources.

The Platform Features:

• Connect to OneVietnam using existing accounts with Google, Facebook or Twitter so there is no need for an extra sign in.

• Pull and publish content from YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Twitter, Kiva and more.

• Receive instant updates, videos, pictures, events and blogs from the people and groups building the Vietnamese community, anywhere in the world.

• Champion a cause:  Publish an idea, gain the support from peers, and become a champion of a cause.

• “1-click philanthropist “ button -  Users can donate time or money to a cause in just a click. Projects can be tracked and users can see the fruit of their contributions through videos, photos, and first person accounts.

• The initial launch on 17th June has a US English user interface but the site code is world ready and already supports localised content.  UI localization is not immediately planned but will be considered if there is sufficient demand.

Q&A with OneVietnam Network

Uyen Nguyen, Co-founder OneVietnam Network

I chatted recently to Uyen Nguyen, co-founder and business development director of OneVietnam Network, about the project:

DQ: What is the difference between OneVietnam.Org and just creating an online group on Facebook or Linked in, for instance?:

UN: “In addition to the many extra features for making connections with the community available on the new platform, the key difference between us and other social networks is our philanthropic focus.  Try raising funds for an important cause on Facebook day in and day out.  You’ll be competing with the hundreds of other things that people go onto Facebook to do.  On OneVietnam, we attract people who share a common appreciation for the Vietnamese culture, and then we make it easy for them to contribute to causes that help Vietnamese people.  “

DQ: The US contains many different groups of people with overseas heritage. In these times of economic uncertainty, what role do you think that a diaspora can play in supporting the economic and social development of the heritage country?

UN: “There is no doubt that Vietnamese expats have a strong affinity for Vietnam and desire to help the disadvantaged in our motherland.   Vietnamese expats send about $7 billion (USD) in remittances to Vietnam each year.  That’s nearly 10% of Vietnam’s GDP.  “

DQ: For other countries with large expat communities around the world, do you think that the OneVietnam platform and concept could be adapted so we would have, for instance, a OneIreland.org, OneIndia.org, OneThailand.org etc ?

UN: “Definitely! It is in our long term vision to make the OneVietnam platform available to other ethnic communities.  We’ve actually already begun speaking to other expat communities, and they’ve all shown strong interest in adopting the technology.  Our platform not only will be the best way to connect expat communities spread out across the world but can also transform the landscape of philanthropy altogether.  One of the technologies we’re working on is an intelligent system that will “automagically” match you up with philanthropic projects that matter to you most, like the construction of a library in your home town in Nha Trang, Vietnam.  “

DQ:  Even though OneVietnam.org has its roots in the USA community, do you see the platform as a global one that will include the Vietnamese communities in other countries increasingly in the future?

UN: “Certainly!  We want OneVietnam Network to be a global network, with Vietnamese people and friends of Vietnam from all corners of the world.  First we will have to focus our resources to bringing the Vietnamese American community online. Rest assured, you will see us marketing like mad in other parts of the world when we have more funding and man power.  The amazing thing about the internet is that anyone can have access to our network.  So we welcome Vietnamese people from any where in the world to join us online!  “

DQ: Any release dates & other red letter days for OneVietnam this year?

UN: “Our preview launch will be on June 17.  Starting June 17, users can sign up on our website to preview the network and to provide early feedback.  Some features of the network will continue to be developed until our public launch, which we hope to happen later this year.  “

This article follows on from my earlier focus on taking those first tentative steps towards exporting. On the assumption that your initial research into your intended destination has identified a gap in the market or a need for your product (other than its low price), the following criteria should be considered an essential part of your marketing endeavour. This article should be read in conjunction with my pieces on managing channel partners.

Before I continue, I feel it’s worth highlighting two points:

1. Marketing should be considered as a discipline in its own right, not an occasional add-on to the Sales function – a clash which invariably plays out within SMEs, often through budgetary constraints.
2. In order to best plan your go-to-market strategy, you will already have decided on your target customer base(s), and how you will position your brand locally. You cannot be all things to all people, so clarifying this internally will at least line you up at the starting post. I highlighted segmentation in the context of pricing in an earlier posting.

What Does it Say on the Tin?

