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Marketing a Business in the USA

The international transition of a business is more than just costs and procedures. It's more cultural acclimatisation than calculatory acumen. It's making sure your product or service fits the inclinations and idiosyncrasies of a nation; finding a way to culturalise your business in order to reap the same results your business has achieved domestically. This is accomplished through one simple step: effective marketing in the USA.

Marketing your business on indigenous soil is an art-form in itself; attempting to do it in a place like North America is nigh-on miraculous. Countries may be becoming more heterogeneous, but the foundations of a culture rarely budge for anything: their sensitivities, traditions, humour, discourses, protocols are essentially unchanging and stubbornly unaccommodating. Therefore, the identity of your product or service needs to seamlessly fashion itself upon a nation, not the other way around, shoehorned in, hoping for the best.

Advertising and Sales promotions in USA

Any new business expanding in the USA will have the same channels of advertising as the UK. The only national newspaper is USA Today. The Wall Street Journal, a financial and business daily, is published in four regional editions. The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, are distributed nationally in main centres. There are literally thousands of state, city, regional and local papers.

In addition to numerous specialist consumer journals, Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune and Business Week are general interest and business news magazines with national circulation, some of them appearing in regional editions. There are roughly 12,000 consumer magazines and 8,000 trade magazines, most of which are national, but many of which serve regional markets.

Most broadcasting is in English but there are also TV and radio stations serving the local ethnic communities in their own languages. The Spanish-speaking community is relatively well served in Florida, California and New York City. There are more than 5,000 private radio stations. Virtually all US households have a radio.

Companies interested in marketing in USA are advised to consult their advertising agents before embarking on a campaign.

Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural sensitivity and understanding of protocol is paramount to effective marketing in the USA. The intricacies of a nation its beliefs, even its superstitions can make or break your business. Know the market; immerse yourself in it. Never assume your marketing strategy will be transplantable to a foreign country. There is only a slim chance language will translate well. Anglophonic countries may be susceptible, but if your product or service plays on a quintessentially British characteristic or joke the chances are, it will not be well received.

As for other countries, don't bank on using the same strap-lines or gimmicks. Unless they are perfectly transitional, your product or service could suffer especially if it relies on humour.

Unless you are certain your product or service can sell itself on indigenous merits, it is probably wise to revise its selling-points for a foreign market. As always, however, only your own fastidious research can conclude this.

You wont be surprised to know that some of the stereotypes about Americans are true. Friendliness and informality may get to the point of being very direct or even rude. People tend to not wait to be introduced, will begin to speak with strangers as they stand in a queue, sit next to each other at an event, etc.

Individualism is prized, and this is reflected in the family unit. People are proud of their individual accomplishments, initiative and success, and may not share those sources of pride with their elders.

Time is money in America. People 'save' time and 'spend' time as if it were money in the bank. Americans ascribe personality characteristics and values based on how people use time.

Never forget America is ultimately a nation of immigrants and as a result is a melting-pot in every sense of the word. Not only is the country populated by people from foreign countries but all Americans in one way or another trace their ancestry back to another culture. You should be aware of the risks of generalising in your marketing in USA. Different states have subtly different personalities and business cultures.

Although Americans speak English, this can disguise important differences: many words are spelt differently and more importantly, there are differences in how words are used. Slang expressions in particular can have very different meanings.

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