Why Culture Matters in Global Business

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Ever have a communication problem with someone you are working with overseas?  Who hasn't.  You know how it goes.  You say one thing.  The party you are communicating with agrees and several days later, things are done exactly counter to what you discussed!  Is it because they ignored you?  Didn't like your strategy?  Wanted to do things on their own terms?  Not likely because why would they choose to do business with you?  It all boils down to cultural differences.

Mark Hehl from The Desara Group has some points to offer on the importance of culture when conducting business overseas.

Intro:

Conducting business on a global basis requires a good understanding of different cultures.  What works in your country might not work well in another and might even be interpreted as an insult. One of the many roles of an effective project manager is to raise the awareness of cultural issues within your project team and your organization to ensure success.

Read the entire article:  The Importance of Culture when Conducting Business Overseas

Related articles:  Communicating Across Cultures and How to Deal With Cultural Differences

Note:  I discuss Communicating with Cultural Intelligence at great length in Chapter 24 of my new book, "Exporting:  The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably" due out December 18, 2013 by Apress.

Turning Global Virality Into a Science

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Thanks to social media, a message can go global in an instant.  Meet the new global mover and shaker on the block:  BuzzFeed.  According to Slate, "BuzzFeed had 85 million visitors, three times more than just a year ago; by next year, it expects to become one of the most popular sites in the world."

What does that mean for everyone?

Judging by the spectacular results, BuzzFeed has turned “virality” into a science: Thanks to advanced analytics and tools of Big Data, they know exactly what needs to be said—and how—to get the story shared by most people. Its approach is best described as Taylorism of the viral: Just like Frederick Taylor knew how to design the factory floor to maximize efficiency, BuzzFeed knows how to design its articles to produce most clicks and shares. The content of the article is secondary to its viral performance.

Whether you agree or disagree, the article is worth a read.

Read the entire article:  Duolingo, BuzzFeed partnership:  The translation project is terrible for foreign news

The 24-Hour Global News Room

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The 24-hour global newsroom is what Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times is seeking with her rebranding efforts at the New York Times.  It's similar to my goal here with The Global Small Business Blog but with a bias towards helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global. 

Read:  Going Global - POLITICO.com

Should You Invest in Global Market Research?

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Euromonitor International, experts in strategy research for consumer markets, has put together a 16-page report (2013), "Investing in Global Market Research:  A Strategic Guide for Small to Medium Sized-Enterprises."

The guide covers assessing the value of market research and common uses for market research among SMEs and start-ups.  Page 7 shows a nice infographic on keys to success in small business.  My favorite part is Page 10, which says:  "More than ever before, companies of all sizes are exporting.  In fact, the biggest business in the world is international trading."  There are some good case studies featured as well.  Worth a read.

Immediate download of the PDF file here.

Small is Becoming the New Big

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As Hemant Taneja for the Harvard Business Review's blog says, "A series of breakthrough technologies and new business models are destroying the old rule that bigger is better." Clearly the Internet (i.e., eBay and Amazon) and less expensive approaches to manufacturing (Foxconn, for example) are game-changing moments in our world.

The global business environment is decomposing into smaller yet more profitable markets, so businesses can no longer rely on scaling up to compete, but must instead embrace a new economies of unscale.

What is unscaling?  Well you will have to read the provocative blog post below to find out. But let's just say that small is becoming the new big, which is great news for global small businesses.

Read the entire article along with all its comments:  Economies of Unscale:  Why Business Has Never Been Easier for the Little Guy

Hope You Had a Happy Halloween!

©2013 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Have a Spooktacular weekend!  Enjoy.

Global Nomad: BagPod

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A passion for fashion becomes a true global business.  How does it start?  Marianne Sparrenius-Waters, founder of Sweden-based RedDog Design shares her story:

"I suppose I was a bit of a global nomad, having traveled the world with my husband and our three children for 25 years before setting up my company in 2005. I've always loved fashion. I'm not an expert but love to be organised so I founded RedDog Design at home to create fashionable, yet simple functional handbags and accessories."

Marianne came up with the idea for a clutch-size organizer called a Bagpod because she was always losing things.  Now her business of leather and canvas clutches, along with phone covers and handbags has evolved to sell in more than 160 shops worldwide from Switzerland to Australia.

Read the entire article here.