In a bid to boost UK trade with the growing economic super power that is India, David Cameron, his cabinet members and a cohort of business leaders embarked on a high-profile business trip to the sub-continent in July.
The PM is not the only one pushing the idea of doing business abroad. In HSBC’s ongoing campaign, ‘The world’s local bank’ it offers advice for those considering taking their business overseas. It focuses on the cultural differences that must be taken into account for international business. Perhaps wading in with an overwhelming message of ‘Great Britishness’ or giving Pakistan what for, as Cameron did on the second day of his visit, is not the way forward for B2B marketers to break through into international business. So how should we reach the growing economies in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries?
First we should examine why marketers need to be thinking overseas. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asia is set to become the largest economic region in the world over the next two decades. The Indian Government has predicted its economic growth projection for the year to March 2011 to be 8.5 per cent, while China recently overtook Japan to become the world’s second largest economy. These are signs of booming economies so marketers need to know how to reach them.
Online marketing
Speaking about the Indian market, Adrian Brady, chief executive of Eulogy says, It is hungry for new and innovative ideas. He expects mobile marketing to take off in a big way, attributing the ability to embrace change to India’s growing economy.
Looking at another of the BRIC markets, Greig Holbrook MD of international search agency Oban Multilingual comments on China’s usage of digital marketing saying, Due to its size it beats anyone else on search figures. Holbrook’s opinion is validated by recent figures, released by the China Internet Network Information Center, showing that between July 2009 and July 2010 the number of Internet users in China has grown by 36 million. Holbrook also insists, A lot of traffic in China also comes from social media. Matt Rhodes, client services director at social media agency FreshNetworks whose colleague, and co-founder of the agency, Caroline Plumb, went with Cameron to India notes that China has this in common with India. He advises marketers wanting to reach that market to encompass microblogging and user-generated content.
A survey commissioned by workplace solutions provider, Regus, shows mobile social networking application Gupshup reigns supreme in India with over 25 million members. Regus claims India’s wireless subscribers are 600 million compared to nine million broadband users. Facebook is third with 16 million users, second to Orkut with 18 million users.
Traditional channels
Despite 67 per cent of Indian companies using professional social networking to source information compared to the 54 per cent global average Brady insists that there is still a place for traditional marketing. If it works in the Indian market they will continue to invest in it, there is still a place for traditional marketing.
Evan Ivey, planning director of Gravity Global takes it one step further and says traditional is still the most important marketing channel in India. He says, Live events are the most popular channel. They are a very social market so road shows, exhibitions and seminars prove extremely popular. Despite seeing India as more traditionalist when it comes to preferred marketing channels, Ivey doesn’t dismiss the future of mobile marketing saying, It is a trend that I see everyone doing in 10 years time. He believes it will happen sooner for India because the telephone network is not what it is in Europe, so mobile networks will make a bigger impact.
Common pitfalls
The danger with opting for social media overseas is assuming you know which platform to reach your target market. Facebook may be the third most popular network in India currently but many expect it to increase in popularity. Figures change and trends develop; Brady says a huge hindrance to marketers will be if they assume a UK solution will work in India.
For example, the Regus survey showed that only 29 per cent of UK companies were impressed by video or audio animations on a firm’s social networking profile but 76 per cent of Chinese companies and 64 per cent of Indian companies declared that the presence of animation impressed them.
Ivey continues to highlight the dangers of assuming a UK solution will work. He says China and India are too different to be able to operate without help on the ground. There are so many cultural nuances that if not taken into account could offend. He says the West is a valuable trading partner to India but Indian businesses don’t rush into making a decision, he warns, Don’t push too hard. You can send several emails chasing an answer in the UK and could speed up the process, but in India they will simply say no and use a domestic partner.
While insisting the historical relationship between the UK and India is of no relevance any more, Ivey says, There is nothing worse than the West telling everyone what to do. Brady echoes this warning by saying marketers need to know how to present their skill set without offending, It’s easy to come across as arrogant.
John Davies global ICT strategy and technology advisor at UKTI says that doing all you can to eliminate any awkwardness will go down well. He says, If you don’t put the effort into getting a good interpreter for a meeting for example, another business will.
Davies also highlights the importance of working with a local partner. He recalls that even an established brand like Vodafone needed a partner in China. Davies also says up to two years of groundwork can go in to understanding how your proposition should be presented and will also go a long way to help relationship building.
Holbrook advises that developing relationships will also help with search marketing. He points out that popular news site Rediff should not be ignored by UK marketers but, the account management is generally very poor and you should seek to have someone local dealing with them to save wasting time and money.
There is a lot of potential for UK B2B marketers in the BRIC countries and if the pitfalls mentioned above are avoided many could see great success. However, don’t be blinded by the sheer size of these booming economies. There is no point wasting time, money and effort if that market is not relevant to you or the services and products that you offer.
