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US business culture is important (but not for the reasons that you think)

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A big change in the last ten years is the widespread adoption of sophisticated purchasing processes and systems in the US. These new purchasing strategies create a more structured buying process and generally slow the process down. Firms entering the US should be realistic both about the buying cycle and buying activity when making revenue forecasts and deciding when to take on additional costs.

The other big change that is the deep penetration of internet channels both for consumers and businesses. Web-based businesses from online retailers through to Software-as-a-Service vendors are directly challenging major players like mega retailer Walmart and software giant Oracle. You will need to adapt your strategy if the path to success in your home market did not have a significant web component.

Regional cultures

Regional immigration patterns have and continue to impact the “local” cultures. The fast growing Hispanic population continues to gain in importance in all markets – particularly the South. The West Coast and North-East seem more adept at understanding accents. Energy and enthusiasm is good but talking too fast can lead to blank looks. Check in with your audience to make sure that you are being understood. Sometimes people are too polite to let you know. Also, the pace of business varies between regions. Don’t try and force the process. Let the prospective client take the lead.

2. Getting specific

Corporate culture within the US varies widely. Some companies focus on empowered employees with equalitarian principles while others make the former Soviet Union look upbeat and freewheeling. Developing ideal customer profiles and related personas is a vital step as companies develop messaging for the US market.

The culture of the prospective customer is an often-overlooked component of the ideal customer profile. Think about your best customers in your home market.

  • Which ones value your solution the most and why?
  • Who do you like dealing with the best?
  • What is it about the way they do business that makes them your most profitable/easiest to work with customer?

These questions usually lead to some discussion around culture. Your firm might prefer clients with a strong purchasing culture because you offer the lowest cost solution. If design and functionality are your strengths, then your focus is likely to be buying cultures that are heavily influenced by users. The US market is large enough to choose customers rather than approach the market with the mentality that all customers are good customers.

Having a targeted approach means that you cannot rely entirely on word-of-mouth, relationships and inbound marketing. Once you have your initial customers, it is necessary to do targeted outbound marketing. This involved using your ideal profile to identify a large group of prospective organisations that could fit this profile. The next phase involved a research call to confirm the fit with ongoing nurturing contact to develop the relationships based on the rule “don’t contact unless you can add value”. US business culture is built on the idea that this kind of “warm” contact is acceptable and in some cases welcomed as long as the vendor does the homework on the prospect and can truly add value.

Buying cultures

Why Killer Products don’t Sell” by Ian Gotts and Dominic Rowsell makes an excellent case that buyers buy products in different ways depending on how the product offers value. This is not a ‘US market only’ concept but very useful in understanding the buying process in the United States.

Gotts and Rowsell describe four quite different buying cultures. For example, a customer may not even be able to describe a solution to a problem until the vendor brings it into focus. This process is entirely different from a known category where the buyer is simply evaluating options. The vendor needs to be organised to match the buying culture and process based on the position of the product or service in its lifecycle. In either case, helping a prospect through a buying process in a value-add way is much more effective than trying to force a sale.

Your culture

The perception of your business is heavily influenced by the culture that you communicate. The major communication channels are leadership behaviour, formal communications and the impression that is created through interactions with the company’s systems and people.