Jim Beam Bourbon launches first Global Marketing campaign

As I pointed out in the opening Chapter of my first book, "What is Global Marketing for Small Business?" much of the world actually likes American made products. In particular, American food and beverage brand such as McDonalds, KFC, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others have a long history of advertising and distributing their brands globally. In September 2013, another iconic American brand announced its plans for "going global." That iconic American brand is Jim Beam Bourbon. 

Beam Inc.'s campaign will start at the end of 2013 in the United Statues and Australia and then will be rolled out to more than 100 other markets around the world in 2014. 

According to Matt Shattock, president and CEO of Beam Inc, “We’re excited to announce the launch of ‘Make History’, the first truly global advertising campaign for Jim Beam. This multi-year campaign reflects sharp global consumer insights, substantial investment in the continued growth of our flagship brand, and our sustained commitment to the attractive and fast-growing bourbon category around the world. ‘Make History’ is a big brand idea that resonates with consumers across global markets.”

Beam Inc.'s "Make History" campaign will promote the full line of Jim Beam products and will feature advertising on television, digital, social, print and out-of-home platforms.

In 2012 Beam Inc. sold more than seven million cases worldwide and figures have shown increased sales for the first half of this year. With an increase emphasis on global marketing and markets, I expect they'll do even better in 2013 and 2014!

So as you've so often heard me say, "every business can be, and should be, a global business." What's your global marketing plan for 2014?

Getting Attention For Your Business Around The World

If you’re a global sales or marketing professional responsible for growing the sales of a business around the world, your biggest Global Marketing challenge is gaining the attention and interest of new international customers when most (if not all) of them probably don’t even know your company exists. So the questions becomes, how can you easily and cost effectively raise the visibility and discoverability of your business in other markets?

For example, will prospective customers in other countries find your company’s website, or your product promotional campaigns, when they search online using the most popular search engines in their country? Search engines such as Baidu.com which has a 78% market share in China, or Yandex.com with its 59% market share in Russia, or Naver.com which controls over 65% of the search engine market in South Korea.

If you answered no to the last question that could be OK. That is if you have no desire to market your products and services in any country other than your home country. However, if you plan to expand your business beyond your home country, the first thing you’ll need to do is recognize the fact that you’ll need to promote your business in the native language of your target market.

The good news is, it’s not necessary to translate your entire website and marketing collateral in order to be discovered in the world’s other big search engines (i.e. other than Google, Yahoo and Bing.)

Multilingual SEO to the Rescue

To gain more global online visibility and discoverability many small businesses today are employing what’s known as a Multilingual Search Engine Optimization (MSEO) strategy where a single web page (called a Doorway Page) is created for each of the target markets/languages you want to reach. Essentially this Doorway Page is a quick overview of your company with an invitation for your website visitor to “click on over” to your English language website to continue their research or purchase objective. And from a lead qualification perspective, if that visitor is not willing to continue their research/purchase in English, then they probably aren’t really a good sales prospect for your business anyway.

Getting Started

Implementing a simple Doorway Page strategy is quick and low cost because it doesn’t require you to translate your entire website in order to submit it to the non-English search engines. What your website does need to have, however, is at least one Doorway Page in your targeted local language and it must be optimized with keywords and meta tags in that local language in order for it to be found by the non-English search engines.

For example, if you want to market to the global Hispanic community, your website needs to have a Doorway Page optimized with Spanish keywords and enough Spanish content to describe what your company does. To achieve this, the most common form of MSEO Doorway Page typically describes (briefly in the non-English language) what your company does and then offers your website visitor an invitation to “click on over” to your main website where all further interactions and communications with them will be conducted in English.

According to the MSEO specialist at MSEO.com, 99% of all searches on the Web are first done in the searcher’s primary language. When a non-English searcher comes across your Doorway Page, about 10%-15% of them will choose not to visit your English website. The good news is, that means 85% to 90% of these non-English searchers will choose to continue on to your English language website. In actuality, this is a great way to separate the simply curious searchers from the potentially serious sales prospects.

So why does using a MSEO Global Marketing strategy work for so well for so many small businesses?

Well the simple fact that someone in France will enter keywords related to your product or service in French on the French version of Google or on the French Yahoo site doesn’t mean that the person doesn’t speak English.

The reality is, there are, literally, millions of people in other countries who do speak English but conduct their initial online searches on local search engines using keywords in their native language. These are the global customers you are looking for: English speaking individuals who search for products and services in their own native language but who can, and will, do business with you in English! In fact, if a visitor is unwilling to do business with you in English, then that visitor is probably not a very good prospect for your business to begin with.

What it all boils down to is this: it’s not about translating your entire website and doing business in another language but, rather, it’s about encouraging your visitors to do business with you in English. Your task is to get them to your English website by giving them an “invitation” in their own native language.

So with that said, let me show you a few examples of small businesses that are successfully using this simple MSEO Doorway Page strategy.

