The Global Marketing Show

Waseem Kawaf has built over 400 websites and is an expert in global user experience (UX). He’s currently the co-founder of Seicho Syndicate, where he and his partners design and develop great user experiences for their clients. Prior to Seicho, Waseem served as Global VP of Digital Experience for Stanley Black & Decker and worked in marketing agency roles. “Seicho” means exponential growth in Japanese, says Waseem, and his company is aptly named. When prospects and clients have good user experiences throughout their journeys, they stay longer and generate more revenue. UX optimization can be a daunting prospect for companies of any size –Waseem suggests breaking the project up into small steps, to gain insight into your users. Pick data from the call center, chat, trade shows, or your website to analyze and build the “voice” of the customer. The goal should be to keep every interaction “simple, connected, and frictionless,” he advises. “And rather than starting UX strategy meetings with brainstorming, try an ‘Outside-In’ philosophy instead, which works from the customer’s perspective and gives clear direction for your initial moves, an important lesson he learned while earning an MBA from MIT. Throughout his career, Waseem has worked in the global arena. That broad experience made it clear to him that companies must consider local markets – not all users around the world consume information, interact, or buy the same way. By taking a collaborative approach rather than an authoritative one, teams can take all users into account. It may take longer but will lead to greater success. And in the end, the Pareto principal will apply – 80% of the work can be globalized and 20% localized. The Stanley Black & Decker team created content in English and then translated any material deemed important or helpful into local languages. Waseem’s best advice: “Stay hungry and humble. Develop your emotional intelligence, stay curious, and respect the ‘Power of WE.’ Consider yourself the stirrer in a lovely drink – by bringing all the different tastes and flavors together, you create a magical experience.” Links: Website: https://seichosyndicate.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kawaf/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Ivo Verhaegh, founder of Powerhouse AI, came to entrepreneurship through an interesting path. He knew he wanted to start a company, work with a co-founder, and live abroad from his home country, the Netherlands. Since he didn’t have an idea for a business and couldn’t find a co-founder on the same timeline for starting a business, he applied to a program called Entrepreneur First. The organization screens hundreds of applicants, accepting only 1% of the people who apply; a group of 80 are ultimately accepted and work with each other to find co-founders. Venture capitalists sponsor the Entrepreneur First program, through which they find viable businesses with co-founders that click, elevate each other and the business, and are productive. While in the program, Ivo met his co-founder (and now Powerhouse AI’s Chief Technology Officer) Kushal Pillay – together they worked toward an affordable and manageable robot-driven warehouse environment. Ultimately, they created an app that automates the counting and checking of inventory and pallets in warehouse storage, maximizing productivity. Since the launch, they’ve won clients including DHL, Unilever, and numerous logistics companies. Funded and guided by investors, Ivo and Kushal were encouraged to think BIG and globally from the start. Being based in Singapore, which has a small domestic market, they assumed they would sell into Southeast Asia. Market research showed, however, that labor is plentiful and inexpensive in the region, so warehouse operations were satisfactory as-is, unlike in the US, which embraced the technology. Currently, Powerhouse AI offers its technology solely in English, but will soon translate for their Spanish, Chinese, Malay, and Hindu target markets. Ivo understands how important translation is and that Google Translate or AI are unreliable, so he plans on using professional translators. Some of the bumps in the road Ivo met along the way include: Currently, the company’s ideal client has over 100,000 square feet of warehousing space and requires precision in inventory management, making Powerhouse AI a clear fit for companies in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, consumer product, and automotive industries. Ivo’s best advice: Ivo’s two favorite foreign words are good ones: Ivo certainly represents both of those words! Engaging, creative, smart, driven and very self-aware, he is a podcast guest to remember! Links: Website: https://www.powerhouseai.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivoverhaegh/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Liz Fendt is Global Chief Marketing Director of TÜV SÜD, which specializes in testing, certification, auditing, and advisory services for different industries. There exist only 10 major players in the compliance industry, which ensures safe practices around both goods and services. As an example, think about airport safety. Proper testing, inspection, and certification means the airport management company must connect all relevant suppliers and vendors – elevator companies, airway manufacturers, builders, and countless other stakeholders – with quality managers to meet and guarantee compliance with safety standards. Prior to her current role, Liz worked in communications and sales and marketing at TÜV SÜD, with a focus on local, regionalized marketing. Inspiration struck the day she analyzed existing collateral and recognized a critical lack of uniformity in marketing materials for the company’s global markets; the difference in colors, branding, messaging, and myriad other content and design elements pointed at once to the inefficiencies of duplicated efforts and a missed opportunity for global branding. Senior management agreed and, in that way, Liz created her own Global Chief Marketing Director role, with the goal of increased efficiencies based on a unified corporate global marketing effort and a cohesive international team. At the start, Liz worked with 120 associates to develop consistent processes and brand/style guidelines. She envisioned the company’s German headquarters as the hub of her global marketing team, with satellite offices as its spokes, deliberately building teams that could move along those spokes, simultaneously integrating her team and realizing larger corporate strategies. A second hub in Singapore followed and Liz saw opportunity there, too – as one global marketing campaign wound down, the next would begin. The fabric supporting every effort: people. She built her teams by elevating associates from within, and with intention and according to detailed specialty – pay-per-click, social media, website, document management systems – no associate, role, or team was overlooked, resulting in talented and diverse representation within each group. Liz’s advice on developing global teams with high retention rates: look for people with a positive outlook that like to solve problems. Two associates who started as interns are now heading global teams – if it’s a complex industry get them in and train them so that they can progress. Energized, excited people with a can-do attitude will thrive with support, contributing new ideas and fostering a healthy work environment. With that approach, in the first five years and with the same budget, the global marketing team increased leads via the on-hand readiness of standardized, culturally appropriate, marketing “in a box.” Content and campaigns could be used globally, and Liz also consolidated the company’s website, from 7-10 countries with 42 separate sites to a single, unified one. Lessons Learned Throughout her career, Liz has always turned to her team for inspiration and new ideas. Her best advice is to always do business with a growth mindset, and to keep networking – even with people in different fields and industries – because you will always benefit from expertise and diversity of thought. The TÜV SÜD community of experts spans the globe, and in 2016, Liz co-founded the Global TÜV SÜD Women's Network – a 1000+ strong network of women across the company, to support and nurture global and local networking, professional mentoring, and role model programs. Other lessons learned: Liz adds that technology-driven companies tend to underestimate the value garnered from sales and marketing. A unified global strategy reaps greater benefits when viewed as a “general business propellant” rather than an afterthought. Other common challenges may include: Today, Liz’s 120-person marketing team is a global marketing operation equipped with the supports and...

