Sales and marketing challenges in the usa

SALES AND
MARKETING
CHALLENGES IN THE
US
Andrew Singer – November 27, 2012Danish American
Business Forum

Andrew Singer - andrew@andrewsinger.dk - +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.”

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

 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 2/2012
USA Unique Visitors:
facebook.com =166,890,779
twitter.com = 37,201,228
plus.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

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

Guide
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

Guide
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.

Guide
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.

Guide
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=30
http://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 50905190
andrew@andrewsinger.dk
www.andrewsinger.dk
Twitter: @andrewsinga
LinkedIn: dk.linkedin.com/in/singerandrew
Feel free to connect

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