mobigoin · this document is part of the project mobigoin-action which has received funding from...

MobiGoIn-Action

mobigoinactionUSA / Canada

This project is co-funded by the COSME Programme

of the European Union

this document is part of the project mobigoin-action which has received funding from the european union’s cosme programme (2014-2020) - grant

agreement no. 783399

MobiGoIn-Action is a European Strategic Cluster Partnership focused on Smart Mobility. It supports European SMEs in their internationalisation processes beyond Europe; also intensifing

clusters and networks collaboration across borders.

MobiGoIn-Action’s main focus regards a sustainable, smart and safe mobility in metropolitan areas, achieved through the implementation of solutions and systems for intelligent and

cooperative transport, intermodal and sustainable mobility for the citizens and sustainable urban freight logistics.

the mobility goes international- action project is part of the european strategic cluster partnership – going international (escp-4i) awarded by the european

commission, dg growth and the executive agency for smes of the european commission.the escp-4i are transnational cluster partnerships that develop and

implement a joint internationalisation strategy and support sme internationalisation towards third countries beyond europe.

4LIGULA MANGA No. 001

How to market your company in US/Canada?

For European SMEs, venturing to USA and Canada can be both exciting and a little intimidating at the same time. It’s a well-known market that in many ways function according to its own set of rules and conditions. However, for the most part, the relative differences between the European and the North American 1 markets are easily surmountable and can, if used correctly, be used as a vantage point for creating new business opportunities.

To branch out to another continent requires a lot of courage. Success is far from a given and can only be achieved by incredibly hard work and detailed planning. Most importantly, though, is to develop a comprehensive understanding of how the new market works. This, we know from experience, makes all the difference when evaluating the outcome of the project.

As shown in the chart to the right, there are multiple ways in which one can go about trying to break through on the

1 For the purpose of this document, “North America” refers to the US and Canada.

new market. Although it is tempting to be ubiquitous and appear in every type of marketing channel that is out there, we suggest you find a couple of methods that suits your company’s specific profile and try to foresee which will have the best impact. Use the emotional-rational axis and the awareness-purchase axis as reference for when deciding on your specific action plan. This will make for a more coherent communications strategy.

presented by mobigoin-action

Source to picture: https://www.insivia.com/7-key-marketing-strategies-technology-software-companies/

5 CHAPTER 001

Listed below, you will find three additional tips that are especially useful in an American and Canadian business context (the cited sources are all marketing experts with much experience from the the North American business scene):

1) Providing a personal touch in your external communication channels. Sue Bedell, owner of Second Bloom Design, says: “It’s always nice to hear someone tell us how much they enjoyed reading our newsletter and thanking us for reminding them to come visit the store or give us a call. The personal touch really makes the difference.” 2) Staying consistent when trying to establish relationship with your clients. Bahar Saadat, Marketing Manager at Davidson & Company, writes: “In an industry like ours, it can sometimes take a few years before you actually convert a new client. So, we really focus on being consistent and building the relationship any way we can.”

3) Understanding your audienceBrandon Klayman, CEO, Conscious Commerce, says: “We work closely with every client to understand the challenges they face and the results they want to achieve. We put a plan in place to fit their needs and offer the coaching and support to help them get where they want to go.”

On the following pages, we will continue to give you the basic dos and don’ts that you need to consider before your much-anticipated North American expansion. This will come in the form of both some general information of the new market, as well as some hands-on tips on how you can go about marketing your company in the US and Canada.

Source: Pinkham, Website: Constant Contact, https://blogs.constantcontact.com/marketing-lessons/#

Source to picture: https://www.insivia.com/7-key-marketing-strategies-technology-software-companies/

mobigoin-action tips for usa and canada

Before attempting a launch on the North American market, there are a few socio-logistic aspects that could be useful for you to go over in detail.

For starters, there are times when you would definitely benefit from not looking at the “North American market” as one set, catch-all phenomenon. Even though the American and Canadian markets to a vast extent share many of the same traits, they do, in fact, differ on plenty of points as well. For example, in the Canadian province of Quebec, workers are entitled to conduct their business in French (since the province is officially francophone), meaning the bilingualism will always be a big part of the Quebecois business culture. Another example of the differences between the two countries’ respective markets is the fact that Canadian workers get more vacation time than their American counterparts (generally about 2 weeks paid vacation in Canada, compared to almost none in the US).

Differences could arguably be said to exist on the American market on its own, too. Seeing as the US is such a big country with many internal cultural nuances, it can be wise to do some

reading up on the business culture in the specific states/regions where you are planning to launch initially. This, combined with an opportunities and needs check regarding the potential of the market (according to your competences, solutions and products), should constitute a good start. The importance of the latter step here should not be underestimated – it is a great way of understanding the reality of your position, your possibilities and your limitations.

