The Big Leap: How Savvy Companies Are Leveraging Global PR

When is the right time to take PR global? And how? I have some opinions, but I also put the question to a set of entrepreneurs:

• Canadian entrepreneur Jim Murray, of OnWords and UpWords, says “‪I'm not sure that you should. I think PR should be focused on your specific target audience in whatever region you serve. As a service provider, I think the more local you remain, the better… I like having clients I can meet with directly (although I do have clients I support via Skype).”

• Says Pascal Derrien, an IT and leadership expert in Ireland: “It depends on the target audience. You need to adjust brand and cultural references and consider localization costs relative to P&L efficiency. In cases where you can fulfill international orders from a central location, the localized PR may be worth it, but setting up shop in the location may or may not make good sense.”

• Paul Kearley, a Canadian author and leadership coach says, “I find too many people focus on going global before they even know what their existing local customers want. You should resolve those things first.”

• Phil Friedman, a marine expert and author from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says, “Your PR should only go global if you have the capability to serve all markets competently. A lot of good PR involves close contact with people at the distribution vehicles you want to use, so unless you can attain and maintain that contact in a meaningful way, don’t oversell yourself and your capabilities.” He notes this approach should be distinguished from representing foreign or global clients who operate in your own home market or venue. This, he observes, is a form of "going global" that is not only possible, but eminently desirable. (I agree.)

• Brian McKenzie, an entrepreneur in Ukraine, says, “Do it when you can manage the relationships in language, content and culture away from Google Translate and not before.”

• Joe Escobedo, head of communications for FutureMarketer, in Singapore, said, “Before we decide to go global or expand overseas, we conduct keyword research using Google Keyword Planner to see which markets have the highest potential demand for our offerings, and then create a target media list and strategy according to the results.”

All worthy thoughts. I was most intrigued, however, by the approach of Lars Helgeson, who founded San Diego-based GreenRope, a web-based CRM program, in 2008. In an email interview with the company’s content and engagement specialist, Alessandra Ceresa, she noted that due to massive competition with much larger Venture-backed competitors, the team was forced to find creative alternatives to make a name for GreenRope. From their sales data, the team noticed they were gaining some traction in Australia and New Zealand.

So Ceresa picked a few of their clients' brains for ideas and was able to get the company featured in a 2-page spread in Australia-based Aspire magazine (it’s featured on the company’s press page, located here.)

“Once we were featured in Aspire, we saw an upward jolt in lead flow,” says Ceresa. “The more legitimate links we have linking back to GreenRope, the better our SEO becomes. We were able to leverage that article to connect with influencers online, such as writers from VentureBeat. This article, even though not in the U.S., gave us more clout in our target market everywhere, as well as with analysts and other experts.”

“When you are a little fish in a sea of sharks, you have to explore different markets and see if you can find your niche more easily in another country. If you can gain PR traction abroad, you can use the exposure/clout at home as leverage to showcase your brand. Little wins internationally underscore that you’re a global brand. When you have clients all over the world, it gives the illusion you are bigger than you may actually be.”

Ceresa refers to her efforts as the "rockstar method," as getting international PR first is a strategy many American artists have used to initiate their fame.

As for how to move effectively when your company is ready for expansion abroad, I spoke with Mr. Edward Van Leent, CEO of EPI, a data center training, audit and certification company, who’s headed that organization’s fast growth for the past 15 years. In the US he established a groundswell with a number of Fortune 500 customers and expanded internationally to Asia, Europe, Middle-East, LATAM and USA.

Here are the three steps to expansion Van Leent recommends:

Planning is Crucial. Before taking the leap to open an international branch of your business, make sure you have researched the country and their needs against what product or service you have to offer. Then consider how to market your services in a way that is culturally congruent with the marketplace. The safest way to do it is to read local newspapers, study how things are reported on local news channels, and web sites that have the most traffic in the region. Then make sure the PR message you send is aligned.

Van Leent cautions CEOs to do ample due diligence and plan on spending twice as much time as they’d expect on planning. It is also important to use caution, instead of running full speed ahead, in an endeavor this big. By using this principle, EPI has “always been able to run the first year at a profit instead of having to invest for one to two years before turning a profit.”

Start Small. One mistake companies tend to make when taking the leap to international business is concentrating too much effort on growing fast instead of steady. Many organizations are over confident on the business they think they can generate. They end up building an organization they cannot afford if sales don’t come in at the level or speed they expected. Along with starting small, hiring “local people with knowledge of the market, local language skills, and a deep understanding of the culture” is key. This is especially important for PR and marketing. Your existing internal or external PR team can coordinate efforts; however, don’t expect them to be successful without local influence on the ground. Invest in people in the region instead of handling the day-to-day operations across continents. The fewer complications you create, the smoother the process will be.

Be Willing to Chart a New Course. As Van Leent explains, the willingness to adjust can mean the difference between continuing to grow or bottoming out. When EPI first expanded from the U.K. to their first office in Singapore, he soon realized they were in a “very cash rich business” which he predicted would hurt the company in the long run if they continued that trend. He made the decision to leave the data center design/build business in Asia and focus the rest of the country and all future locations on consulting, training and audit/certifications. This resulted in lower-value deals that were spread across many customers, making the business more financially secure. The decision proved to be a wise move: “Over time, we have expanded that business and we are now the largest data center training provider in the world.”

Finally, my own favorite strategy for helping clients achieve international PR. We suggest beginning with template programs you can provide to international distribution partners to give them a “PR in a box” foundation that protects your branding and message while making it easy for partners to customize their approach for their local market. Until the region is ready for its own local employees or agency, this is one of the most efficient and economical means for a small or growth-stage venture to garner the benefits of international PR.