The competitive climate in all countries is challenging, so your campaign needs to be innovative if you are to stand out in a crowded market.  “Innovative” need not necessarily mean wacky, extravagant or bullish, but it must strike a chord with your desired customer base.

Your campaign needs to be innovative if you are to stand out in a crowded market

Your marketing collateral may be the first contact a prospect has with your company, so in raising awareness, you need to be clear about what benefit you are offering.  Avoid the use of vacuous terms like “solutions”, and “services”, unless you can substantiate these.  You may well be able to offer these at a later stage, in association with partners.

Products identified with saving time, duplication of effort and money and promoting “green” initiatives are all actively sought by customers today. Innovative products guaranteeing these may not necessarily be very expensive, but have been well designed with a specific environment or context in mind.  Stating your credentials, expertise and examples of any recent project wins  – even in your domestic market – will create a stronger image than a load of ambiguous text.

Marketing Tools: Content is King

An integrated approach to marketing works best:

Web site: localise this where possible, even if initially you only post up contact details for your local rep; Press releases, awards, customer references, project wins and brochures are all expected these days. If your budget can stretch, seriously consider a short webcast, to make your site less static.  If you are exhibiting at an event, post this, and offer a facility to book a meeting.

Blog: Not suitable within all B2B environments, but definitely worth considering as part of the marketing mix. This is one area where prospects are invited to contribute to the discussion without committing. Typically, via the landing page, we offer a white paper in exchange for their contact details, and although this is still important, a blog is a softer way to capture richer data on potential clients’ expectations. Brand building can be achieved by having several colleagues contribute, e.g. Marketing, R&D, Product Management, Channel partners.
Brochures: Must match the brand image you are building.

Direct email campaigns: Use qualified leads, and be as specific as possible. Use simple analytical tools such as Google to track potential leads.   Don’t forget to include an unsubscribe option.

Ally Sales with Marketing

To minimize risk at the early stages of market expansion, a supplier may opt to employ a business development executive, who travels out to a country to build up qualified leads and business. That executive may then relocate, to base him/herself permanently in that country.  Only at this stage, may investment be committed to deploying a Marketing manager.  If this incremental route is used, it is still important that there is a consistency in approach.

Marketing is there not only to highlight your superior products, but also to define boundaries, so that customers’ expectations are not artificially raised.  Your sales rep is a natural extension of your brand building, the part which brings your company to life internationally, so ensure that there is consistency between what you do and say.
Areas where they can effectively collaborate include client workshops, V.I.P. briefings, RFPs, and client briefings.

Do you have anything to add to my international checklist?

English is Just Another Language

May 6th 2010 was one of the most important days in the 40 years of the Internet’s existence.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has launched domain names written in local scripts for local languages – so called ‘International Domain Names‘ (IDNs).

English now has really become ” just another language”.  And here’s why:

People  will now be able to type local language domain names into the address bar of their browser using their local keyboard and local script – as well as have email names that are fully in their local script.

(cc) Kjirstin www.flickr.com

What  implications does this have for the future of the Web?

One thing we do know:  the number of keyboard characters available for creating a domain name at the top level will go from the 26 characters available in English today to the more than 100,000 characters available in other languages.

Domain names are a key part of brand equity whose value has been partly based until now on the limited number of characters available to create them.

A massive explosion in International Domain Names (IDNs) is bound to follow. What will this do to the brand equity of traditional global brands?

The ICANN Announcement

The first International Domain Name (IDN) country code Top Level Domain (ccTLDs) to be launched are as follows:

1. Egypt: مصر (Egypt)
2. Saudi Arabia: السعودية (AlSaudiah)
3. United Arab Emirates: امارات (Emarat)

This means we will now be seeing domain names ending in local script for these countries instead of the Roman alphabet alternative such as .EG for Egypt or .SA for Saudi Arabia etc.

http://Example.com in Hindi

The first site to go live with an IDN will be the Egyptian Ministry of Communication with many more to follow.

And there are more languages on the way also.  Here is the list of countries who have entered the IDN ccTLD process to date.

What This Means for You

For some time, the character of the Internet has become increasingly local – less Euro or US-centric.  More than 73% of internet users now do not have English as a first language.