For example, working hours and prefered means of communications can vary from region to region. In some areas (like Northeastern/Midwestern US and the small to mid-sized cities in Canada), in person meetings are more of the norm compared to how things are in e.g. Silicon Valley and New York (where telephone/email is the most popular way of communicating with one’s business partners). This has chiefly to do with the fact that people in these “in person”-favoring regions tend to value establishing face-to-face contact and getting a sense of comfort before engaging and moving forward with any detailed business discussions. Generally, these regions are also believed to have a more formal work


culture and dress code. What most, if not all, regions on the North American market have in common, though, is the fact that they tend to have a strong preference of documenting everything in writing, thus making document retention into a fairly common feature in the business world. Creating a document retention policy and getting accustomed to this type of record-keeping (if you aren’t already) could be a good idea. The same goes for the North American standards regarding due diligence. It is very common for a company to do an incredibly thorough check on the fiscal and legal history of a prospective business partner, more so here than in most European countries.

7 CHAPTER 001

Source: Abadi , 01/10/2018, Webiste: Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/differences-canada-us-work-2018-1?r=US&IR=T&IR=T Source: Laughlin, 24/10/2018, MobiGoIn-Action Webinar: Bridging Business Opportunities in North-America: service providers and cultural barriers in the local market


9 CHAPTER 001

The marketing process

1. BRANDING

Obviously, branding your company is important in every part of the world. Without putting thought into how your company is going to be perceived, talked about and – yes – potentially even critized on your market of choice, you’re going to lose momentum and risk lagging behind your competitors. On the North American market, arguably the region in the world where branding and image building plays the most pivotal role in a company’s success, it’s always been extra important to consider these matters.

The concept of branding encompasses more or less every aspect of your company’s work: from the way you hire and treat your employees, to the tone in your communication and the way you position yourself in relation to your competitors. Everything matters. Always try to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate how others view what you’re

doing, both internally and in public. This calculated approach to running a modern company can indeed seem anxious for some, but the upsides of curating many or most aspects of one’s brand are indisputably worth the work. Ultimately, it’s what defines your brand and what makes it easier for you to evaluate how well you have actually conveyed the uniqueness of your product/service to people outside of your organization.

A particularly inspiring case from the smart mobility sector in North America can be found in Uber. As a tech startup with a mobility platform turned global in eight years, Uber decided to rebrand its image with a a holistic brand system that is instantly recognizable, works around

Source: Website: Uber, https://www.uber.design/case-studies/rebrand-2018



Where’s your company in relation to all this? Try to identify the answers to these questions – not only once, but on a regular basis.

Staying in the loop by reading the relevant news, following the discussions about your respective fields on social media and keeping tabs of what’s going on around you is a sure way to safeguard yourself against suddenly feeling out of touch on today’s ever-changing market.

We highly recommend you to, as often as you deem necessary, have a look at what companies like Lyft, Uber, Waymo, Google, Baidu and DeepMap are doing. The same goes for car manufacturers, policies, the local city planning committees, startups and other SMEs of your kind. It’s not that you should necessarily follow their steps or copy their actions, but this type of constantly updated business intelligence can be really important for your understanding of your own place in the field. Not only is it important to be aware of how the competition is behaving, we strongly encourage you to start thinking about other surrounding factors (such as public discussions, policy making and socio-political developments), too.

For example, there is a lot to be learned

the world, and is efficient to execute.

Uber, the company that in many ways popularized the concept of peer-to-peer ridesharing in the West, started out as a fairly modest transportation start-up in the San Francisco area about 9 years ago. Since then, they have played a pivotal role in the sharing economy and are now operating in over 600 metropolitan areas worldwide. In that time, the world has seen their initial business idea grow into something much more. Today, Uber is not only offering an alternative taxi service, but has also ventured into food delivery, bike-sharing and their own transportation network. Their journey serves as a perfect example of how far a seemingly uncomplicated, but well-timed and well executed, idea can take you in this fast-paced field.

2. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE As stated before, it’s absolute key to be aware of how your company is perceived by others. However, it’s equally important to be aware of how the rest of the field looks and behaves as well. What are your competitors up to? What’s cutting edge? What are the needs and challenges? What’s not being done? What’s trending and what’s played out?