Faruk Heplevent is founder and CEO of The Scope, a company specializing in computer-generated imaging (CGI) for the automotive industry. He is a pioneer in the industry, leading the charge for a more sustainable process for new car reveals; his client list of brand-name manufacturers throughout the world is proof of how The Scope’s approach and technology have inspired change. The process for planning and executing new car reveals has historically been laborious, costly, and time-consuming, requiring at least six months simply for planning. Since the 90s, when photographers relied on “wet” film rather than “dry,” digital film, every catalog and commercial for every new car launch campaign required what Faruk calls the “cost and time of ‘real life.’” Locations, permits, staff, meetings, logistics, weather/vegetation changes, sustainability issues due to excessive travel and shipping requirements all came into play in the process, starting with: And last, but certainly not least, the crew would simply hope for – or wait for – good weather. Altogether a complex, expensive, and time-consuming process, with no privacy guarantee. The traditional shoot locations were versatile, reliable insofar as terrain and backdrop options, with agreeable weather. Localization and globalization requirements, however, meant the output – the “film” – needed to service launches from countries throughout the world, with cultural understanding. In other words, the images had to stay on-brand while accounting for cultural leanings in Asia, which are markedly different from those in Europe or the US, and be conscious of even regional differences. Hollywood was the first to adopt CGI technology, for special effects in movies and television; for the latter, it meant using the same sound stage for multiple shows, simply by altering the backdrop. The automotive industry was not far behind and Faruk helped lead the charge. He spent about 8 years perfecting CGI technology for vehicle images, ones matching the quality of a live, on-site shoot. The advancement meant no more worries around weather or location; and, once the “digital twin” – a 3D representation matching visual fidelity and quality of the car – is rendered, it takes just one week to create a final, working prototype image for the decisionmaker’s review. The result is “possibly even better” than an actual photograph, says Faruk. You can incorporate “creative choices” and the editing process, previously constrained by weather and other factors, is now relatively instantaneous so even “micro-edits” are incorporated. The Scope is based in Germany and Faruk’s multilingual, international background means he is well aware of the cultural nuances so important to car advertising. Any global launch first addresses a country’s cultural sensitivities; thereafter, the images and messaging are customized to specific markets. For example, some generalizations remain consistent across continents: “Authentic – that’s the big word these days,” says Faruk. “It’s not supposed to look artificial. Because everyone’s afraid that CGI is going to look artificial because it is artificial by nature.” The technology easily adds authenticity, toggling among a library of backdrops and details (like colors, flags, currency, people) that can be instantly implemented (or dismissed). Localization and globalization efforts can be even more tailored to a specific audience or geographic region, as a result – white cars in the southern US, more black cars in the north, and no desert or Nordic forest backdrops in the UK, for example. Throughout, despite superior technologies and our increasing cultural awareness, Faruk is emphatic about having local people review content for cultural propriety, underscoring the never-ending complexity of translation and cultural adaptation. Links: Website: www.TheScope.studio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farukheplevent/ Connect with Wendy -...