Travel Industry Example

Tanzania - Voted the #1 best African tourist destination in 2012 by the New York Times, Tanzania’s Tourist Board is a government organization which is responsible with promotion and development of all the aspects of the tourism industry in Tanzania. Being an English language country (along with Swahili), Tanzania’s Tourist Board also wanted to reach potential visitors from many other countries so they developed MSEO Doorway Pages for various targeted markets. For example, take a look at their Portuguese language Doorway Page at the following link: http://www.tanzaniatouristboard.com/intl/portuguese.html

Manufacturing Industry Example

Custom Mold Making China Limited (CMMC) is a 200 employee manufacturer in Dongguan City, China (a city I’ve visited by the way) that specialized in making complex components and precision moulds for plastic injection, die casting, aluminum extrusion, and other complex products. Take a look at their Italian language Doorway Page at the following link:  http://www.cmmcltd.com/intl/italian.html

Real Estate Industry Example

NoFeeRentals.com is owned by Jakobson Properties, LLC, a family-run New York real estate company that owns more than 2000 rental apartments throughout Manhattan and Queens. In order to attract more tenants from other countries NoFeeRentals.com implemented a MSEO Doorway Page strategy for multiple target markets. Take a look at their Korean language Doorway Page at the following link: http://www.nofeerentals.com/intl/korean.html

Software Industry Example

TimeWriter is a time billing software program that helps its Users track all the hours spent on various tasks. TimeWriter software gives you everything you need for invoicing and managing your time billing information. Based in the Netherlands, TimeWriter has developed multiple Doorway Pages for other nearby countries. You can see their Danish language Doorway Page at the following link: http://www.timewriter.com/intl/danish.html

Simple MSEO Doorway Pages like the ones I just described can typically be outsource to a MSEO specialist like MSEO.com who will write the local language copy and submit your site to the various local search engines all for around $500 per language. As an alternative, you could write your own MSEO Doorway Page copy and then use the services of someone from Fiverr.com or eLance.com to do the localized translation and submission to the non-English search engines which could save you some money.

Either way, the bottom line is, if you haven’t considered using MSEO as a Global Marketing strategy, this is the year to pick another country/market (or two) and give it a try.

Ten Global Business Trends for 2014 You Can’t Ignore

So here we are again about to enter the fourth quarter of the current business year; a time when many of us are preparing our Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the coming year. As I was researching what is going on in the global business world, and how current events and trends are likely to impact my business in the coming year, I came across an interesting video by Australian marketing expert Kane Minkus of IndustryRockstar.com. In his video, recorded in early 2013, Minkus described ten global business trends that he predicted would change the face of small business in 2013 and beyond.

Looking back over the past year, I would have to say that Minkus was "spot on" in his predictions and that everything he described has either occurred or is in the process of occurring as the entire global economy continues to undergo the massive transformation caused by digital technology, shifting demographics and economic restructuring. And looking forward towards 2014, I see no indication that any of these trends are diminishing in importance or impact so smart business owners will be the ones that consider each of these ten trends in their 2014 AOPs and long term strategies.

So with that as backdrop, I'll save you the time of watching the 20 minute video, and taking your own notes, by summarizing the ten trends here.

Trend #1: Small and Micro Businesses will be a growing market segment to be served.

There will be more and more people leaving their big company jobs and starting their own small business or practice providing growth opportunities for established small business that serve these new startups.

Trend #2: Results Based Marketing will win and cut through the marketplace clutter and noise

People want results; not more information. Figure out what to measure to prove your value and then show your numbers. Get testimonial from those who have experienced your results.

Trend #3: Markets and Buyers are becoming more sophisticated so you must cater to an advanced mindset

This is especially true in the training/coaching/seminar market where potential clients are going to say "I've heard this all before." 

Note: In the words of Rich Shefrin, "you need to reframe their problem, make them see it in a different light" or as Glen Dietzel says, "you need to ask your client a better question."

Trend #4: Production values will be raised for media and product presentations

This means the sales process will require a more sophisticated, creative, and innovative approach to be successful. You can't be plain vanilla. You'll need to stand out in the market place and your brand marketing will need to rise to the level of your competition-or even better, you need to set the bar for your competition.

Trend #5:  There will be more opportunities for exposure by speaking publicly than ever before in history.

More people will be sharing their knowledge than you've ever seen before so if you want to stand out and build your personal/business brand you will need to be very good a speaking and presenting on videos, speaking at business conferences, at networking groups, seminars, workshops, etc. etc. You'll have to have skills as a speaker; so if you don’t, start working on them now.

Trend #6: There will be more higher priced, personalized, products and services that will actually sell easier.

More people will be interested in personalized, high value, customer experiences.

