In today’s content saturated environment, getting noticed as a B2B business is hard – especially if you’re a technology company seeking international expansion. In this article, we take a look at the fatal mistakes technology vendors make when expanding to new markets that do more harm than good for their brand awareness and perceived value in new regions.
Relying on newswires with no personalised press outreach
Smart technology companies know they need a local PR specialist who can get their brand in front of the right media and third-party channels to get noticed in new markets. However, one of the fatal mistakes companies make is having no local PR support on the ground, relying purely on ‘newswire’ placements.
Without proper due diligence, this risks your news announcements getting picked up by irrelevant news sites – or worse, syndicated to sites that could actually harm your brand reputation.
Overcomplicating local campaigns
Marketing and PR campaigns are critical for demand generation when growing in new regions. However, as mentioned in an earlier post, too many revisions of a campaign, such as a customer testimonial or use case can waste valuable money and time and delay achieving results. Ensure you partner with a local agency that has smooth, efficient workflows and can achieve campaign results fast.
Scrimping and ‘ghosting’ local agency partners
Often when technology vendors are seeking expansion into new markets, their budgets are quite tight. This is understandable as it minimises risk. However, it’s important to ‘do right’ by the local PR and marketing agencies you’re dealing with. That means valuing their time and budget limitations and ability to service you in those new regions. ‘Fishing’ for the ‘best price’, haggling down and then ‘ghosting’ local agencies is a big no no.
Why? Because straight out of the gate, you look like an untrustworthy new player in the region. And it's likely the agency’s wider professional network, many whom could be your prospects, will catch wind that you weren’t professional, ethical or reliable in your approach.
Great inbound, terrible outbound
If your sales team on the ground is sending outbound communications that are completely inconsistent in tone and messaging to your inbound PR and marketing mix, then you have a serious brand problem. Not only are you annoying customers with off-the-mark outbound calls and emails, but you are also showcasing to prospects how misaligned your business is in terms of sales and marketing.
Getting it right
The key to hitting the ground running when expanding into new regions is partnering with the right specialists like AZK Media who have a proven track record of success in your specialised vertical. Dig deep, and do your research to find local talent that has the expertise and use cases to back up claims. Ensure they have the targeted contacts and strategic vision to solidify your brand presence in the new market, guiding your growth trajectory toward success.
This article was also published in Forbes Agency Council here.
Comentários