Josh Medow is CEO of Mercury, a healthcare and life sciences shipping company. After years as a leader in the Army Infantry and living abroad, he knew that he had an interest in running a global company. In this episode, he tells the compelling story of how he searched for and found the right company to buy and build. At first glance, Mercury met Josh’s requirements – global reach, a good culture, clear opportunity for growth, and a trustworthy reputation. The company specializes in logistics for medical device, diagnostic kit, biotech, life science research, and pharmaceutical companies, offering every shipping option in every geographic location. They are specialists in customs, packaging, import permits, harmonization codes, and dry ice, and positions itself as a dependable partner. Josh recognizes that many customer recipients have the potential to become Mercury clients, so Mercury is set up to handle shipments around the world, via an active partner network. The company finds potential shipping partners by attending industry trade shows such as the World Cargo Alliance, and also regularly fields inquiries from interested companies, vetting each one by learning about their experience and capabilities, then testing and tracking initial shipments. Companies are thereafter audited periodically to be sure they’re performing to Mercury’s high standards. Tune in to find out more about the world according to Josh, which includes advice from his lessons learned: Links: Website: www.shipmercury.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-medow/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Have you ever heard the saying: “Not my circus, not my monkeys”? I use it all the time, yet never realized that it is translated from Polish. Dr. Lynne Bowker, professor of translation technologies and information systems at the University of Ottawa, recently returned from Poland, where she was collaboratively researching ways to make academia more language inclusive. Scholars from around the world are encouraged to publish and attend conferences in English, yet fewer than 10% of the researchers in the world are Anglophones. In fact, for many it’s their second, third, or even fourth language. Imagine being a world expert in a subject but unable to share your findings and learn from others unless you speak English. With pressing global issues such as food insecurity, global warming, refugees, war, and more, Dr. Bowker set out to find ways in which AI translation or Machine Translation (MT) could help. Dr. Bowker specializes in language technology. In her recent book, “Demystifying Translation,” she explains why AI and MT translation are today not yet able to solve the issues related to cross-lingual communication – there are limits to what the technology can do and it’s not trustworthy. The biggest challenges facing authors in academia are the ability to: Leveraging AI/MT varies for each of these situations. To tackle the first challenge, the researcher can use automated translation to get the “gist” of what an article says and, with their specialized knowledge, do a pretty good job of figuring out its meaning. In the second scenario, non-English speaking researchers typically don’t possess English writing skills strong enough to clearly write their findings. This means that they would need to pay someone to write it or have a highly skilled translator edit their original draft. To simplify access to research, the academic community must get to the point of accepting publications in a researcher’s native language, with readers relying on AI/MT for gist translations. Lacking this option, many researchers will continue to opt out of publishing or presenting at conferences to share important research. At the same time, Dr. Bowker stresses the importance of recognizing that language technology is not perfect and ultimately requires nuanced discussion and experienced judgment regarding where and how to use it. It’s not merely a discussion as to whether AI/MT will replace humans in translation. Ironically, automated machine technology is old tech. In the 1940s during World War 2, experts developed tools to decipher what the enemy was saying – spying tools, essentially. The technology relied on dictionaries and linguistic rules for grammar to translate, and had particular trouble with synonyms (two meanings for one word) and polysemies (words with more than one meaning – for example “pen,” as in a writing pen or play pen). Ultimately, the technology was used only by professional translators because it was not good enough to release. Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, the technology in general improved – it became faster, smaller, and required less storage. Programmers started thinking of new ways to process language – by using data-driven approaches instead of linguistic rules. Translation quality improved in general but still fell far short of high quality. Current advances have changed from data-driven analysis to pattern identification, whereby machine language learning develops a memory by ingesting vast amounts of multilingual text. Without the large amounts of data, the technology is useless. Dr. Bowker recalls a time when Canadian weather forecasters struggled to hire English-French translators because the work was so repetitive – the words and format were always the same. After a few months, even new undergraduate translators quit from boredom. By leveraging AI/MT, the organization could save time, money, and effort. Technology still struggles with: The bottom line, according to Dr. Bowker, is that while we are still...

Laurent Kahl is an International Export/Import Consultant at the University of Georgia (UGA) Small Business Development Center (SBDC). He brings years of experience as an export manager, export consultant, and international sales expert to this episode, delving into the abundant US state and federal resources available to anyone looking to conduct business across borders. These free resources exist because the US imports much more than it exports, so the balance of trade is perpetually off balance; by supporting companies that export, the state and Federal government help to mitigate the imbalance for a healthier economy. Once business owners realize that exporting companies perform better, it can be difficult to figure out where to start. Every state has an SBDC, under the jurisdiction of the Small Business Administration (SBA). In turn, SBDCs support US Export Assistance Centers (USEACs) that help companies: The agency focuses on areas required for small business growth and expansion, management improvement, increased productivity, and innovation. In addition, USEACs will often maintain an international office to better connect small businesses with in-country distributors, partners, and service providers. Tune in to the full episode to access even more free resources to get you started on the path to international sales! Links: Email: lkahl@georgiaSBDC.org Phone: +1-678-203-0522 Website: https://georgiasbdc.org/ https://www.georgiasbdc.org/staff-members/laurent-kahl/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurentkahl/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Artug Acar, COO of Mercury, knows what it’s like to move to a new country and start fresh. He also knows how to open a new international market for a company. Mercury supports innovation by simplifying the shipping of time- and temperature-sensitive product for healthcare and life sciences companies. Currently, the management team is conducting due diligence on geographic options for international expansion. Artug talked about all the areas that need to be looked at before launching, including but not limited to: And even though a company