The introduction of IDNs has far reaching consequences for all societies, but particularly those in the developing world.  This small technical tweak will lead to a massive step change in how the internet is used in those countries.  In particular, it will open the web to new users who would never have been able to access or trade online before.

And most of them will not speak a Western European language.

Just for a start, consider this:

• A knowledge of English or any other Western Language will no longer be a prerequisite to using the web.
• For the very first time, the web will be accessible to anyone who is literate anywhere in the world who has access to an internet connection.
• Local businesses will be able to set up fully local eCommerce systems that use local brand names in local scripts.

And then there are other questions:

• What kind of response do global online marketers have to the rise and rise of local markets for local people in local languages?
• Has the dominance of traditional (Western) brands on the web been based solely on technical deficiencies with the Internet that are now at last resolved?
• What does all this mean for Search and in particular for the future of  global search engines like Google, a company that has already withdrawn from a major high growth country in the developing world.

Many of these consequences will take some time yet to play out but it looks like we may at last have reached a tipping point to a truly multi-lingual web.

One thing is certain, however: the number of web users worldwide will grow exponentially with this change.

The key question for marketers is this: how many of these new users will provide the organic growth opportunities for traditional (Western) global brands – brands that are desperate to access new consumers in the developing world to bolster their declining markets in Europe, Japan and North America?

Will ‘localisation’ be enough next time around?

And just what kind of a place will the Internet be in 10 years time?

Exciting times!

After almost a month’s absence here is another review of the business articles I enjoyed reading on BizSugar over the past week.  As usual I’m sharing the links with some of the thoughts they inspired related to international business.

How to improve your communication skills

Like this article? Sweet here.

In international business you always need to work on improving your cross-cultural communication skills. This is why I enjoy reading articles on improving communication skills.  This article raises some great points… but they don’t work in all cultures. Unfortunately the differences would take too long to cover here.

But this article is a good read for non-native English speakers who want to improve their English language communication. And it can serve as a comparison tool when honing your communication with cultures where these tactics do not have the same results.

What do you think of these tips?

Why Strategic Opportunity Reviews Fail

Like this article? Sweet here.

Do you want to develop your international business? Then I recommend reading this article by S. Anthony Iannarino.  It applies particularly well to international clients too.

It’s crucial to find the right balance when carrying out strategic opportunity reviews for international clients.

What do you find the most difficult to do, focusing on your strengths or addressing the concerns of your international clients?

The Quest for Customer Engagement: Are You Overlooking Opportunities?

Like this article? Sweet here.

Skip Anderson raises some great points about cultivating customer engagement. Different cultures respond to different triggers and you’ll need to adjust your tactics for your international clients.

But Skip gives us some tips on how to incite stronger customer engagement and these can also be a good starting point when reflecting on how to get more international customer engagement.

What are you doing to cultivate engagement from your international customers?

I Can’t Find C-Level Executives on Linkedin

Like this article? Sweet here.

The main reason why I liked this article by Bill Rice is it moves you into the type of strategic networking you can use online to build your international business network.

I particularly like Bill’s last suggestion of looking in different places and the advice to not make assumptions.  You can go very far in developing a network valuable for you international business… if you network strategically and apply some basic cross-cultural communication skills.

Does LinkedIn help you develop international connections?

1 Fantastic Technique to Generate New Business

Like this article? Sweet here.

Sarah Mitchell reminds us of the value of regularly commenting on other blogs.  This is a simple thing to do and it’s easy to underestimate it’s value.

I often get requests from small businesses about how to start building their international network online and most of them have not even spent the time on the simple things.  This is why I appreciate Sarah’s reminder of how doing the simple things can bring in clients over time.

How often do you comment on other blogs?

5 Keys to Get Your Head in the Marketing Game

Like this article? Sweet here.

And in this article Walt Goshert reminds us of the importance of marketing. I liked reading this article for the same reason as reading Sarah Mitchell’s article above.

Too many of the people who contact me are only interested in getting the international sale.  And they don’t realize the need to adjust their marketing to their different international audiences.

How much time do you invest in marketing to your international markets?

10 Reasons Not To Ignore Your Blog For Facebook

Like this article? Sweet here.