Source: Website: Uber, https://www.uber.com/en-GB/newsroom/company-info/

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

IMPROVES THE DECISION

MAKINGPROCESS

HELPSIDENTIFY

WASTE IN THESYSTEM

HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND

YOURBUSINESS

ENABLESREAL-TIMEANALYSIS

ACCESS &SHARE

INFORMATIONEASILY

REDUCE THERISK OF

BOTTLENECKS

11 CHAPTER 001

to focus their future business plans on. This example illustrates how market awareness and socio-cultural awareness (e.g. people’s attitudes towards a given subject) often go hand-in-hand.

These types of studies of attitude/public thinking can prove really useful if only you know how to analyze it.

from the way Toyota have gone about their smart mobility projects lately. Their team of researchers recently conducted a study that showed that 55% of the participants in the American study group would not ride in a fully autonomous car, while 70% of them would ride in a partially autonomous one. Based on this research, Toyota are now targeting this segment and have thus found a more specific demography

Source: Website: Uber, https://www.uber.com/en-GB/newsroom/company-info/ Source: Dolci, 2018, MobiGoIn-Action Webinar, The US market segmentation for Smart Mobility



Assessing and knowing the geographic locations

Planning to launch in Detroit, the US automotive industry’s birthplace? Yes, the city has benefited from an economic and cultural resurgence, but what do you make of the fact that 1 out of 3 people in the city live below the poverty line, then? Would this have any impact on your business model? Is it an obstacle? Can it be used to your advantage?

Is there anything you can do to benefit from the high-tech business-attracting competition that is going on between cities like Boston, Dallas and Phoenix at the moment? What are the potential opportunities and downsides of this?

And what about San Francisco, a city that is trying to meet the 2019 Smart City Goal, where the aim is to create such an extensive mode shift for trips to, from and within the city that they hope to have 60% of their population going about by eco-friendly means of transportations (like walking, biking, transiting or ride-sharing) by the end of next year? What role can your company play in this process? Being aware of initiatives in the region that you have chosen to do business in is absolutely key. It’s only by doing these

types of analyses that you will find potential market gaps and unforeseen business opportunities that your competition might not have discovered yet.

San Francisco is not only pursuing environmental goals with such ongoing sustainable mobility initiatives. The municipality is also creating a safer and more efficient transportation system carrying out projects to create connected high-occupancy vehicle lanes for public walking and carpools, dedicated curb space for pick-up and drop-off by carpools, smart traffic signals to reduce congestion and improve safety, connected Vision Zero safety corridors to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, connected electronic toll systems for the congestion pricing program at Treasure Island and, last but not least, the deployment and testing of electronic autonomous shuttle buses serving intra-island trips on Treasure Island.

3. RESOURCES

Don’t be afraid to tap into potential resources when expanding to the US or Canada. Local authorities, investors, initiatives, media outlets and friends in other fields can all be used to your advantage on this venture – you just

13 CHAPTER 001

have to find a feasible way to combine and coordinate your efforts. These types of collaborations can add tremendous additional value to your operations on this new market and should not be underestimated.

If all pans out well between you and whichever resource you choose to seek out, beautiful synergies can develop in just about no time. The goal is to get your peers to think of your collaboration not as a static favor/favor in return type of deal, but rather as an organic partnership that benefits both parties equally much. There’s no right, one-answer-fits-all way to go about this, you simply have to work out a method that suits your company’s needs and wants.

Always try to seek out the possibility of involving public sector or civic organizations in your business strategies. Our tip is to look for organizations that specializes in your industry, your geographical location and/or your company size (e.g. SMEs). While you’re at it, we would highly recommend you to look into if there are any incentives or inducements that you can receive. It’s fairly common for location and job creation-related activities to receive government funding, subsidies or grants in North America. Keep an eye out!

4. STANDING OUT

Studies have shown that smaller companies from Europe, with their sheer “European-ness”, have somewhat of a USP on the North American market. People generally perceive the European region as a place with a sophisticated business culture, disruptive ideas and a high level of both spoken and written English. This can and should be used as a tool in your expansion. Rather than viewing this as an obstacle, dare to see it as something of a competitive edge instead.

5. MARKETING CHANNELS

As with the European market, social media plays an important role in your marketing strategy. Twitter, in particular, has strong position when it comes to marketing in North America – at least compared to many European countries. Don’t shy away from it if you’re not familiar. It’s a simple but very effective medium that can garner a lot of attention to your company. Try to work out a rather detailed communication plan for how and when you want to present yourself online – and don’t forget to evaluate your efforts and change things up if you find that they don’t work out as hoped.

Linkedin, too, can function as a valuable


Diagram showing the frequency of LinkedIn use among mobile users in the United States

as of 2nd quarter 2017.