can be diligent in its research, most of the time there will be unexpected challenges. Before Mercury, for example, Artug worked at Right Hand Robotics, where a prospect from Japan expressed an interest in the company’s robotic pick and pack solutions. While in Japan to install the system, the company learned that, unlike US and European consumers, Japanese consumers consider products with wrinkled packaging to be defective. Company engineers worked with the Japanese client to solve the problem, engineering the robots to operate more gently to avoid damage to the packaging. They pushed the boundaries and made a better product. The benefits inherent in the process extended beyond increased revenues, profits, and market share, says Artug. It gave the company information vital to making its product more competitive, leading to increased market share both domestically and internationally. As COO at Mercury, the management team had limited data on top markets, so asked stakeholders from each department (operations, sales, marketing, finance, product management) to analyze each specific area and report on the findings. After consolidating the information and a legal review, the company developed a short list of suppliers to support them. Ultimately, the company is trying to find out “what can go wrong.” Once successful in its target market, the company will start over to figure out its second market. It’s all about taking a calculated risk, explains Artug, one offering higher returns than any other growth opportunity. Artug believes that language must be a consideration from the beginning. Mercury considered English-speaking countries easier to enter, with fewer language barriers, yet only after weighing market opportunity and competition against new markets and translation. Key to future success in new markets will require translation that respects local language and culture, he adds. Artug’s favorite foreign phrase will resonate with travelers: 現地 現物 or Genchi Genbutsu is the Japanese phrase meaning “go see for yourself.” Links: Website: https://www.shipmercury.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artugacar/ In the Press: https://www.businessinsider.com/tb/the-list-of-300-people-transforming-business-in-2020-9/transformers/artug-acar https://www.businessinsider.com/manufacturing-leaders-discuss-data-and-automation-2021-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/righthand-robotics-exec-automation-is-a-necessity-2021-1 Additional Resources: Internationalization Readiness Quiz –https://softlandpartners.com/readiness-checklist/ Free consult about Global Content Management - https://www.rapporttranslations.com/request-a-consultation Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Stefan Repin is the founder of LuckBoosters, a company helping B2B companies with complex and long sales cycles grow demand and close more customers through full-cycle marketing and sales practices. He’s worked all over the world, growing companies by adapting sales techniques to meet specific industry needs while respecting local culture. Stefan helped one client, a Belgian software developer, enter the South African market. The company’s software consolidates data gathered by drones, information critical to the mining, agriculture, and oil and gas industries rife within the country. Stefan advised the company to build relationships with key opinion leaders to help with introductions. To develop the new relationships, prospects were invited to participate in a company podcast. Twenty agreed, receiving a brochure and a customized toy plane as a personal thank you. At the same time, Stefan knew that mail delivery and Internet service were inconsistent throughout the country, so he worked with the software company to send three copies of the same material to ensure that potential buyers received the information sent to them. Similarly, the company made available an offline version of its software. Stefan advised the company to be more direct – and more persistent – in its outreach than it would have been in Europe because it’s how business is done, locally. Relationship-building took time, but in the end paid off for the company. Another client, Platforce, conducted outreach into Southeast Asia via webinars. Stefan knew that local buyers wouldn’t respond to Internet or email invitations, so advised the company to call each prospect with a personal invitation. In the end, webinars combined with dinner and a custom presentation worked to build trust and sales. Stefan sees increased sales whenever a company supports a local representative and translates company brochures and related information. Many clients have limited budgets for localization so he asks his client companies to translate marketing material after securing at least five prospects, followed by website translation after just one sale. Building a landing page or microsite based on translated marketing material maximizes the investment. “Trust” is the recurring theme throughout, he adds – translated, localized content builds and nurtures local relationships. Links: Website: https://www.luckboosters.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefan-repin-b2boperations/?originalSubdomain=ie Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Jasmine Martirossian is Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief People Officer (CPO) of Mercury, a company simplifying time- and temperature-sensitive shipping for healthcare and life sciences companies. She speaks seven languages and has lived in as many countries, helping a host of well-known companies expand globally along the way. Jasmine shares her wisdom with us on this episode of The Global Marketing Show. “Bottom line: stay curious.” Jasmine credits her natural ability to stay curious as the reason that she’s had so much success in global marketing. She describes two situations defused by “not staying beholden to the tyranny of war” and instead by looking for alternative solutions to help teams work together. In China, she felt pushback by one team on developing a new website, so she could not move the project forward. Instead of forcing the issue and demanding compliance, Jasmine stayed curious and learned that the team thought it was just another “flavor of the month” project and didn’t want to engage. Plus, they had connectivity issues. She understood the culture enough to build consensus, using her connections to find the team a place to work with reliable Wi-Fi. Even though she had been there only two days, Jasmine knew how important “connections” are in China. By taking the time to stay curious and communicate in an appropriate way, she crossed the cultural chasm and got the project done. In another position, Jasmine was headed to France to meet with a team on a marketing project. She felt resistance from the French team about including a US colleague in the meeting, someone they considered “obstructive.” Again, instead of forcing the issue and demanding compliance, she suggested the co-worker come to France and join them for dinner. She understood the importance of meals to the French who said of course, they couldn’t refuse to “break bread” with another. Problem solved by using cultural empathy and understanding to meet the needs of all participants. Links: Website: https://www.shipmercury.