On 18 April, the Intercontinental Hotel in Warsaw hosted the first conference devoted to marketing expansion into international markets - the International Marketing Summit.
The panellists and speakers of the International Marketing Summit sought to answer the question of how to most effectively carry out the expansion of local brands into international markets, avoid commonly made mistakes and overcome the difficulties arising from numerous cultural differences.
Content is the King
What is changing the face of modern marketing is high-quality content - it is content marketing, although initially generating significant costs, that makes it possible to reach those audiences who can realistically become customers thanks to an interest in our product - noted Robert Kilen. In this respect, a kind of revolution is taking place among online lead-generation tools. The speakers predict that the consequence of changes to Google's search algorithms will be a complete change in the way a service or product offering is communicated. Andrzej Zasowski predicts that search engines will begin to understand what we convey to them instead of operating on keywords, as they have until now.
Another myth he dispelled was the separation of social media activities from marketing activities (such as SEM and SEO) - social channels not only serve communication with the customer, but are also a valuable element of website positioning strategies and constitute their integral part.
[caption id="attachment_179642" align="aligncenter" width="940"]
Participants of the International Marketing Summit[/caption]
Take every opportunity!
[caption id="attachment_179643" align="aligncenter" width="940"]
Ewa Dudzic - Glov[/caption]
Ewa Dudzic - President and founder of the start-up that has transformed into the dynamic international brand Glov, gave participants an insight into the behind-the-scenes story of her product's expansion. The innovative microfibre technology turned out to be a cosmetic hit that revolutionised women's daily make-up removal around the world. The key to effectively introducing a product to foreign markets is its universal character. E-commerce, meanwhile, is a relatively inexpensive way - one that does not involve significant costs and time input - to introduce a product to a given market first, in line with the principle that you should make use of those elements that are available free of charge.
How to stand out from the competition?
[caption id="attachment_179645" align="aligncenter" width="940"]
Michał Sadowski - Brand 24[/caption]
Even if a product is already physically present on the market, there is a danger that the customer will be captured by a competitor's offer. The CEO of Brand 24 - Michał Sadowski emphasised the role of efficient customer service. It should not only respond to the user's needs, but also anticipate them. A dedicated product should appear on the customer's path at exactly the moment when they are looking for a given service or product - when they need it. One of the ways to increase conversion that he recommended is simplifying the contact forms on a website.
Grzegorz Filipek - former Marketing Director of Oknoplast (now running his own marketing consultancy business) placed emphasis on the role of emotions in marketing messages. In some cultural circles, the customer does not expect exhaustive information about a product - reaching the customer's emotions and feelings is more convincing.
[caption id="attachment_179646" align="aligncenter" width="940"]
International Marketing Summit[/caption]
