Magnus Marketing Blog

I have worked for many foreign technology and service firms who have come into the United States, land of opportunity, and started businesses. What follows are some observations and lessons I wish to impart from my experience working for these companies.

1. You are not in your country anymore. In order to do business with "blue chip" companies or SME's in the U.S., you need to do business like Americans do. Prior to doing business in any foreign country, Americans need to study the cultural norms and act accordingly - the same goes for businesses entering the U.S.. Learn and adapt to the business culture here before engaging with companies here. And, never refer to your company's home country as "the mother country".

2. Success doesn't always translate. In your home country, whether it is India, Norway, Russia, Philippenes, you may have outstanding brand equity which is likely due to the fact that you may be the first company, the largest, or the best at what you do. That is wonderful, but it will NOT necessarily carry over to the U.S.. Do not walk into this mature, competitive, and entrepreneurial environment assuming that U.S. firms will immediately buy things from you because you happen to be who you are. Unless you are offering services based in your home country or offering services to your own people, then that could be a different story.

3. Hire a "Local" to run your business. America is a diverse population with many people from different countries who have lived, worked, and experienced the culture here. It is almost ridiculous to think that you cannot have a Managing Director of U.S. Operations who has lived, worked, and developed relationships in the U.S.. There are so many people from Asia-Pacific, South America and Europe who are citizens who can represent a company and bridge the onsite-offshore gap. At the very least hire a COO or VP of Sales/Marketing who has U.S. experience. They will know how to effectively network and navigate the market for business opportunity. In the U.S., people of all backgrounds and ethnic origin have the opportunity to be CEO of any public, even private firm. Consider extending that opportunity to others for your business as well.

4. Study the market. Study and understand the market before entering it and have a good plan to build your business. I see so many Indian technology companies wanting to get direct clients who think they are the only ones who are doing what they do. There are many offshore technology providers and staffing firms, each professing the best or particular skills, education, and projects. They are so similiar it is boring. Not everyone can be WiPRO or Satyam, nor will you be. Try to find some differentiation!

5. Learn marketing and sales. Marketing and sales is a different animal in the U.S. and you really need to understand the culture and business norms to do it effectively. Do not walk into this country without living here for some time and say "I know marketing or I know sales" because to be blunt - you do not. I had a client who lived in the U.S. for 2 years say this to my face recently. Two years in the U.S. and he knew marketing - again, highly successful in India - not successful in the U.S. Learn marketing and sales or hire "locals" to help you - and listen to them. One thing that will never be offshored: sales and marketing (see the email example below).

6. It costs money. It costs money to run a business in the U.S., from salaries to marketing. It costs a lot of money to really establish a presence in the U.S., whether you buy market share or earn it. Paying someone $10/hr or having a marketing budget of less than a few million, won't get you far. Be prepared to spend real money to get business. Cheaping out will cause your business to fail.

7. Many countries lag behind the U.S. Some countries are many years behind the U.S., maybe you have done some super RFID projects in India - but that doesn't mean the receptivity will be the same in the U.S. I experienced this recently when a company had "this great product" - they had no clue about competitors and didn't realize that a major company developed a similiar solution - five years ago. Study the market and never assume.

8. Communication skills are critical. See this real email sent recently.

Hi, This is dumbguy from lookalikecompany having taken over the charge of Business Development. How you doing? Got a lot of people working for you but ----How about an idea of making you sit in comfort as you have done a lot of work already? Make it a habit of...sitting in comfort and making people in fact me work for you....Can I be your partner in serving all your requirements at lookalikecompany? FYI..we have over 100+ consultants on our W2 . And the hot list gets added up everyday and we are a team of about 15 people here as technical recruiters. Please let me introduce my Organization and our main areas of focus. Lookalike is a leading consulting and IT services company offering a wide range of experienced resources that enhance your esteemed organization’s performance and competitiveness. Please visit www.dontcare.com for more information.

Available resources:-

* Cognos Developers
* SAP
* Business Analysts
* Informatica Developers
* Programmers (Java/J2EE, .Net/C++)
* Quality Assurance and many others

Requesting your esteemed self to kindly give me an honor to associate with you and give you some placements. Please send XXX the current job openings if you have any, with job description / location / duration of the project, so that I can send my consultants to you. I would be very glad to address your need at the earliest possible. Assuring you of our best & prompt services at all time from all here at lookalike I remain. We look forward to providing our numerous services to your esteemed organization and it would be great pleasure sharing business with you; I would like continue the relation and looking forward to work with you.

Thanks,

Need I say anything more? To learn how to do business in the U.S. and avoid looking as ridiculous as the sender of that email - contact me.