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-martirossian/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Adam Bittlingmayer is CEO and co-founder of ModelFront, a language services technology company striving to “make high-quality human translation radically more efficient” for large enterprises. The ModelFront API helps translators and language services agencies quickly determine the quality of machine-translated content, analyzing content segments for accuracy; with AI and human guidance, the technology’s ability to “predict” quality continues to improve over time. Adam is an industry expert on automated translation - before co-founding the leading provider of machine translation quality prediction, he worked at Google Translate as an engineer, and founded Machine Translate, the foundation for open information and community for machine translation. Google Translate “makes bad translation free,” he says, adding that because most people can’t access translation the service is great for humanity, but not dependable for high-quality translation. None of this is new to the language services industry, which has embraced machine translation from the outset. In this episode, Adam and I discuss AI, generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, and the technology’s general unreadiness for quality translation right now. AI-powered technologies are clearly and quickly redefining our concept of the future – what has changed is how we in the industry think about quality and client expectations in relation to potential (or perceived) time- and cost savings. Adam also lays out a framework to help you decide what type of translation method works best, based on the value and uniqueness of content. Content with the highest “value” impacts a company’s revenue, brand reputation, and legal obligations and still requires human translation. That need for quality will always be there, he says, even as the quality of AI translation improves. To keep up and stay relevant, the menu of services LSPs offer (and the methods they employ) will have to change, as the demand for services will likewise increase as the capacity to scale becomes greater. Adam and I agree that there exist extremist viewpoints on whether technology will take over jobs from humans. To maintain a balanced discussion on the topic – he comes from the technological side and I come from the human side – we also agreed that ensuring the quality of any translation project currently requires both technology and humans. Listen to the full episode to hear more from both perspectives and find out where they coalesce and collide. In addition, we discuss: Links: Website: www.modelfront.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bittlingmayer/ Email: adam@modelfront.com Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Inge Carr is the owner of Altair Strategic Marketing, through which she provides Fractional and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) services. Her vast experience consulting throughout the US, Canada, and Europe and fluency in five languages, gives Inge tremendous insight into how companies can successfully align corporate strategy with branding and marketing, especially internationally, to drive revenue. Inge was a member of the team who created an award-winning campaign focused on marketing Canada to Olympic visitors. She reminds us that people coming from other countries to Canada may connect with different messages. And it’s not dependent so much on a person’s country of origin, but why the person is traveling. By hiring a market research company, the team was able to determine what experiences people wanted and how they wanted to hear about it. For example: 1. Northern Lights UK and Germany: “See the grandiose lights with standing room only.” US: “It’s standing room only for the greatest light show.” France: “Incredible light show and training of the dogs.” (This was the direct translation but I’m not sure what it’s supposed to mean!) 2. Glamping The US is the only country interested in “glamping,” or luxurious camping. It’s not talked about in other countries. 3. Sailing Nova Scotia UK, Germany, and France: “Have a wonderful lunch of lobster and scallops and enjoy the view for dessert.” US: “Lounge around all day and have a 5-star meal for dinner.” Inge also mentioned that a great translator simultaneously provides multilingual marketing insight to companies without a hefty Olympics-sized budget. (I certainly agree, at Rapport International our translators do it all the time.) Among the team’s challenges were initial social media posts that did not perform as well as expected. Yet they knew to keep tweaking them until they increased their response rates. In another role, Inge worked with an insurance company struggling with 20 different brands and a fractured brand experience. Representatives from each of the brands worked together to build a unified brand that worked across multiple languages. And although there were no language specialists in the meeting, each team member had deep experience with translation, so they resolutely kept translation issues in mind. If you are interested in seeing how Rotary International unified their brand in multiple countries and how they handled language translation and cultural adaptation, tune in to The Global Marketing Show, episode #17. Inge’s final words of advice: make sure to hire a professional translation organization to get the support you need. If you can’t clearly communicate your value proposition and messaging, you won’t emotionally connect with your audience. And since 90% of decision making is driven by emotion, you will also miss out on sales and lose opportunities. Inge’s favorite word is Dutch slang for “ATM”: “Flappentapper" (flappen - tapper)! Just say it to laugh, she says. It literally means: Flopa: currency or bills Topper: the server who dispenses the beer at a bar I’m adding that word to my lexicon! Links: Website: https://www.altairmktg.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/icarr Email: icarr@altairmktg.com Phone: 760-655-6451 Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Perry Nalevka, CEO of Penguin Strategies, specializes in launching technology companies internationally. In this episode of The Global Marketing Show podcast, he talks about the global launch of GuardKnox, a technology and engineering company specializing in electric/electronics (E/E) products and solutions for the automotive industry. GuardKnox offers next-generation software to carmakers, enabling the development of secure, high-performance driving computers. The company has won multiple awards and gets high marks from major car manufacturers like Ford, Mercedes, and Audi. From the outset, the company knew it had a total addressable market of only 1,000 to 2,000 people and about 10 companies, so their messaging had to be impactful and authentic. Through a few iterations and carefully selected forums of engineers, they tested their messaging to make sure it resonated with their target audience in specific countries, namely the US, UK, Germany, and France. Throughout, Perry insisted that messaging and content had to be insightful and accurately translated. He said they “would never use AI, that it had to be done right or not at all.” The biggest mistakes the company made initially were expecting results too quickly and not creating enough quality content of interest to its buyers. Now, the CEO or CTO develops content technical enough to capture their market’s attention. You can find a wealth of robust content on the company’s website – www.guardknox.com. Links: Website: www.penguinstrategies.