How to Market Globally with @PilarLazzati #VCBuzz

How to Market Globally with @PilarLazzati #VCBuzz Nowadays we have a unique opportunity: To expand our brand and business beyond any borders, to sell our products and services globally and to get known all over the world. Let’s talk about global marketing and how to approach it effectively.

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About Pilar

.@PilarLazzati has spent 16 Years in the US and Global multi-lingual digital marketing. She is founder @DalaiGroup and @1001Consejos

Connect to Pilar Lazzati on Linkedin

Questions we’ve discussed

Q1 How did you become a digital marketer? What’s your career story?

I was living in Miami at the time, finishing my Master’s in International Business. I started interviewing a few weeks before graduation. One of the interviews I went to was an online marketing start-up at a warehouse in Doral, Miami.

I loved their selling proposition: reaching households in Latin America via newsletters instead of regular mail. A great solution in Latin America considering the barriers of getting mail delivered due to poor logistics infrastructure and lack of address information.

This was back in May 2001. People in the U.S. did not even know what online marketing was. Latin America at the time was 3 years behind in Internet.

I loved MailCreations’ idea and was thrilled to join the partners, but I thought, the company is at ground zero if I put all of my time, and energy into it, and I am barely making any money, I would like to at least have part ownership of the business. Both agreed

Definitely was a time when the internet was starting to mature #vcbuzz

— Cheval John, Social Media Professional (@chevd80) November 21, 2017

Four months later, when we had almost run out of money, we decided to get into email, which was just starting as a marketing medium. We got a contract for $250,000 with a casino in Canada to do an international email campaign in US, Canada, Latin America, Europe.

Q2 What are the first steps for a business considering to start marketing internationally?

Define your business plan for accessing global markets. An international business plan is key to define internal goals and track performance.
Plan at least a two-year lead-time for global market penetration. It takes time and patience to build an enduring global company. Plan for the long haul.
Educate yourself on the customs and business etiquette of the country, times for lunch and praying, so you know how to communicate with them effectively
Conduct market research to identify your prime target markets and greatest demand, evaluate the competition, potential hurdles and opportunities.
Pick a product or service to take overseas. You can’t be all things to all people. Decide on something and stick to it.
Gather historical data on the country’s currency fluctuation. You may negotiate a deal that may cost you 25 percent more when the transaction is finalized. Tool: xe.com
Cross-functional teams must include a variety of members in headquarters, regional, country, and local teams to create diverse, successful teams. Locals are the ones who know the market, challenges and opportunities best. Their talent is often overlooked.

Q3 What are some of the most common mistakes brands do when marketing globally?

Global campaigns are tailored regionally but are not relevant to the local market. Companies thinking of targeting Latin America, they choose the most neutral Spanish, which is usually Colombian.When you send a message in Colombian Spanish to Argentinians, they easily realize is not made for them and they feel disconnected from the brand.
Headquarters underestimate the importance of local internal data. Local internal data shows how much estimated opportunity is available in that market, how easy is to do business there and their previous success in that market.

Underestimate necessary knowledge and expertise required to be developed or transferred from the home market. #vcbuzz

— 24 Hour Translation Services (@24hrtranslation) November 21, 2017

@vcbuzz I do! I think it is valuable to leverage state and local resources dedicated to importing and exporting. I've found our state economic dev resources extremely helpful. #vcbuzz

— Kristin Huntley (@seekristintweet) November 21, 2017

A3B. The most epic fail was a campaign from a car company who made a slogan: Nova. They failed to realize, no va in Spanish mean not going. #vcbuzz

— Cheval John, Social Media Professional (@chevd80) November 21, 2017

Q4 What are your favorite books and resources on global digital marketing?

World news is one of my top resources on global marketing: BBC News, the World Street Journal, and the Economist.
Love LinkedIn and Twitter, major resource for what’s happening on digital marketing and the business world. Being abreast of the latest developments and world industry news are key for success.
Google Global Market Finder. It’s quite intuitive. Google recommends the best market for your business and gives you insights on which markets are best suited for the products you offer

This one is from our awesome member @Translator2014 Globalization Now: Risks, Opportunities and Trends Driving Globalization
How to Become a Global Leader
Also look at @Entrepreneur @mashable for innovative companies that are thinking outside the box
Here is a presentation from the polyglot conference on language learning which can apply to business

Q5 What are your favorite global marketing tools and why?

Business Case Builder. There are many business case builders out there. A free one that I like to use is from translate media. You can click on any region of the map to see population, GDP, Internet, languages spoken, etc. Extremely helpful
Some of the tools that I use and are vital to quickly put key information in front of you to identify regions with the greatest potential for revenue growth are Google Global Finder, Business Case Builder, Google Consumer Barometer and Google Trends.
Google Consumer Barometer and Google Trends to understand how people use the Internet in a specific region or country.