Sales and marketing challenges in the usa

SALES AND MARKETING CHALLENGES IN THE US

Andrew Singer – November 27, 2012 Danish American

Business Forum

Andrew Singer - [email protected] - +45 50905190

Overview

A look at the USA – demographics MarCom challenges in the USA

What leading Danish companies say Marcom opportunities - best practices

For developing and optimizing your message

USA Demographics – 311 million

50.7 million Hispanic or Latino

39.1 million African Americans

14.9 million Asian Americans

2.8 million American Indians or Alaska Native

19.2 million of other race 184.3 White

2010 USA Census

USA Demographics

56% of U.S. Hispanic adults speak only or mostly Spanish, while 40% speak only or mostly English

Four out of every ten Hispanics in the United States now speak more English than they do Spanish

¿Habla usted español

Source: 2012 Nielsen report


Diversity

Create branding and images that reflect your target market


Takeaway

Market to the states by region?

No – by ethnic diversity – which can be defined

regionally – in some cases.

Only if it is applicable to your product Americans consider themselves first and

foremost, Amercians – Or, they will identify with their city/state - I’m a New Yorker


... but united - One Market

“We love the states – create one message that gets to the point,” Cherian Mathews, Global Director of Sales Strategy, Dell


MarCom Challenges in USA

Crowded market 2.236 trillion USD in imports

Agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys)

Difficult to get a "share of voice" in a crowded market place - Mikkel Trier Wagner, Marketing Communications Manager, Ambu A/S

We are always trying to determine our voice’s share in a particular space - competing for a limited attention - Cherian Mathews, Dell


“You might say that Americans are born marketers. Marketing just seems to be something that’s a part of the culture in the US.”

Charlotte Bang, Head of Brand Support & Group Communications - GN ReSound

Getting your voice heard



Creating your message Keep communications simple and direct

“Communicate direct business benefits much more overtly. A lot of European communications is too soft and wishy-washy. US audiences don’t go in for clever, intellectual messages. They don’t have time for it – they just want to get the job done.” David Hoskin – Partner, Co-founder, Eye for Image




“I’ve learned that it is important to keep communication simple and direct. We tend to have some very sophisticated messages here, and the US has been instrumental in helping us to be clearer.

What we do in Europe is more stylized, not so real. But Scandinavian clean lines and whites are rather cold in mainstream American eyes. Americans want something that is more real, more direct – something with which they can identify and connect.” Charlotte Bang, GN Resound




“Americans are less interested in technical specifications, but in how those details translate into “human” benefits.

One of our key messages is about design excellence. This really resonates with our European subsidiaries and their audiences. But the Americans aren’t hooked on this stuff at all. They are not interested in the concept of design for its own sake. Americans like to know: what will the product will do and why should I buy it.” Charlotte Bang


Keep communications simple and direct

Takeaway: Get to the point!


Why use TrackMan? Because all the big boys use it

“Americans are born consumers. When marketing to the US, be direct with a hard-hitting proposition that works – with strong benefits and strong human connections. And remember to attach a very clear call to action.” Charlotte Bang

Why should I support you?

I’ll take the best beer, instead thank you Why shop here?



Refining your message Don’t just translate - create

“They (USA) are more open to engaging content than European audiences too. Long (good) copy, for example, works well.

You can’t just spin them propaganda – you need to be able to back up everything you say with facts and proof, but at the same time you need to be much more clear with the way you communicate.” David Hoskin, Eye for Image

“You can’t expect to use British texts in the US and just change it a little. It’s not just about the spelling and word choice. You’ve got to rewrite them to quite a degree before they ring true in American ears.” Charlotte Bang



Getting your message heard “We have found that it is super important to have

people on the ground. Not enough to call from Denmark.” Christian Birk, Founder, Endomondo

“You have to have feet on the ground in the US with US employees and people who really understand the local way of doing business. Foreigners will probably have difficulty without good local connections.” David Hoskin

“More ambitious social media activities and goals plus a few real- time features such as live support chat.” Michael Harboe, Director Online Marketing, GN Netcom


60-95% of revenue comes from foreign markets but exporting reputation/brand is very difficult

The best 100 companies have a 5-22% weaker reputation in foreign markets compared to their home markets

Willingness to recommend a company is 6-41% lower in foreign markets compared to home market

Reputation Institute

Stranger in a strange land


In foreign markets, do not focus only on marketing your product. Market and tell your company story as well.

Takeaway: Who you are matters more than what you sell

MarCom Opportunities

More U.S. Internet users will access the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs or other wireline devices by 2015 – IDG.

Email opens on smartphones and tablets have increased 80% over the last six months. (Source: Litmus) Mobile devices have become a major source of email usage. Make sure that your email marketing message displays properly on mobile devices to maximize the results of your sends.

64% of smartphone owners are use their mobile devices to shop online. (Source: eDigitalResearch) If you sell goods online, target specific campaigns to smartphone users.

Go Mobile

http://litmus.com/blog/email-client-market-share-stats-infographic-june-2012

http://www.edigitalresearch.com/news/item/nid/243999809


The more keyword-rich content you generate, the more search engines will find (and love) you.

When researching branded products… 44% of online shoppers begin by using a search engine.

Companies that blog have 55% more website visitors

The average click-through rate for paid search in 2010 (worldwide) was 2%.

SOURCE: HUBSPOT, 2010

Create Content


57% of SMBs say social media is beneficial to their business.