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pnalevka/ Email: perry@penguinstrategies.com Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Dave Roccio of Lando and Anastasi, a Boston-based law firm specializing in intellectual property (IP), takes a holistic view on patent filing – it’s not just about filing the patent application, it’s about his client’s stage in business, what they want to achieve, and their long-term goals. One telling example, he shares, is that of a tech company client that received funding and had 10 technologies to protect. They had funding, a strategy, and needed to move fast to protect their inventions. They budgeted about $10k per patent (the average cost of a single filing) and had one year to determine the countries in which to file, not an easy decision as each country would require another $100K for 10 filings. This is where Dave’s holistic approach comes in; he will advise his clients on where, when, and what to file. The first three variables to consider are: As part of the process, Dave determines whether the client would benefit from complete applications, wholly protecting them from competitors on many different levels, or if it’s better to file quickly for minimal, viable commercial usage. Interestingly, his electrical engineering background also means that where he ultimately chooses to file may differ from other patent attorneys’ choices. That said, he adds, US companies most commonly file for patents in: Rules around translation vary according to country, but every office usually requires translation into the local language. When deadlines are especially tight and attorneys need immediate understanding of particular content, the firm will sometimes utilize machine translation; however, a one-word mistake in a patent application can cause a lot of issues – delays, denials, extra time, and costs. Ultimately, it’s a balancing act between time and accuracy and, should that fail Dave will always turn to human translators to ensure accuracy. Timeliness is of utmost importance for companies managing patents and other IP. Global marketers, too, should check for patent protections before selling into a new country. Going to market prior to the patent process starts the clock on the time allowance for patent applications; if a company tries to file a few years after entering the country, they likely won’t be able to protect their IP. Links: Website: https://lalaw.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidroccio/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Natalya Berdikyan is Founder and CEO of Life by Design, an executive coaching company “help[ing] individuals and organizations grow beyond borders and boundaries.” A truly global citizen, Natalya hails from the former Soviet Union and has lived in 6 countries; she speaks 4½ languages. A former executive for a multimillion dollar chocolate producer in Belgium, she has sold confections all over the world. I found it fascinating to learn about confectionary global preferences – for example, Natalya’s almond sweets are gifted on specific occasions, depending on the country: Belgium – to welcome newborns Italy – to celebrate marriage Luxembourg – for communion Portugal – at Easter Norway – on Valentine’s Day Natalya used a “pull” strategy to enter each market: trade shows allowed her to assess the current landscape then develop unique, differentiated products. Focusing on innovative color creation, distinctive merchandise, and special packaging for holiday and special occasion gifts, the company’s custom manufacturing option also meant made-to-order adjustments – for one, customized ingredients to meet changing consumer demands for healthier treats. Retailers and distributors were inevitably “pulled” in, attracted to the opportunities for originality and increased market share. The company catered to three major outlets: As co-owner of the confectionary company, Natalya met with clients worldwide and during her travels, developed a cultural intelligence that fueled her success. She recalls her early confusion in the US when asked: “How are you doing?” No one expects an answer, she says, it’s used as a greeting! She had to learn how to stop answering the question. In the very middle of running a successful company and a perfect life full of parties, money, and achievement, Natalya realized she felt unhappy. Upon slowing down to figure out why, she realized that she had bought into society’s rules about what success looks like, and a life full of wine, money, sugar, and limiting beliefs did not feed her soul. Drawing on that experience, and the belief that anyone can thrive – not just survive – through life changes, Natalya launched Life by Design, an executive coaching firm designed to help entrepreneurs and leaders build the life they want. She provides coaching, training, and holistic retreats to improve people’s energy so they can become better leaders in business and in life. If you’d like to talk to Natalya, you can reach her on LinkedIn or through her website. Links: More About Natalya: https://www.lifebydesign-academy.com/about-natalya Website: https://www.lifebydesign-academy.com Contact: contact@lifebydesign-academy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalyaberdikyan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@natalyaberdikyan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalya.berdikyan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalyaberdikyan/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

John Coveyou is the founder of Genius Games and king of dad jokes around the campfire: “Have you heard the one about the sidewalk? It’s all over town!” So, it makes sense that he’s always had a passion for game design, too. Throughout his military service – during which he discovered his love for science – and while earning a master’s degree in engineering, he wondered why there were no games on science concepts like the periodic table, biology of the human body, or the atom. And just like that, Genius Games was born! Genius Games now offers more than 50 games that sell worldwide. Originally, John fielded requests from other English-speaking countries – the UK, Australia, and Canada were early adopters – and soon after, often at US game conferences, he found himself fielding inquiries from international distributors eager to sell into their home countries. John soon discovered that, instead of working with multiple distributors, building relationships with in-country game publishers possessing native fluency of local languages simplified his operations and increased revenues. To support that structure, John built Genius Games as a multi-national rather than global company, allowing for greater autonomy, cultural adaptation, and customized product offerings within each individual country, as opposed to a global company with centralized operations and static processes. For example, the company’s publisher in Spain translates game and product information into Spanish, pays for production costs, then sells the games into international markets. Margins are lower, but royalties are consistent and all profit. Listen to the full episode to hear more on the accounting and numbers!. Currently, about 20% of the company’s revenue comes from international markets, thanks to the relationships built with overseas publishers visiting the US, and Genius Games are now translated into Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Hebrew, Polish, Russian, Korean, and other southeast Asian languages. To complement the expansion effort, in 2022 I introduced John to his state’s export representative; he ultimately secured a STEP grant covering his attendance at an international trade show. The grant paid for travel, lodging, and conference fees and connected John with exporting help from international groups and additional growth opportunities. For instance, he now understands the importance, and mechanics, of adding translation to his website to drive more sales to his partners. A multilingual website optimizes the experience for people searching for Genius Games – or games in general – by recognizing their native language. The strategy increases the company’s reach – consumers will more often buy from websites in their native language – and linking to partner websites for the sale prevents cannibalizing partner sales. (If you’re interested in exporting and want to be connected to your state export rep, reach out to me for an introduction.) Even with such meaningful success in consumer and international sales, John still sees room for growth. Genius Games has yet to tap into the educational market – if you’re a potential partner or have any connections or resources to help with access to the educational market, please reach out to John on Linked In. To have fun, play some Genius Games available on their website or Amazon. Links: Website: https://www.geniusgames.