Lisa Barone makes some great points all businesses must remember as the pull to create a strong Facebook presence gets stronger with the ever increasing market reach.  After all Facebook is also strong in many countries across the globe.

This article also reminds us of the need to think strategically about where we invest our time online.  Many different factors come into play when your web communication has to connect with people in different countries.

Is your business on Facebook, and if so, where is your central communication hub?

When most people think about globalising a website and social media presence, they think about translating text.

Pictures and images it seems are universal.  Or are they?

While most of us respect the fact that in different countries people speak different languages, we still seem to find it hard to grasp that people can speak different visual languages in different countries also.

An exaggeration?

Not Really.  The UK and the USA may share English as a mother tongue but they don’t share a common set of road traffic signs.

Don't Walk (cc) RandomWire www.flickr.com

The red hand symbol has a particular meaning for a US citizen at a pedestrian crossing – “Don’t Walk” . But this meaning is largely unknown in other countries where English is also the official language. In UK and Ireland, for instance, the Red Hand is a political symbol – in Nigeria, an open hand facing palm out is a (very) insulting gesture.

Flag of the Ulster Nation (cc) Wikipedia Commons

There is a wide spread misconception on the part of many marketers, designers and web developers that images and signs are somehow a global language that require no translation. “What works at home will work anywhere – won’t it? Afterall, we’re a global brand “. Or so the mantra goes.

Cross Cultural Communication with Signs

Restaurant Sign (cc) Creative Commons Project

The classic example is the notorious restaurant sign. It ’s the textbook example, in fact.

The problem is that the vast majority of humanity eats food with chopsticks – not knives and forks. Something which is often overlooked in the Western, English-speaking part of the world.

“No problem”, pipes up the creative, “We’ll use an image with chopsticks to symbolise a restaurant for that market”.   A risky proposition if your designer doesn’t speak the visual language of your target market.  The nice image of chopsticks in a ‘V’ shape below symbolizes death in some, but not all, Asian countries.

Chopsticks (cc)TheBusyBrain www.flickr.com

The bottom line – using a visual image as a metaphor for something else [e.g. knives and forks for a restaurant] is a very bad idea unless you speak the visual language of a country. And nowhere is this better illustrated than with the following example.

Flags and Maps

There is an increasing trend toward the use of national flags as navigational links to language versions of web pages on multilingual sites . But just because a lot of people do it doesn’t mean it is best practice. In fact, it could get you in a whole heap of trouble.

Flag Eguals Language

Ask yourself, for instance, does the UK flag symbolise ‘pages in the English language’ or ‘pages for people living in the UK’? With the vast majority of English speakers living outside the UK, using a UK flag as the symbol for the English language will result in a lot of lost traffic if you are looking for English speakers – rather than people who live in England. In fact, both these readerships may be confused by what you mean by the UK flag symbol. Symbols are ambiguous where text isn’t.

Nor is it advisable to use a national flag to symbolize ‘pages for people living in a particular country’ a lot of the time.

Flag as Country?

Taiwan (Chinese Taipei ) is only recognised as a country by one European state (The Vatican City) – the vast majority of UN members regard Taiwan as part of PRC China.  Using the unrecognised Taiwanese flag to link to Taiwan ‘Country/Region’ pages would almost certainly get your site blocked in the rest of China.

Countries which are multilingual also don’t fit this “national flag equals language/country metaphor” for the navigation scheme – it excludes countries which have more than one official language such Belgium, Canada, Spain, and most African countries. You end up having to make a choice between one official language or the other which ultimately will upset someone you are trying to be friends with, presumably.

Let’s Not Forget the Maps

Maps are also nice to look at but aren’t any safer than flags.

The Chinese government regard any map that shows Taiwan on its own without mainland China as offensive.  Pakistan and India still have active border disputes – famously and expensively forcing the re-release of Windows 95 as it contained a map which favoured one side over the other. Vigorous, unresolved border disputes are a commonplace – Vietnam/China, North/South Korea, Morocco/Algeria, the list is endless.

Using a map graphic which shows a political boundary is bound to upset someone somewhere who might block your site or at least decide not to buy your products.

Maps are a very risky metaphor to use.  So why take the chance?