61% of US marketers use social media to increase lead generation

Go Social

SOURCE: AD-OLOGY RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 2010


21 Million US Twitter users*

US Twitter users are more educated than the general population**

Raw numbers for 2/2012USA Unique Visitors:

facebook.com =166,890,779twitter.com = 37,201,228plus.google.com = 18,915,810

Leverage Twitter & Google+

SOURCE: EMARKETER, APRIL 2011*SOURCE: EDISON RESEARCH, 2010**


Why inbound marketing?


Cost Effective


Converts leads


Customer acquisition



9 Step On-Page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Guide*

1. Choose Keywords Read the page’s content and identify two (2) keywords that are

most relevant to the overall page content. Choose one (1) primary keyword relevant to the page’s content and one variation of that keyword (e.g. plural variation or two closely related keywords) per page. If you can’t identify one primary keyword for a page, you’ll need to create new website pages to separate the different content. If it’s not clear to you what page is about, then your visitors and the search engines won’t be able to understand the page either.

Source: Hubspot.com



9 Step On-Page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Guide

2. Page Title The page title appears as the blue, bolded, underlined text on a

Google search results page, and also on the top left the browser bar. The page title should follow these guidelines:

Be under 70 characters with no more than two long-tail keywords per page title

The primary keyword should appear first Each keyword phrase should be separated by pipes (|) Each page title on your website should be unique Except for your homepage and contact us page, each page title

should NOT include your business name




3. Meta Description The meta description appears on a Google search results page under

the Page Title. The meta description helps people decide whether to click on your result, or a result above or below you. Think of it as a call to action. The meta description should follow these guidelines:

Be under 150 characters (but not under 100 characters; take advantage of the space you have)

Incorporate the primary keyword and at least one secondary keyword Provide a valuable, compelling reason for why someone should visit

the page Include keywords in a conversational format; don’t just cram in

keywords for the sake of listing them




4. URL The website page’s URL should include the primary keyword. Each word in

the URL should be separated using dashes (-). e.g. www.examplesite.com/communications-marketing-consultant

5. Heading Tags

The page should have one H1 heading tag that incorporates the primary keyword, and should align with the page title and the URL or the page. This H1 tag should appear at the top of the page and should be the first thing people see when they arrive on a page.

6. Page Content

Use your primary keyword a few times throughout the page’s content. Don’t over-think keyword density or placement, you should mention them naturally. Try to bold or underline the keyword at least once. This has an effect on how relevant the keyword is to the page. Also mention the secondary keywords when you can.




7. Add a Call to Action

Every website page, including your blog, should have at least one call to action above the page’s fold (Don’t make your website visitor scroll down to see the call to action). Calls to action can help SEO by creating an internal link on your website to a specific landing page. Most calls to action are images; therefore you can optimize the image filename and alt text for the primary keyword you’re targeting on the page (see step 9).

8. Internal Links

If you mention the primary keyword of this page on other pages within your site, then link to this page using the primary keyword as the anchor text. For example, you should link to a page about inbound marketing software using the anchor text “inbound marketing software.” To make sure this is completed, take a moment to create one (1) or two (2) links on related pages that link back to the page you’re optimizing.




9. Label Images Any images used on the page should be optimized so that search engines

can “read” the image. Optimize the most prominent image on the page using the primary keyword, and then use the primary and secondary keywords for any other images. Images can be optimized in two ways:

File name: Each word should be separated with dashes (-), e.g. inbound-marketing-software.jpg

ALT text: The alt text should match the file name, without dashes, e.g. Inbound Marketing Software

If you are unable to change image file name or if it’s too time consuming, then only change the most prominent images’ alt text using the primary keyword.



Interesting to know

Make sure the page language is obvious Google uses only the visible content of your page to determine its

language. We don’t use any code-level language information such as land attributes. You can help Google determine the language correctly by using a single language for content and navigation on each page, and by avoiding side-by-side translations.

Make sure each language version is easily discoverable Keep the content for each language on separate URLs. Don’t use cookies to

show translated versions of the page. Consider cross-linking each language version of a page. That way, a Danish user who lands on the USA version of your page can get to the right language version with a single click.

Avoid automatic redirection based on the user’s perceived language. These redirections could prevent users (and search engines) from viewing all the versions of your site.



Interesting to know

Corporate Etiquette Consultants All business e-mails should begin with the word “Dear,”

When initiating a correspondence, err on the side of formality.

Begin your message with a standard business greeting that uses the recipient's last name. For example, you might write: "Dear Mr. Brown."


Examples

Kem-En-Tec Diagnostics Kem-En-Tec Diagnostics is a service oriented, economically healthy and well

established company with a strong experience as a supplier of reagents for the IVD Industry.

Our success as the European market leader in specific ELISA substrates and buffers for immunoassays is based on reliability, superior product quality, high safety level, flexibility and a high technological level. We consider ourselves acting more as your Partner than as a general supplier.

Success in kit manufacturing requires that every single step in the supply chain lives up to the highest standard in quality, reproducibility and responsibility. We want to close the supply chain being the strongest link. By combining the best reagents our customers built robust assays for optimal diagnosis. Therefore, our services also include extensive pre- as well as post selling support. Our success is based on the success of our customers. We establish relations worth to be kept for many years.

http://www.kem-en-tec.com/detail.asp?item=30http://www.kem-en-tec.com/detail.asp?item=34


Thank you very much for today!To receive a pdf version of the workshop:

Contact: Andrew Singer

+45 [email protected]

www.andrewsinger.dkTwitter: @andrewsinga

LinkedIn: dk.linkedin.com/in/singerandrew

Feel free to connect

Sales and marketing challenges in the usa

Marketing

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