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coveyou-15586163/ STEP Grant Information: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/grants/state-trade-expansion-program-step German Words (Butterfly): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo0Hsx-yHiI Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with John - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coveyou-15586163/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Christian Klepp, Co-Founder of EINBLICK Consulting, explains that as a “third culture kid” he grew up in Austria, the Philippines, Singapore, and Germany, landing in China as a young adult. This experience of living across countries gives him and other second- or third culture kids the appreciation and ability to navigate cultures since they’ve had to do so from a young age. It's fascinating to hear about how Christian helps Chinese-speaking clients enter the Canadian and US markets, the perfect complement to his past experiences helping English-speaking companies enter China. He shares a story about a medical device company that entered China with the attitude of “what got us here, will get us there.” Instead of taking the time to understand the market for their non-invasive blood sugar measuring device, the company assumed doctors would promote the device to their patients, not knowing that such practice is prohibited. Instead, hospital procurement teams must approve the use of any new device; doctors can recommend devices to the procurement teams but not directly to patients. This adds another layer of relationships to the sales cycle that the team could not anticipate because they did not hire a Chinese partner connected into the health system for the launch in China. In addition, 90% of people in China are on their cell phones looking to key opinion leaders (KOLs) for information on doctors and healthcare. Mobile marketing and social media are more influential in China than in other markets. Christian also talks about the importance of accurate translation and cultural adaptation. China is a big country segmented by tiers of development; major cities along the east coast have a much different standard of living than rural communities, so what might work in the city could be different than in rural areas. It’s also important to be mindful of the spoken and written Chinese language. Although there are hundreds of dialects, there is only one written language. People may not be able to speak to each other, but they can write to communicate. Christian shares some interesting case studies about brand name translation: To wrap up the interview, Christian talks about what Canadians and Americans can learn from Chinese culture. Listen to the full episode if you’d like to know more. Links: Company website: www.einblick.co Podcast ("B2B Marketers on a Mission"): https://www.einblick.co/podcasts/ Connect with Wendy - https://www. linkedin. com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Christian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-klepp-einblickconsulting/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www. silvermansound. com

I had the pleasure of first meeting Aytul Ercil at the 2022 International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Awards Conference in Madrid, where we celebrated the cooperation of women-owned businesses throughout the world. In addition to being a delightful conversationalist, Aytul is a mathematician, professor, scholar, applied research expert, and entrepreneur; in this episode she describes her move away from theoretical research and toward its real-world business applications. Even with applied research, she explains, universities specialize only in research and developing prototypes but don’t take the products to market, instead they find existing companies to take the lead and launch. Working in applied research fueled her interest in launching the products herself; she started her first company alongside two graduate students and sold it to a strong and successful German company. Now onto her second company, Vispera offers image processing for retail stores. By providing in-store monitoring with either pictures or installed videos, companies can keep track of compliance with price and promotion deals, stocking levels, layout and display issues, and inventory reporting. It helps solve the major pain in retail of capturing information on the selling floor to maintain inventory and increase sales. The Vispera system’s speed, accuracy, and precision in gathering information on the selling floor helps clients better manage production, operations, and distribution. In addition, with retailers managing ecommerce, they have the information to manage the coordination of in-store and on-line ordering. Before the Vispera platform, companies relied on sales reps to visit stores, count items, fix displays, and communicate information – all very tactical and manual work. Now, sales reps can be more strategic when working with customers. Based in Türkiye, Aytul knew from the start that she would need to launch internationally for success. Since her first target clients were large, international companies, she chose to build an English-only website, knowing it would reach more people than a Turkish language website. The strategy worked; her first customer, based outside of Türkiye, found Vispera through an online search. Now implemented in 35 countries with clients such as Coca-Cola, CircleK, and Unilever, Vispera’s technology solution requires custom buildouts and adaptation, so rather than adapting her website and content, she hires bilingual employees to handle in-country communications with frontline customers. Since she hires local bilingual employees, I asked if she needs to culturally adapt her messaging for geographic markets. She says that most clients are large global companies dealing with the same issues and problems; in India, however, the company may have to adjust its messaging to account for the large number of “mom and pop” stores. Similarly, she does predict a need for website and other translation for particular countries. While Vispera currently markets only in English, and the company continues to optimize their website for English search terms, its technologies can easily be adapted to other languages; for instance, it provides a Spanish-language platform for clients in South America. Aytul lists her biggest challenges as: (I can certainly relate to these – how about you!?) And her biggest mistakes? In her first company, to support development they accepted project-based work, quickly finding that delivering said projects meant little time for development. Once they found funding, Aytul recognized that doing the project work for so long slowed down the larger development of their initiative. Gaining funding and working with a partner sped up their success. She adds that even a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University does not mean you will understand finance or accounting; asked for a P&L statement, she had to look up its meaning, and made a few unwise financial decisions before taking the...