Best Practice - Location List

So what should you do?

Best practice is still what it has always been – use the official name of the country in the native language as the navigation link to the localised pages – resist the temptation to use flags, maps or other symbols to represent countries or languages.  Using text is the least likely to cause offense, is better for usability and works best for SEO.

Is your Site World Ready, Visually Speaking?

All too often, making a site multilingual involves getting a translator to localize text .  The translator gets no input into – or may never see – the graphics or pictures used on a site.  Even though these images – so our marketers and designers tell us – are what create the biggest and most lasting impression on customers.

Isn’t it worth paying your translator to do a couple of hours review of your online pictures, video and other visual content? Better still, involve translators when you are designing your home country site and build a ‘world ready’ review into your next major online update.

Is your web site and social media content world ready, visually speaking?

I’ve been doing some research on the Irish SME sector and the role of blogging in companies’ international marketing strategy.  There aren’t many doing it yet so it’s not possible to draw many conclusions.

From the outset I proffer three points:

1. A blog is another channel to raise awareness for your company.
2. A blog is a great mechanism to anchor your Social Media Marketing strategy.
3. A blog can only be one of a number of your international marketing activities.

Today I am looking at Ceramicx Ireland Ltd, a technical infrared heater manufacturer, exporting to 63 countries around the world.  It operates out of its manufacturing and research facility on the stunning backdrop of the Mizen Peninsula, Ballydehob, West Cork, Ireland.

Ceramicx’s MD, Frank Wilson is an engineer by profession but is an advocate for marketing.

Key Facts

• Most of its revenue comes from exports.
• Some country revenue is from one-off client sales.
• It has an industry leading R&D orientatation.
• It is number 2 in the world in ceramics – size wise.
• It is 1 of 7 recognized world players.
• The industry is long established with a strong community.

Ceramicx are now focusing on a number of markets:

• China
• Far East
• Germany
• Russia
• The English speaking markets – UK/USA

The company is passionate about:

Its products and expertise and shaping the industry through R&D:

Marketing: Frank Wilson, its CEO, is an engineer by profession but believes marketing, niche positioning and Thought Leadership are fundamental to building a global and sustainable business. In addition, Frank believes communication through story-telling, strong brand personality (and a little controversy on occasion), help build its online presence and reach and engage its existing customers and new target customers.

Marketing objectives
Ceramicx allocates a significant budget to marketing.
They are working from a 5 year strategic plan which now integrates on and offline marketing.

Ceramicx’s objectives are to a) to define the industry and b) build an online community around the industry with itself at the centre.

Social Media Marketing Strategy
Ceramicx believes in the power of Social Media Marketing.  Like many organisations, it started its eStrategy in 2009.  It is using its blog to anchor its SMM strategy and to communicate the brand values, history and stories of the company, while at the same time, building followers, loyal employees and converting leads from interested observers to buyers.

It uses Linkedin to connect and engage with its industry, joining relevant groups, and it is starting and getting involved in discussions and online forums.  Ceramicx engages with its competitors online and invites them to join in on their discussions.  Together, they make the industry stronger.

It hasn’t yet set up a Ceramicx Linkedin Group but plans to do so once it has better established itself as an authority.

Ceramix also has a Twitter account, @ceramicx which it opened in the 3rd quarter of 2009.  It doesn’t yet have critical mass and needs to devote more time to this platform.

Its blog stream is automatically published on Linkedin.

Right now, Ceramicx realize that many of the influencers within its target group don’t have the proficiency to interact via these new social networking platforms: neither does it fall within their remit.  This group hasn’t yet recognized the entire value of an online community.  But, Ceramicx sees a growing trend and believes in time its target audience will be online and community based.

Blogging
Ceramicx posts new content on average once or twice a week.

The focus of the blog is to generate content that will validate Ceramicx’s brand as a Thought Leader and authority on its subject matter.

In time, they plan to add more guest posts to their blog.

Interaction with other blogs
At the moment Ceramicx is tracking other blogs in its industry.  It is however, focusing on building its reputation as an authority now, rather than leaving too many comments on other blogs.  It expects to interact more at a later stage in its campaign.

