Exporting Your Goods

Product Promotion

Promotion methods vary by market and culture. You will need to seek the advice of a marketing expert who knows your export market, preferably a firm that can also serve as a cultural coach. The following nine questions and answers will help identify the issues that you will want to review with the marketing expert:

What different communication tools should we be considering?
What cultural factors should influence how we promote our products?
What is important regarding business cards?
What is important regarding brochures?
What is important regarding customer testimonials?
What is important regarding media coverage?
What is important regarding videos?
What is important regarding our website?
What about personal visits to potential large customers?

What different communication tools should we be considering?
  • Advertising media (print, radio, television)
  • Promotional materials
  • Direct mail
  • Media coverage, with media kit
  • Trade shows
  • Internet

What cultural factors should influence how we promote our products?
  • Cultural meaning of colours, terminology, and symbols
  • Cultural values to be reflected in a marketing message
  • Attitudes towards advertising and what is displayed
  • Language(s) to be used

What is important regarding business cards?
  • High quality and professionally designed
  • Easy to read and in the appropriate language
  • Clear indication of a person’s decision-making authority within the firm
  • Consistent throughout your firm
  • Informative, with a tag line if appropriate
  • Picture used if that is the cultural and industry norm
  • Complete, current contact information (area codes, telephone and fax numbers, postal code, country, e-mail and website addresses)

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What is important regarding brochures?
  • Creative and appealing
  • Informative and easy to read, highlighting your market leadership
  • Professionally designed and printed
  • Translated appropriately
  • Using visuals and symbols from the export market

What is important regarding customer testimonials?
  • Show that your company is highly recommended
  • Represent your best customers, preferably known in the market
  • From top executives
  • Included in your brochure and online

What is important regarding media coverage?
  • Validates your company as a recognized leader
  • By reputable business media
  • Quoted in your brochure and online
  • Reproduced on your letterhead and sent to potential customers

What is important regarding videos?
  • Sophisticated and interesting, focused on the benefits of your product
  • Professionally produced
  • Meet the video standards of the export market
  • Online videos can be skipped if connection rates are slow or expensive

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What is important regarding our website?

Because your website is used as a proxy for your product quality and customer service, you need to make sure that it:

  • Can be found through various search engines, including regional.
  • Is always “live” and accessible.
  • Loads quickly.
  • User friendly navigation.
  • Provides immediate value to the customer.
  • Supports your competitive positioning.
  • Contains appropriate logos of your memberships or awards.
  • Displays your quality management certification.
  • Lists your portfolio of major customers or projects, including streaming video clips if appropriate.
  • Capable of allowing online purchasing (if appropriate).
  • Capable to allowing online customer service (if appropriate).

What about personal visits to potential large customers?

Personal visits can help build the business relationships that are critical to success. If you are contemplating personal visits, though, be sure to discuss business etiquette with a cultural coach and hire a skilled simultaneous interpreter to accompany you (if you do not have native fluency in the local business language).