Source: Website: Statista, 2018, https://www.statista.com/statistics/199269/frequency-of-use-among-linkedin-users-in-the-united-states/


and in Canada, there is a noteworthy emphasis on utilizing service providers and consultants. An idea could be to hire an American or Canadian communications agency with better

tool in your efforts to strengthen your brand online. This is especially important when trying to convey the more business-related aspects of your company to other professionals.

Ads, advertorials and organic press coverage are, as you well know from your home market, also really useful in your marketing efforts. So is being out and about on conferences and expos. Simply try to identify the modes of communication that best suits your company’s skills, wants and budget – then stick with it and see how it goes.It should also be said that in both the US

15 CHAPTER 001

knowledge of the local market. Their networks often consists of important actors in different sectors/industries, and many of them have pre-established relationships with key media personnel.

A good example of this is the great business relationship which thrives between France and Canada. Not only thanks to linguistic reasons, but also cultural convergences, French companies may benefit from a significant advantage when considering cooperating with Canadian partners. No more shilly-shalling: you have what it takes to stand out, just do it.


Starting a business: The steps to consider before operating a business in Canada(www.canada.ca/en/services/business/start.html)

10 Items to Consider When Expanding to the U.S(https://claytonmckervey.com/10-items-to-consider-when-expanding-to-the-us/)

From radios to electric vehicles, targeting “nonconsumers” pays off (www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/from-radios-to-electric-vehicles-target-ing-nonconsumers-pays-off/)

With a population of 325 million people, the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer market(www.business-sweden.se/en/Trade/international-markets/americas/USA/)

Social media usage in the United States – Statistics & Facts(www.statista.com/topics/3196/social-media-usage-in-the-united-states/)

7 Key Marketing Strategies for Technology Companies(www.insivia.com/7-key-marketing-strategies-technology-software-companies/)

How to Market on LinkedIn: Top 10 Tips for Using LinkedIn for Marketing(business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/how-to-market-on-linkedin)

11 Marketing Lessons from Canadian Small Business Experts(https://blogs.constantcontact.com/marketing-lessons/)

A 5-step, no-nonsense marketing plan(https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/marketing-sales-export/marketing/pag-es/5-no-nonsense-strategies-attract-customers.aspx)

17 CHAPTER 001mobigoin-action tips for usa and canada

19 CHAPTER 001mobigoin-action tips for usa and canada


Surely, you’re required to have a healthy dose of confidence when launching on the North American

market. However, too much confidence can actually prove

counterproductive. Here, we have two actionable tips:

1. Don’t overestimate your own uniqueness.

Be confident in your product/service but humble towards

the market’s conditions.

2. Don’t underestimate your marketing budget.

It is both hard and costly to initially stand out and make

a name for yourself in the US and Canada. Be patient and make realistic calculations.

21 CHAPTER 001

3. Don’t view the whole of North America as a homogenous market.

As mentioned before in this Communications Plan, it is important to be vary of the regional

differences when it comes to business culture – both between the US and Canada,

and within the two countries themselves.

4. Don’t misunderstand your channels.

This applies to both your choice of channel for the distribution of your product/service and your choice of marketing channels. Do a proper target

group analysis and create your strategies accordingly.

5. Don’t overfocus on your USP.

Surely, your product/service will have a competitive edge on the new market (and you’re external communication should reflect this), but, at the same time, make sure to don’t over-

look the importance of quick deliveries and rapid integration in the business ecosystem while trying to convince everyone of your product’s/service’s technological superiority. These

things are not mutually exclusive, but can easily end up being if your focus is askew.



CASE 1.

Quant’s US launch – model use of marketing resources on an unfamiliar market For sake of inspiration, it can always be good to look at examples of how other European companies have fared on their North American ventures. Take Swedish industrial maintenance provider Quant for example. They are one of those companies whose journey really illustrates a couple of different sides of what it means to be European on the North American market. Although Quant’s business isn’t technically related to the smart mobility field per se, their experience from launching in the US contains many learnings for those interested in certain aspects of the business culture in said region.

Quant (also known as ABB Full Service) has held what can only be described as a market leading position in the world of professional industrial maintenance service for approximately 25 years now. Originally established in Sweden, the company has seeked to increase global turnover for quite some time now, resulting in an impactful presence in more than 20 countries globally. Even though Quant’s brand is strong and renowned in their specific field, the company has still experienced difficulties in communicating and increasing their market share on the North American market, especially when it comes to getting access to

23 CHAPTER 001

way to go about creating a strategy for the new market. However, Quant weren’t, for one or several reasons, able to achieve this on their own. The method – to seek assistance from a resource arguably better equipped for the job of industry analysis – can and should function as inspiration for the SMEs participating in MobiGoIn’s internationalization project. As mentioned before in this Communication and Marketing guide, realizing the potential in resources (be them government-funded institutions, private actors or media personnel) could mean a fair bit to a company struggling to find their own place on a new market.

