Title: International Communications Master Class 5 May 2006 BioCity, Nottingham
1International Communications Master Class5 May
2006BioCity, Nottingham
2Welcome
- Isabella Moore
- Director, CILT
3Winners case studies
4RD Tool and Engineering
5EMIBCA 2005 Winners case study Category -
Medium company award Peter Lloyd Sales and
Marketing Manager RD Tool and Engineering
Ltd International Communications Master Class
2006 Nottingham, 5 May 2006
6RD who?
RD Tool and Engineering supply expert technical
solutions to the global plastics industry. One
of the worlds leading tooling suppliers for the
PET packaging sector, the Group also has
injection moulding and rapid prototyping
divisions. Markets food and beverages,
cosmetics, household and personal care.
Facilities UK, USA and Slovakia. Agents
Turkey, Hungary and Middle East. Get to know us
7EMIBCA 2005
- RD were finalists at EMIBCA 2004 but had
continued to develop - Positive results from adding our first language
speakers had led to a drive to do more on
languages as part of a wider strategy for export
growth - As part of a restructuring of our sales
structure, we added more linguists in 2005 more
people but each with a more targeted geographical
focus. We also now had some cover (more than
one linguist) in some cases - Having already produced general multilingual
company literature in core languages, general
company literature was added in other languages
whilst detailed product literature was developed
in the core languages - First non-English press articles appeared (German
and Spanish) - Continued development of cultural understanding
in key markets - Continued penetration of new and target export
markets - Multilingual communications now engrained in
company culture - Language competency was no longer a novelty it
had become embedded in RDs psyche and was now
part firmly part of our future
8Lessons learned
- Make or buy. We chose to employ linguists rather
than use third parties as language competence was
only part of the solution for us. The real
benefit of having people in-house is the effect
on customer relationships, making export clients
feel as comfortable dealing with a UK company as
they would in dealing with a local supplier. - Money no object? The financial commitment
involved in a SME employing full time linguists
necessitated that, whilst we had to accept that
some promotional activities are not cheap, we
needed to also develop cost-effective solutions
in addition to standard methods. - Work smart. We have clear long term strategies
but we are not big on jargon or strategies for
strategys sake implementation is key. Our
business development is based on a forward
looking programme of achieving the possible which
fits with our long term objectives and we are
always looking at both short term and long term
goals simultaneously. - Be flexible. Try it - if it works, do more of it,
if it doesnt, do something else but dont rush
to judgment. If something doesnt give the
expected results, alternatives are unlikely to
appear from the ether always give some thought
to what you may need to do if things dont work
or if they do! - Be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Do
things the right way and the results that come
through have more chance of being sustainable. - Keep moving! Weve done well so far but we still
have a long way to go.
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10Crick Software
11Overcoming languageand cultural barriers
John Crick Managing Director, Crick Software
12How did we start exporting?
- Only interested in UK originally
- Sizable UK market
- Approached by resellers outside UK
- More markets more secure
- Europe, Australia/NZ, US
13How did products have to change?
- Literacy!
- Cultural differences
- Graphics
- Spellings terminology (UK wrong)
- Language use and grammar
- Translations into other languages
14How did we know what to do?
- Worked closely with resellers/partners
- Specifications of graphics
- Terminology language advice
- Translations
- Share risk
- Distribution agreements
15US approach
- Resellers approach didnt work
- Set up own company
- Presentation/positioning of product
- Language and cultural detail
16Communicating with resellers
- Regular contact so they are fully informed
- Feedback re products
- Provide marketing material
- Technical support
- Face to face meetings
- Local pricing
17Communicating with customers
- Web sites
- UK/international
- North America
- Resellers
- Web shop
- Technical support (web, email)
18What have we learned?
- Product specification development
- Translation ready
- Specify with localisation in mind (PW)
- Technical eg extended fonts
- Importance of detail
- Language
- Product positioning
19Benefits to us
- Sales
- Different markets
- Collaboration
- Cultural diversity in home market
20Future developments
- Right to left
- More localization in Australia/NZ
- Spanish in US
- 90 of schools in many countries
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22University of Nottingham
23Cross-cultural communications
- Linda Majors
- CultureSmart!Consulting
24Thank you
- (please dont forget to fill in your feedback
forms)