standard, simple, global

Standard, simple, global: sounds impossible, doesn't it?

That's my take: there is no standardization in b2b when going global. Just to be clear from the start.

In regard to the global marketing strategies, there are two main questions a company has to answer:

• Will you standardize your product / service while extending your distribution market?
• Will you adapt your product / service to each new country? Even create new products, if that's the case, for new markets?

I'm extremely biased towards adaptation or even creating new service from scratch, in the right market circumstances. 

It's clear enough if you read this post about adapting your products for international markets or any other labeled under 'localization'.

But there are merits to the standardization, and I want this point of view present in my blog as well.

translation, let's not get lost in it

Google Chrome translate feature 

I totally have to praise Google Chrome and the huge progress they brought in overpassing language barriers.

I can't really imagine how things were done prior to this translation feature embedded in Chrome browser; much more expensively, I imagine.

On my side, I like to investigate on my own before committing resources to ordering a study. I couldn't really justify paying study after study just to tell my stakeholders: look, it's not worth pursuing this or that market. I could argue the savings done by not going into the wrong directions, but I actually prefer to pay for documented opinion to confirm my hunch that there's potential in a certain market.

trust me, I'm a marketer

Having worked in the credit risk management services, I've found out firsthand how difficult marketing of fiduciary services is and what it takes for the company you represent to be taken into consideration as possible supplier.

What I had in front of me was a highly specialized target market, of credit analysts, CFOs, risk managers, the professionals in financial services industry.

Being a start-up, our company was relying on marketing to initiate the conversation with our targeted, specialized audience. We eventually started a good one, after lots of trials and tunings.