Creating a blog character
To bring some fun and interest into their blog, Ceramicx are using Kelvin the cartoon character as a mouth piece to offer more controversial opinions.  It is another way to tell stories and engage with its audience and keep bringing people back, while at the same time, protecting the brand for its more conservative readership.

Ceramicx's blog

http://www.ceramicx.com/en/2009/12/to-measure-is-to-manage-infrared-heating/

Kelvin is a chameleon and like infra-red, cannot be detected.

Ceramicx plan to use Kelvin more in the future.

Other Social Networking Platforms
They have a Facebook page but are not yet populating or building it in any meaningful way.  Likewise, they have a limited number of videos as yet to upload to YouTube.  Both of these platforms are on their list for increased activity towards the end of 2010.

Social Bookmarking
They are doing limited bookmarking at the moment but expect to increase this activity in the future.

Commitment
Ceramicx is committing significant resources to its eStrategy and Social Media Marketing strategy: the maintenance and online interaction on its active social networking platforms is in the region of 5 – 6 hours per week.

Multi-lingual markets
Frank lived and worked for many years outside Ireland.  He believes one of his key strengths is communicating with his non-English speaking clients and prospects in a way that neither party is disadvantaged by a lack of fluency in each other’s mother tongue.  He regards it a joy of his professional life that he is privileged to work with people in places as diverse as the Middle East, China and Germany.

•    If we care to interact and communicate with the customers in these regions – we can do business.
•    By interacting in their language – we are INCREASING our chances of being successful.
•    Its about the 3rd Step of Globalization – Acting and Marketing your business like a local player.
•    With the Internet – this means using a “local” website, with local languages that can meet local requirements.

Ceramicx, within normal business constraints, is consequently committed to communicating in the local market language.  Ceramicx’s website is currently translated into 9 languages.  The degree of translation is dictated by Ceramicx’s activity and prospects in that market.  Their foreign language websites have been up for more than 2 years which has helped google ranking in those local markets.

Frank Wilson, MD Ceramicx

Their blog is not yet translated but it is in their future planning.  As revenues grow in each foreign language market they will be able to pledge further marketing resource.

At the moment Ceramicx is profiled in each country as a.com vesus .de (for Germany, for instance).  They may in the future move to local country hosting.

Measurement
In Frank’s own words “To manage is to measure”.  Ceramicx will only continue with its SMM and eStrategy if the analytics confirm that its initiatives are working.  And they are!

Headline Figures are for last 4 months versus the same months in the previous year are:
•    Website Traffic is up 176%
•    Unique Visitors up 180%
•    High success in 14 of 15 English Key phrases (targeted phrases with volume)
•    High success in 32 of 36 multilingual key phrases (same as above)
•    Major increases in website traffic from 24 of 25 countries
•    Organic Google Search Traffic up 170%
•    Organic Yahoo Search Traffic up 170%
•    Direct Traffic up 85%

SEO
Granite Consulting (www.granite.ie) support Ceramicx’s e-Strategy with SEO.  They have identified 9 key phrases in English for optimization: highly trafficked terms.  Blogs and content reference these key words and phrases.

They track traffic via google analytics and google alerts to identify where Ceramicx is being mentioned.

In the past year Ceramicx has reduced its google ad campaigns as its organic ranking has significantly improved as a result of consistent and good content posted to its blog.

Links
Granite also does a lot of work with Ceramicx in relation to link building: identifying relevant sites with which to link: identifying individuals within those organizations to contact and making the contact – with relevant “business case” to request the link.

Online Reputation Management
At the moment their activity and tracking is limited to Google Alerts and management by requirement.  They expect to have to pay more attention to this in the future as they extend their activities across platforms and in more countries.

Social Media Marketing Policies
As it is only a few key individuals within Ceramicx who are creating content and representing the Ceramixc brand online, they have not felt a need to develop SMM policies.

Conclusion
Ceramicx is wholly committed to building its brand and reputation using Social Media Marketing: its blog and linkedin are its key social networking platforms currently but it expects to develop and exploit other platforms in due course.  To-date it is pleased with the results it’s achieving and the ROI (return on investment) for its marketing budget.

The figures speak for themselves!

