Earlier this fall I was invited to speak on a panel at ExactTarget's Connections 2011 User Conference entitled "Bridging the Divide: Internationalizing Your Marketing Efforts" where I presented a case study of how ListEngage has helped Parametric corporation with their monthly international email sending needs in 9 different languages and solved some specific challenges. Collectively the panelists offered some great insights. Charlie McAtee from ExactTarget summarized them well. Here they are:
1. Make training easy. Sean Mattson of Hitachi Data Systems stressed that robust training is a key. When rolling out a global email marketing initiative, Mattson found the best training tool was to create short video clips to build a robust library of “how to” videos that marketers across the world could turn to for answers. At Hitachi Data Systems, new features are constantly being rolled out and employees can easily lose their familiarity with the software if they don’t use it for a period of time. Constant training to update employees on new tools and to refresh their memory on previously learned tasks is an integral part of the training process.
2. Establish a support system. Whether you establish a 24/7 support system or encourage local marketers to connect with one another when they have questions, it’s important to offer a way for them to get their questions answered. Gina Mencias of Roche Diagnostics explained the advantages of creating a culture that empowers the local marketing employees to turn to one another, regardless of geography, with questions – whether they’re technical questions or inquiries about what types of content is working well for each market.
3. Listen to subscribers, and look for ways to automate their requests. For a global client, Altaf Shaikh of ListEngage shared an example of how they were able to automate a frequent request from their international email subscribers. Because the global marketing campaign delivered email messages to subscribers in their preferred language, it was difficult for subscribers to forward the content they found valuable to their colleagues who spoke a different language. ListEngage developed a process to create a Language Bar where the intended recipient’s language could be selected and thus receive the message in their preferred language, not the original subscriber’s language.
4. Keep messaging simple. Not only will simple messaging keep translation costs down, but it will eliminate the possibility of a subtle nuance or a mistaken play on words that doesn’t resonate across all local markets.
5. Provide a framework. In order to develop a turn-key global email campaign, Gina recommends providing global teams with a framework from which to structure their email marketing programs. One item in particular she’s found very helpful to share with her international email marketers is an international calendar of holidays. These will provide timely ideas for content that will be relevant to subscribers. Suggested design templates and sharing content that’s performed well in other regions are also part of the framework she provides.Thanks to Charlie for his insight and great breakdown of the session! Have an email dilemma of international proportions? Email us and we'll share our thoughts.
1. Make training easy. Sean Mattson of Hitachi Data Systems stressed that robust training is a key. When rolling out a global email marketing initiative, Mattson found the best training tool was to create short video clips to build a robust library of “how to” videos that marketers across the world could turn to for answers. At Hitachi Data Systems, new features are constantly being rolled out and employees can easily lose their familiarity with the software if they don’t use it for a period of time. Constant training to update employees on new tools and to refresh their memory on previously learned tasks is an integral part of the training process.
2. Establish a support system. Whether you establish a 24/7 support system or encourage local marketers to connect with one another when they have questions, it’s important to offer a way for them to get their questions answered. Gina Mencias of Roche Diagnostics explained the advantages of creating a culture that empowers the local marketing employees to turn to one another, regardless of geography, with questions – whether they’re technical questions or inquiries about what types of content is working well for each market.
3. Listen to subscribers, and look for ways to automate their requests. For a global client, Altaf Shaikh of ListEngage shared an example of how they were able to automate a frequent request from their international email subscribers. Because the global marketing campaign delivered email messages to subscribers in their preferred language, it was difficult for subscribers to forward the content they found valuable to their colleagues who spoke a different language. ListEngage developed a process to create a Language Bar where the intended recipient’s language could be selected and thus receive the message in their preferred language, not the original subscriber’s language.
4. Keep messaging simple. Not only will simple messaging keep translation costs down, but it will eliminate the possibility of a subtle nuance or a mistaken play on words that doesn’t resonate across all local markets.
5. Provide a framework. In order to develop a turn-key global email campaign, Gina recommends providing global teams with a framework from which to structure their email marketing programs. One item in particular she’s found very helpful to share with her international email marketers is an international calendar of holidays. These will provide timely ideas for content that will be relevant to subscribers. Suggested design templates and sharing content that’s performed well in other regions are also part of the framework she provides.
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