In this case, Business Sweden helped Quant identify high potential customers and a lane in which they could move forward. For another company, the given resource could aid the SMEs in finding new target groups, new marketing angles or new ways in which they could stand out in North America – just to mention a few upsides of bringing in external competence, however capable they might feel on their home market.

Not only does the Quant example highlights the benefits of using resources when things are going a bit slower than

senior level executives of prospective American clients that they want to initiate a dialog with.

Their way around this issue constitutes a particularly instructive example of how one can go about to make the transition to the new market a bit easier. What Quant found was that they needed help with developing a targeted growth strategy on the market at hand. In this case, that meant reaching out to external consultants that had the resources to conduct a thorough market analysis from an outsider’s point of view. These external consultants worked for Business Sweden, a part of the Swedish Trade & Invest Council. They were instructed to identify clear and concrete ways in which Quant could focus their sales efforts in the US – a pretty straight-forward mission that resulted in a list of high potential customers and an informative ranking system of the most promising and suitable subsectors and states to which Quant could direct their focus. To achieve this, they utilized various databases, let their analysts read up on the given industry and conducted interviews with people that had the seemingly relevant knowledge of the business.

For some, this may seem like an obvious


Source to picture: Website: Business Sweden, https://www.business-sweden.se/globalassets/international-markets1/amerikas/usa/target-usa.pdf

Source to Case 1:Webiste: Quantservice, https://www.quantservice.com/Website: Business Sweden, https://www.business-sweden.se/en/Trade/analysis-and-reports/success-cases/quant-accelerates-customer-targeting-in-the-u.s/#


anticipated, it also serves as a reminder to not underestimate the importance of proper business intelligence.

To have a high general market/industry awareness is fundamental if you want to find new ways forward and have a competitive edge over the competition, regardless of what line of business you are in. The more you know, the more qualified assessments you can make when attempting to position yourself on the new market.

CASE 2.

Integrasys S.A. and their marketing efforts in the US

Madrid-based satellitetelecommunication systems specialists Integrasys S.A. also have an interesting story from their North American launch. Their product, a tool that makes it possible to install satellite antennas while at the same time minimizing costs and interference with other satellite

Source to picture: Website: Business Sweden, https://www.business-sweden.se/globalassets/international-markets1/amerikas/usa/target-usa.pdf

Source to Case 2: Website: United States Trade Representative, https://ustr.gov/Webiste: Intergrsys Space, https://www.integrasys-space.com/Website United States Trade Representative, https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/03142014-TTIP-opportunities-for-SMEs.pdf

Source to picture: https://www.statista.com/statistics/547612/macroeconomic-effects-of-ttip-on-eu-2030/

25 CHAPTER 001

transmission stations, quickly became a force to be reckoned with on the European market. However, it took some time for them to find a gainly way in to the US.

“Thinking about the TTIP, we see not only a chance to eliminate specific barriers to trade but also to reduce the psychological gap between entrepreneurs in the transatlantic market”, says Sanchez.

After making use of certain aspects of the beneficial partnership agreement between Europe and the US, Integrasys S.A. were finally able to grow significantly on the American market. Today, the company has signed a cooperation deal with one of the most successful companies in the US satellite industry and are just about to open a new sales office in Virginia.

Macroeconomic effects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on the EU economy in 2030



presented by media evolution, torino wireless, mov´eo, bwcon

27 CHAPTER 001

“To be successful your solution or product has to add value: have something unique that differentiates it from the rest, so the definition of your

Value Proposition is one of the keys for opening the doors of the US and Canadian markets”

presented by laura morgagni, ceo at

torino wireless

“When developing bussiness and innovation on new markets, a solid plattform and a confident and guidelining con-

text is key - to open your universe to new collaborations, wider your mind as well as your

future business.”presented by

magnus thure nilsson, ceo at media evolution

“Innovation and cooperation are key drivers to enter the North-American mobility

market, but a sound preparation of your meetings with potential local partners

is just as crucial.”presented by

marc charlet, genreal manager at

mov´eo

“Get to know the market you are entering with the support of strategic players from that

ecosystem. The local support-ing partners are the best

reference a company could have to access a new market!”

presented by

valentina grillea, head of scouting & matching at bwcon


mobigoinactionUSA / Canada


The content of this presentation represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

www.mobigoin.eu [email protected] @mobigoin #mobigoin

mobigoin · this document is part of the project mobigoin-action which has received funding from...

Documents