Do you know of any Irish companies who are successfully blogging for international business? Please share your experiences.

Has recession in your home market hit the bottom line?

Never fear, salvation is at hand.

All you need to do is translate your web site into the appropriate language to tap into those lucrative foreign markets.

In the ‘flat world’ of the internet, if you build a local presence overseas, they will come.

Worried about telephone enquiries in a foreign language?  Just get your local call centre to manage those for you.   Email enquiries?  Google Translate can take care of those.

Just sit back and watch your profits grow.  It’s that simple.

Or is it?

Don’t Forget your Offline Strategy

Lucas Jons (CC) www.flickr.com

The internet appears to have lowered barriers to entry into foreign markets. But has it really meant easier access to overseas customers once the ‘inconveniences’ of language and culture have been overcome by the marketeer?

The OECD Survey (2009) “Top Barriers and Drivers to SME Internationalisation” outlines some of the reasons why your international website might not make you a multi-millionaire overnight.  Especially if you haven’t thought in detail about the offline bits of your international marketing mix before taking the online leap.

SMEs in advanced economies faced the following challenges when going global, according to the OECD survey:

• Shortage of working capital to finance exports
• Problems identifying foreign business opportunities
• Limited information to analyse/locate markets
• Inability to contact overseas customers
• Obtaining reliable foreign representation
• Lack of managerial time to deal with internationalisation
• Lack of staff training for or experience of internationalisation
• Difficulty in matching international competitors prices
• Lack of home government assistance/incentives
• Excessive transport costs
• Failure to develop new products for foreign markets
• Unfamiliar exporting procedures/paperwork
• Failure to meet export quality standards or specifications

Despite the advent of international eCommerce, small business is still facing the same diseconomies of scale and high transaction costs that it has always endured.  We can’t all be Amazon.

But how can nimble SMEs and microenterprises overcome these offline challenges to their online business plans?

Seven ‘Offline’ Tips for Online Success

It may seem obvious but you need to consider how your international marketing mix addresses each of these offline challenges before you design that shiny new overseas web presence. You’d be surprised how many firms fail to do this.

by Amasc (CC) www.flickr.com

Like the firm who spent thousands of euros on a web site, trade shows and print to promote a complex B2B product in Japan but had no Japanese speaking engineers to convert the leads.

Of course, localising your web presence is an important, final step in any international business strategy.  But it is surprising how many firms rush into an online strategy without thinking through a detailed marketing mix.

This can have unintended, expensive and unpleasant consequences –not least of which is ballooning web development costs as your website gets reworked when these unaddressed challenges emerge after the site launch.

Remember, you will need to think about how you will:

1. build  a ‘world ready’ business organisation
2. research a clearly quantifiable, profitable  and reachable target market
3. source  adequate finance
4. identify cost effective distribution channels
5. recruit a reliable in-country representative
6. devise a local pricing strategy
7. develop relevant products or services that meet local quality standards and local needs.

And you should probably do this before you telephone your web developer.

Now that shouldn’t be too hard now, should it?

Here is another review of the business articles I enjoyed reading on BizSugar and some of the thoughts they inspired related to international business.

How Will You Reinvent Yourself in Q2-2010?

Like this article? Sweet here.

S. Anthony Iannarino reminds us to take stock now to prepare for a successful second quarter of the year.  He asks us to review our results for the first quarter and to question our beliefs to see what has changed.

There is a good analogy here with good international business practices. When you are developing new international markets you need to continuously question your beliefs and keep a tab on your performances.

What are you going to change in the next three months?

The Changing Marketing World With Scott Scully

Like this article? Sweet here.

This Rise To The Top video discusses the value of focusing on what you are good at. It’s not always easy to find people who combine traditional and new media marketing expertise to lead your business in today’s markets.

I’ve found that applying my traditional international business skills online has helped me tremendously to get results from new media marketing.

What other traditional skills bring results for your business when combined with web marketing?

Witnessing Adaptability!

Like this article? Sweet here.

Of course adaptability is crucial to international business success.  But I had to smile as I read Elaine Roger’s story of a Little Brown Bird adapting to life in a hostile environment located in Amsterdam.  There must be other Little Brown Birds living in very similar situations in other countries.