Amy Kenigsberg, Cofounder and COO of K2 Global, joined me on The Global Marketing Show to discuss WIIFM (“what’s in it for me?”) communications, cultural messaging, and ChatGPT. K2 focuses on precise, nuanced messaging to impact everyone involved in the purchasing process, a strategy especially critical within account-based marketing (ABM). To that end, Amy developed a process that her agency uses to build a “Bible of Messages”: starting with the engineers from its technology company clients, K2 translates all the features and benefits of the “tech talk” into “marketing talk,” which is then customized to each of the decision makers in the buying process. They then test rough draft messaging across industries, roles, and geography to validate the messaging specific to each player, driving each to emotionally connect with the client’s brand. Continued client support combines K2’s Bible of Messages with the PESO Model™ developed by Gini Dietrich, of OBI. The PESO Model™ integrates and optimizes use of the four media types – paid, earned, shared, and owned. Building the Model based on specifics from the Bible of Messages accelerates the end-result of helping companies build authority and thought leadership more efficiently. Recently, clients have asked Amy about ChatGPT and its ability to write content. Like many content creators and translators, we are watching the technology to see what it will do to our respective industries, and here’s what we’ve seen so far. The good: The speed and ability of ChatGPT is amazing and it’s great at smashing writer’s block. It can clearly develop a thoughtful flow to the content for an initial “pre-draft” (rather than a “rough” draft, which is simply putting ideas on paper). It gives great ideas for short content like social posts, it corrects grammatical errors, it eliminates boring rote tasks. The Bad: The program pulls from historical content, so even if it’s dated, ChatGPT makes it seem current, and real. Add to that the seemingly worldwide trend toward a “post-fact” culture and it’s easy to imagine how the continued recycling of inaccuracies could kick-start the multiplier effect of a world operating on widespread misinformation. The content is consolidated, with neither source nor attribution to the original writers. When we write and publish, we cite our sources to add legitimacy to our work. Hopefully, the tide will likewise demand and formalize citation of content from any automated source. Its ability to adapt the tone of its output to the intended purpose is still limited. With the lack of emotion, ChatGPT content can get boring to read. It may make sense to use it to generate an automatic first draft and then edit for nuance, urgency, and other emotional cues, but outside of potentially helping with a writer’s block, it wouldn’t necessarily save time. The Ugly: Have you ever heard of the Infinite Monkey Theorem? It states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. Amy compares ChatGPT to this theorem! Given enough tries, maybe the program can come up with a creative story that encapsulates your marketing message with enough emotion to capture your buyer’s attention. The Concerns: Amy describes her additional concerns: On his Revisionist History podcast, Malcolm Gladwell explained the difference between an anecdote and a story. An anecdote talks about something that happened: “I went to the store and used a $5 bill to pay for the items I bought.” A story adds some spice to the anecdote: “I went to the store and tried to pay for my items with a $5 bill. The shopkeeper laughed and threw the bill back at me.” (OK, I edited it a tad from the podcast, but you get the idea.) In essence, an anecdote recites; a story keeps you interested, and you want to know more. ChatGPT can produce anecdotes; creative writers tell stories. Good...

Marcus Mogéus, Chief Marketing Officer of AutoStore, explains that when you maximize efficient use of your space, you help the environment and the planet by minimizing your land usage – for industrial buildings, for instance. AutoStore helps warehouses, manufacturers, ecommerce companies and grocery stores optimize logistics and simplify fulfillment; the need for such services are clear, based on the company’s growth. With over 50% CAGR over the last 10 years, and over 70% CAGR during Covid, AutoStore’s global growth has been consistently explosive. When AutoStore started in 1996 in a small town in Norway, its founder thought about global expansion from the start. Their mantra then and now: “Let’s get as many bins as there are people in the world.” To do this, they built a proprietary system that uses robots and tracks to move storage bins quickly to fulfill orders. Each system is custom-designed and -built for the client. Operating in in over 45+ countries through a network of qualified partners and servicing multiple industries, Marcus’s biggest challenge in global marketing has been getting the messages right across countries and industries. For example, some countries focus on decreasing the costs of human involvement, while others want to focus on increased automation. Yet, it’s not as easy as localizing the message for each country. Industries vary in what they want from AutoStore’s cube storage automation. An online apparel store cares about the speed of fulfillment, while an industrial products company may care more about cost efficiencies. These differences can then align across countries. Marcus explains that language translation is an important part of their go-to-market strategy. AutoStore works with local agencies for translation, while coordinating global branding and messaging with the corporate office. Our focus is always on the human element and what the customers can achieve, he adds, and that simple goal has revolutionized automated fulfillment. Links: https://www.autostoresystem.com/ Connect with Wendy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Connect with Marcus - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-mog%C3%A9us-52501194/ Music: Fiddle-De-Dee by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com