The Culture of Success

In an age when the global nature of business is in the headlines almost daily, any successful company is bound to feel the pressure to “go global.” But how do you approach this if you have no experience, little to no success with your current international distribution channel, and no appetite for a risky venture that could eat up investment dollars unseen half way around the world?

This was the situation facing a successful early-stage American company when it challenged Springboard to build the company’s Asian business. Asia represented a huge marketing opportunity, but management was understandably leery. Working with a broad array of distributors throughout Asia had brought limited success over nearly a decade; it had also created the perception that working in Asia was particularly difficult because “straight talk” was elusive, and one never knew what was really going on.

Everything that Springboard subsequently recommended and did comes down to three words: understanding cultural differences. This applies both to national and to company cultures. Despite possible shared attributes or beliefs, every country is different, and every company is different. While most Asian countries place importance on relationships and building trust before making commitments, for instance, there are significant differences in the nature of those relationships, the respect paid to hierarchy, and the degree to which Western beliefs and practices have been adopted.

Within the framework of cultural expectations, Springboard began to rebuild business relationships, beginning in Japan. The broad distributor network there was dismantled because, while the client had seen this as a way to penetrate the Japanese market with minimal investment, prospective customers saw it as evidence the company wasn’t committed to Japan wouldn’t support them properly, and wouldn’t be there for the long term.

Instead, Springboard teamed with a highly respected Japanese business agent. He held a PhD from MIT, was fluent in English, and was well connected in the client’s industry. Personal introductions were followed not only by official presentations, but also by frequent social invitations, trade show participation and, eventually, low-cost proof-of-concept projects that let prospects evaluate the company’s products and service capabilities with minimal risk.

As the client’s image improved and awareness of its products broadened, Springboard boosted the activity level. A seminar series involving well regarded industry peers from other countries focused on how they had successfully implemented and used the client’s products and services. This drew an expanded audience, built credibility, and provided compelling evidence of the benefits afforded by the client’s software and services. Projects grew in scope and importance as the client’s domain expertise and trustworthiness were repeatedly tested and validated. Only at this point—after two years of paid proof-of-concept projects–were licenses actually purchased. To facilitate a successful implementation and technology transfer to the Japanese clients, skilled support specialists were placed on site at the customer facility, sometimes for up to 12 months. Within the following year, the client hired a Japanese support staff and opened an office in Tokyo.

Was the two-year investment that led to the first license worthwhile? Over the following seven years, the client maintained a 70 percent compound annual growth rate. That resonates well in any country, but it could not have happened without a deep understanding and respect for cultural differences.