So, when we have to adapt our business to different cultures and practices to grow abroad, we might not be the first businesses going through similar processes of adaptation.

What can we learn by from watching others?

10 Reasons Your Competitor Has Double Your Blog Subscribers

Like this article? Sweet here.

This is a great read by Lisa Barone if you want to improve the RSS subscriptions on your blog.  But I also liked the in-depth review of trying to figure out why things are working better for others.

Sometimes a good in-depth review of the differences between what you are doing and what another successful international company is doing can reveal valuable bits of information. The key is to look long enough to uncover the whole picture.

Do you try to find the differences in what your competitors are doing differently?

How to Optimize Google Buzz for Social Network Benefits

Like this article? Sweet here.

I read this article by Wong Ching Ya to learn more about Google Buzz. This is just one new networking tool to use online. But it seems like there is a never ending stream of tools to keep up with which can easily become a bit overwhelming.

Fortunately I’ve always had to focus on finding the right networking tools for international audiences.  When you do a lot of international networking it’s easier to find the tool that works best. There are so many other cross-cultural communication factors to take into account that you don’t won’t to be bogged down with platforms and technology.

When do you think the choice in online networking will get simpler?

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Have you ever been caught out saying the wrong thing at a business meeting abroad? You wouldn’t be the only one.  We are so wedded to our native cultures that sometimes we just don’t think. Cultural references, something as simple as “How’s the craic” can leave our listeners with a blank stare.  For the non Irish craic (pronounced, crack) is Irish for fun and a colloquialism that trips off our tongues.

I remember working in Amsterdam many years ago, barely out of college and Ireland.   The discussion was on first names.  In mixed company, one who was an Arab and Muslim, I made reference to Christian name – which for me meant first name.  No sooner was it out of my mouth than I realized the literal translation, followed by a bright red blush.  It just never occurred to me! Needless to say, that was the last time I ever used the term.  Since returning to Ireland, I’ve noticed people still say Christian name.

Nobody is going to shoot you for saying the wrong thing but with a little more care we can spare our blushes and make it easer on ourselves, our prospects and clients.  Cross cultural marketing and networking does require more attention to the detail.  In a conversation with one of my business associates, Kari Heistad,  Culture Coach,  during her recent trip to Dublin we talked about the subject and  how easy it is to come away from a meeting in exasperation or bewilderment: you just don’t understand me.

Below is our list of 10 Top Tips for Cross Cultural Networking.  It’s not definitive.  I’d love to hear your opinions – any funny stories (or even embarrassing ones that you’re willing to share) and any variation you have on the Top Tips.

1. Be more formal than you might normally.  Be a reserved version of yourself.  And smile and keep smiling. You’d be surprised how a nice smile and open disposition can break down formality.

2. Do your research ahead of time to know how the local culture feels about greetings among men and women and what is an appropriate greeting (bow, handshake, Names etc.).  As a woman, I do not advocate subservience to blend with the local culture: take lessons from President Mary McAleese.

President Mary McAleese and the Turkish President: Reuters Photos

3. Presume an open mind. Be curious. The more open you are to others, the more you will learn.

4. Bring lots and lots of business cards.  In some cultures, you give a card to everyone you meet, not just people you want to follow up with. If possible, have them translated.

5. Be observant. Watch what others are doing, discern what seems to be the “norm” and then follow suit.

Marketing Cross Culturally

6. Wait to be seated if you are sitting down. You don’t want to sit in the most important seat if you are not the most important person.

7. Slow down the pace of your dialogue. Don’t use idioms, slang and acronyms without explaining them. Don’t assume industry specific vocabulary is understood.

8. Investigate what local cultural values are for specific colours. Choose suits, ties and dresses appropriately.

9. Learn what are “safe” questions to ask in that culture: ie many cultures don’t get into really personal questions when they first meet. If networking with Americans don’t be put off by personal questions.

10. Watch the alcohol intake. When people are nervous they often drink too much. Be careful so that you won’t make the wrong first impression.

And the 11^th tip, enjoy and learn.

Please do share any other tips you feel I’ve left out and, if you’re brave enough, your own personal gaffs.  Many thanks to Kari Heistad for her contribution.