Want to know how to be an effective international marketer?

This week, I wanted my class of International Marketing undergrads at #AngliaRuskin to understand the challenges of the global marketplace – what environmental factors could create barriers to entering a new country or region? I realised that the most valuable insights I have about working internationally come from my business meetings in Europe and America and collaborating with colleagues in satellite offices, not from a text book. So the slide deck and reading to one side, we set to pool our own knowledge and experience: what a diverse bunch we proved to be with students from China, India, the Emirates, Italy, Lebanon, Mongolia, The Congo and just myself from the UK!

Political issues were really problematic in some countries where bribery and corruption appear to be the rule – my students from Italy talked about Mafia payments and my Indian students felt that bribery has become normalised in many situations. We talked about cultural norms – how personal presentation is crucial in some countries, respectful dress codes, socialising with prospective business partners to get to know each other before contracts can be discussed, giving appropriate gifts and understanding hierarchies in organisations.

Global marketing is about treating the world as one marketplace and segmentation based on characteristics beyond geography, however working effectively internationally as a professional marketer means understanding the influences from that country or region’s environment, as well as the appropriate way to do business, behave and present yourself.

No Balls Marketing's client @worldworkltd produces training tools to help businesspeople understand how they can work better with international colleagues. Abby Beckley, Client Relationship Manager at WorldWork, says marketers cannot expect their marketing activities to succeed if they head into a foreign market full of assumptions about cultural stereotypes. She says:

"Understanding your own global competencies and getting guidance on the areas where you fall short translates itself into a powerful tool when it comes to negotiating and working successfully on an international scale. With all the various emerging markets on the Asian, South American and African continents - one language or style of marketing no longer suits all. Flexibility is critical as you engage in these different markets."

As we continue to develop professionally as marketers, and our businesses extend across borders, learning about new cultures and environmental differences will help us achieve our objectives successfully. As my students embark on a career in business, I hope their experience of studying in an international business school will ensure they are culturally aware and better able to communicate and negotiate with colleagues and partners abroad – wherever in the world they base themselves!

#workingabroad #intercultural

Stop the line and fire the middle managers!

The Japanese have always been ahead of the game when it comes to production. The Toyota Way is a method of lean production that puts quality at the heart of everything and any staff member is allowed to 'stop the line' if they feel quality has been compromised. Another new(ish) concept is agile marketing and management. Agile development has been borrowed from project managers, particularly those involved in IT projects, and adapted for use by businesspeople and marketers. Jim Ewel, a fellow marketing blogger says:

"The goals of Agile Marketing are to improve the speed, predictability, transparency, and adaptability to change of the marketing function."

The key principles of agile marketing are the ability to implement change quickly, trusting staff to have the knowledge and ability to get their tasks done, continuous learning through feedback, and perhaps most interestingly the acknowledgement that you might fail, that's okay, but you shouldn't fail the same way twice. Again, learning and using feedback are ways to avoid this.

These are all business concepts that would work for any marketing orientated organisation and we can learn from them, however, what happens when a different kind of organisation adopts these principles?

Well, it can be an amazing success as I was delighted to read today in the national press!  My local hospital, Hinchingbrooke in Huntingdon, was taken over as a NHS franchise by a private equity health organisation in 2012 after extensive problems had been revealed. It really was a failing hospital - in terms of health care and its appalling finances. Now, it has been named as the top hospital in the country for care and will make a profit of £2 million this year.

Thankfully, none of my family has been treated there so far but we dropped in recently to use their cafe and to pass the time before we picked up our daughter. We were amazed that this was what an NHS hospital could look like. It looks like a cross between IKEA and a Premier Inn. High gloss, calm, clean, comfortable chairs, an environment that makes you feel like a human and not a prisoner unable to escape from the harsh lighting and sterile conditions. We had our frothy coffee in the Costa Coffee that looked identical to a high street branch!

The reason for this transformation has been running the hospital like a John Lewis partnership. Everyone has a say and the ethos of the hospital was based on a group discussion with 1,200 of the 1,700 staff - 500 didn't turn up but were invited. The front line staff who are responsible for delivering care are now empowered to solve problems in their wards immediately and without the need to get approvals from long chains of middle managers like standard NHS hospitals. In fact, the middle managers have been stripped out and the board is made up mostly of clinicians.