Trend #7: Several geographic regions will expand very rapidly

Asia and South East Asia will be no surprise to anyone. Russia, Brazil and India will also be high growth emerging markets for personalized expert services. The big surprise will be the growth rate of the personalized expert services market in Canada. Look north all my US compatriots!

Trend #8: Online business will expand massively

More people will be doing business on Skype than ever before. For example, have you seen all the Youtube videos showing people how to do job interviews on Skype? People will become so comfortable doing business online it will become the norm. Think Webinars, group training, tele-seminars, video conferences; you'll need to be good at doing all of these. Also, new emerging markets will be going online, new age groups (older) will be going online more.

Trend #9: A greater move towards experiential businesses

Businesses that create a positive experience for their customers will move way ahead of the pack. People will pay more for things that give them a good experience. Creative experiences will be a key differentiator and smaller micro-businesses will begin to put more emphasis on creating awesome customer experiences for a focused set of clients. Customers will begin to buy more from individuals and businesses that create the best experiences for them and the myth that you'll have to spend a lot of money, or that you have to be a large business, to create a great customer experience will begin to go away. Make sure your business plans consider the customer experience throughout the entire value chain including the buying experience, the fulfillment/delivery experience, the lifecycle support experience, etc., etc.

Trend #10: Entrepreneurs and professionals will focus more on their passions

The competition from people who are passionate about what they do will get fiercer and fiercer every year and they will soar past the people who are just doing a job. If you don't love your business, find someone else who can run it for you, or find something else to do.

Conclusion

So there you have it. If you want to be really successful you have to figure out where the world is headed and get there first. And if you want to outpace your competitors and become a market leading thought leader, pay attention to these ten trends and make sure you exploit them in your 2014 AOP and long-term strategic plans.

Swiss Air's Poor Use of Geolocation Technology

In Chapter 2 of my book “What is Global Marketing for Small Business?” I write about how small businesses can use geolocation technology to provide localized content on their websites in order to deliver a better user experience for their customers. Geolocation technology is an excellent global marketing tool that can deliver many benefits for both marketing professionals and consumers when used properly. However, when poorly implemented, the same technology can leave customers (in this case me) extremely frustrated and hesitant to use a businesses’ website or even purchase from that business again. Let me explain by describing a recent experience I had while traveling in Europe.

In early July I had the pleasure of traveling to Venice Italy to attend a meeting with a company named LAE Electronic, S.R.L., a small controls manufacture in Oderzo. Following my meeting I was scheduled to travel from Venice to Manchester U.K. on a Swiss Air flight the next morning. Like most business travelers today, I attempted to check-in for my flight from my hotel room using Swiss Air’s website. Upon doing so I immediately discovered that the only language choice available on Swiss Air’s website was Italian. Not being able to speak Italian, I began looking around the Swiss.com home page for a button or link where I could change the language from Italian to English. To my surprise, the country choice button located at the top of the home page (so small you can barely notice/find it) provided just one choice: Italian. This singular choice really surprised me as most, if not all, websites today offer English as a second language choice.

Not to be deterred, I went to Google and searched for ‘Swiss Air English check-in” and found a link that should have taken me directly to their English language check-in page. Upon clicking the link I was even more surprised (and frustrated) when the English language link was immediately redirected back to the Italian language website. It was at that point that I realized that the Swiss.com website was identifying my location as being in Italy (probably from using IP Address geolocation technology) and then automatically redirecting all my attempts to access their English language pages back to the Italian website. Needless to say, after wasting what seemed like an exorbitant amount of time, I finally gave up and decided to print my boarding passes and check my bags at the Venice airport to following morning. 

Now having to check-in at the airport may not seem to be a big deal to some people. However, experienced travelers know that most airlines offer seating upgrades and reduced baggage fees when checking-in online. Experienced travelers also know that to receive these special deals you need to be the “first in line” by checking-in online as soon as permissible – typically up to 24 hours prior to your flight’s departure time. Consequently, besides wasting my time, not being able to check-in the night before may have cost me a premium seat assignment as well a discount on checking my bag had this been a U.S. based airline.

So as you can see, a poor website localization design can cause frustration for your customers which will lead to a less than “5-Star” customer experience. And, it could actually cost your customers financially in the case of missed price discounts offered online versus pricing for in-person services. This will frustrate customers even more.

The global marketing lesson to be learned here is, if your business website caters to customers around the world, and uses geolocation technology as a part of your localization process, make sure your customer always has other language options that include English at a minimum. Otherwise your global “dot-com” website really isn’t global. The other lesson is, test, test and test some more by always putting yourself in your “customers’ shoes” to assure a consistent and positive 5-Start customer experience when visiting your businesses’ website.

Note: to be fair to Swiss Airlines (which is a quite good airline) the problems I experienced using their website from Italy did not appear when using the same Swiss.com website from the United States. When used from within the U.S.A. the Swiss.com website presented me with multiple options to change my country location, and language, which were not available from Italy. It may be that the problem is only present in Italy.