Language and culture are cited as potential barriers to selling in new markets. The good news is that through UKTI, companies can access support to overcome many of the cultural and linguistic challenges presented when doing business internationally. I’m a Language and Culture Adviser for North West and I’m using this blog to share some of what I’ve learnt about preparing to work in new markets.
Investing time in learning about the language and culture of your target markets can positively affect your success when trading internationally. In some scenarios it can literally make or break a business relationship or deal. Language and culture are inextricably linked, and taking time to learn a few basic phrases and do your research into culture shows that you have taken time to invest in the relationship.
Having a deeper understanding of the culture of the people you will be doing business with is also rewarding for you and will help your export business to run more smoothly Every communication touch point you have in business – be it online, by telephone, email or face-to-face creates an impression about your brand and it’s well worth considering how your brand will come across in international markets.
Market research is a key stage of the export strategy process and while key elements such as competitor analysis and demographics are invariably addressed, language and culture can often be overlooked. Even in markets that ’speak English’ such as a US, Canada and Australia, there are considerable variations in the vocabularies used and nuances in cultural norms that need to be taken into account.
Here are my tips for successful international business communication:
Do your research. Find out as much as you can about the culture of the country you wish to work in. Pay attention to the factors that affect culture: history, geography, the economy, religion and politics. Identify how people buy and sell their products and services and their style, taste and quality preferences.
Russia, for example, has a strong tradition of literature, music and ballet - Russian people are generally very knowledgeable about these subjects and will appreciate it if you know a little about them too.
Don’t assume that what sells well in the UK will sell in new markets. You may have to adapt your products or services to suit the preferences of your buyers and carefully plan your routes to market and identify the most appropriate e-commerce platforms, agents, distributors and partners.
Be aware of the importance of relationship building and how you should go about this. Don’t underestimate the amount of time this may require in certain cultures and the importance of participating in hospitality. An invitation from your host to a restaurant may bring some challenges but must be accepted. Prepare for some potentially ‘unusual’ food , dining conventions and plenty of alcohol in some countries and have a strategy for how you are going to tackle this.
Meeting styles and negotiation vary from country to country so you’ll need to prepare for this: In some places it is not uncommon for meetings to be frequently disrupted and mobile phones to be answered in the middle of the meeting. In the US, discussion and negotiation might be reasonably straight to the point , whereas in Japan the meeting is a forum to deliver what has already been decided behind the scenes.
Ensure your website is optimised for international markets with professionally-translated and localised language pages. Key words, meta data and language tags will all need attention to optimise your chances of being found by non-UK search engines.
Did you know?
There are over 4,000 words in USA English that are different to those used in Standard British English.
Fewer than 7% of the world’s population speaks English as their first language.
The number 4 in China and Japan is considered to be unlucky – items packaged in sets of 4 or branded with the number 4 are unlikely to sell well.
Tap into language and culture support from UKTI. For example, we can:
- Access expert guidance from an International Trade Adviser
- Obtain assistance with language services
- Participate in training courses in many aspects of export including language and culture, export strategy, exhibition skills, protecting your intellectual property and international website optimisation.
For further information, companies in the North West can contact me at sara.knowles@uktinorthwest.co.uk
Companies in the rest of the UK can find their local UKTI language and culture adviser by contacting your local UKTI office
2 comments
Comment by Manuel Serrano posted on
I agree.
Creating goodwill may require more than at first expected or hoped for. Gone are the days when stock expressions out of a phrase book were considered sufficient. One of the disadvantages of “English-only” is that nowadays very large numbers of businesspeople are not native English speakers but rather English-as-a-second-language speakers. For example, a Dutchman and a Chilean who meet at a trade exhibition in London will conduct their conversations in English. However, if the said Chilean is in his home country and is being visited by three businesspeople, each from a different company and country... yes, the one with better Spanish will create better goodwill. How important such goodwill is will depend on many factors, one of them being global competition from other exporters.
From personal experience, I can tell you that a little knowledge is dangerous because the "foreigner" may assume that you know more of his/her language and begin to talk to you at a normal speed and level of complexity. That is why language and culture learning is an investment, a good investment of time and effort, but not one that most people can expect to cash in after a crash course lasting few weeks. Nothing beats the hard learning on the ground, on the country where your company has sent you. If you need quick, short-term results, use an interpreter. You can find one through the British-(XXXX, e.g. Peruvian) Chamber of Commerce or you may wish to find out if there are interpreters of that language in the UK before you leave Britain, as they are likely to be more attuned with the British mindset in business and general cultural issues. Such interpreters can save you "face" (as the Chinese say) and your pennies.
All the ISOs and metrics of the world still stop (and will continue to stop) against the Tower of Babel (of language and cultural diversity). The Microsofts of this world create local versions of their products at design stage, not as an afterthought; they do this not because they want to (there are obvious costs associated to it) but because they have to. When is the last time I had trouble understanding the label?
Comment by Emily posted on
Quite true