Queues in A&E have been reduced as computerised systems flag up patients who have waited too long - similar to systems used in Argos where the CEO used to work. Motivation is now high, staff are happy and patients even happier. The feedback process is constantly monitored and testimonials are pinned to the notice boards.

Quality is at the heart of patient care and the Toyota Way has been implemented too... anyone involved in patient care can say 'stop the line' if they think a mistake has been made which to date has stopped failings such as swabs or instruments being left inside patients after operations - something which happened in the days before the takeover.

The reason this change has been so transformational is that the business experts have concentrated on fixing the finances and delivering systems that can sort out major issues like queues or poor quality. They have given everyone empowerment and the chance to make the changes that are needed to put patients first. And they have sensibly demonstrated that clinical decisions should be taken by clinicians. Is it rocket science? No, not really - just good business practice applied to a different kind of organisation. The big question is why is this not applied to every NHS hospital in the country? The answer to that, dear reader, is politics and that is not a question I feel qualified to answer.

The Ball was IN!!!

The hayfever’s kicking in, the weather is on the turn (well, ok, ish) and the days are definitely longer so summer is coming and therefore so is, much to my delight, Wimbledon.

Nearly 12 months ago, I was glued to the telly as Andy Murray finally ended Britain’s 77 year wait for a home-grown champ and he did it in style in straight sets.  For his coach, Ivan Lendl, this was the culmination of a strategy to turn Andy from a contender to a double grand-slam winner worthy of the world number 1 spot one day.  Despite winning his first slam (US Open) in 2012 and an Olympic gold, THIS was the one that mattered.

As the nation expects, he should successfully defend that title in 2014, but he’s not scaled the dizzy heights since that emphatic win over Novak Djokovic.  He’s had back surgery, struggled with his form and dipped to the world number 8. 

Now, there has to be concern over his motivation in preparing for such a title defence with all those issues playing on his mind and doing it without the support and guidance from Ivan Lendl after their partnership recently ended. 

After one recent drubbing, Murray admitted his coach was missing – “that’s a big part of my team”.

There’s rumour aplenty surrounding his next manager and any prospective coach needs to recognise the core aspects of motivation which come in varying degrees in each person (based on David McClelland’s Needs Based Model):

•         The need for achievement – clearly seeks achievement is the main aspect, but also the attainment of realistic but challenging goals, and advancement. There is a strong need for feedback as to achievement and progress, and a need for a sense of accomplishment.

Lendl and Murray were a good partnership and were very much in tune and both could tolerate each other’s nuances – Lendl, like Murray, had also lost the first 4 of his grand-slam finals before winning the maiden one and was able to offer advice based on experience.  Murray will need strong inner motivation to climb back up the rankings and win more grand-slam tournaments under intense media scrutiny given his recent lapse.  These challenges will get harder – younger players coming to the fore as well as the stranglehold the top 3 players have.

•         The need for authority and power - this driver produces a need to be influential, effective and to make an impact. There is a strong need to lead and for their ideas to prevail. There is also motivation and need towards increasing personal status and prestige.

Lendl recognised Murray’s need for an element of control in aspects of his game and his career but Murray respected his coach and allowed him to advise.  He is the best male British tennis player of at least a generation and now the determination and drive has to be there to get better– he achieved the seemingly impossible and now he has to do it again.  But what next and how?  Common sense suggests he needs a coach who had to stage a comeback himself to at least address that. 

•         The need for affiliation - has a need for friendly relationships and is motivated towards interaction with other people. The affiliation driver produces motivation and need to be liked and held in popular regard. These people are team players.

Previously a lot of negativity was expressed in the press about Murray’s personality and his handling of interviews and personal appearances.  Under the guidance of his team including Lendl he has worked more with the media and invested some time in winning fans.  Tennis, at the top at least, is a team effort 24/7 and Murray has recognised the importance of those in his team and, as recently as today, said he is keen to make the right choice, and not opt for a quick fix.

You cannot be serious!!

Tennis pundits in the past have praised the pairing of Lendl and Murray.  Murray had finally channelled those emotional outbursts into his game and adopted a less frenetic demeanour on court.  If the rumours are true and Murray is considering John MacEnroe (who won 7 grand-slam titles and was one of tennis’s more colourful characters) as a coach, then we could see some smashing (that is raquet-smashing) tennis this summer. 

Fabulous – pass the pimms!