The Worldly Marketer Podcast

Don Southerton was first featured on episode #057 of this podcast. As the Founder & CEO at Bridging Culture Worldwide, he helps Korea-facing business by assisting companies in their market entry strategy into South Korea, by helping Korean brands expand into North America and internationally.

With nearly four decades of experience, Don is recognized as the definitive authority on South Korean business consulting and Korean corporate culture. In fact, he is known in business circles as "The Hyundai Whisperer". His clients have included Fortune 500 companies, top Korean groups, leading international law firms, and elite consultancies. He has worked with a variety of industries, including automotive, golf, quick-service restaurant sectors, New Urbanism, and green technology.

In late 2019, Don became the Global Head of Corporate Communications at Hancom Group, which is South Korea's leading ICT company. He now heads up the group's global communications and PR, as well as its North American market entry. In addition, Don is a regular contributor to online publications such as Branding in Asia on the topic of Korean business, and he is the author and co-author of several books, including Korea Perspective. His latest book is called Korea 2020, A Workplace in Transition.

In this interview, Don talks about how South Korea's economy is weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, how he's seeing interesting shifts in traditional Korean corporate culture, and what those changes mean for Western companies looking to do business there.

Links:

• Bridging Culture Worldwide website
• Bridging Culture Worldwide on LinkedIn
• Bridging Culture Worldwide on Facebook
• Don's books on Amazon
• Free copy of Don's book: "Korea 2020, A Workplace in Transition"
• Don's articles on Branding in Asia
• Don on LinkedIn
• Don on Facebook
• Don on YouTube
• Don on Instagram
• Don on Twitter

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

Burcu Demirörs is the Co-Founder & CEO at HeliCo Translation, a language services company based in Turkey. She is a highly qualified translator and simultaneous interpreter, who specializes in English-to-Turkish and German-to-Turkish. She has been actively working in the language industry for more than decade now.

After obtaining advanced degrees in Translation and Simultaneous Interpretation from universities in Izmir and Ankara, Burcu spent several years working for a variety of different clients and agencies. In 2015, she and her partner founded their own agency, with offices located in the city of Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast. HeliCo Translation's motto is "Everyone smiles here in the same language", and its mission is to provide clients with the highest level of professionalism and industry know-how.

In addition to running her translation agency, Burcu volunteers as an Emergency & Disaster Interpreter. She is also a paragliding enthusiast, and happens to be one of the best women paragliding pilots in Turkey. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person in 2019, at the LocWorld conference in Portugal, where I moderated a presentation that she gave on how to manage translation quality.

In June 2020, Burcu and her team organized the first #LocNowAndFuture event, hosted by ProZ.com TV, which featured a variety of important speakers from different backgrounds, as well as virtual round-table discussions. In fact, I had the honour of being a moderator for one of the sessions.

In this interview, Burcu talks about today's Turkish market, and how foreign brands can adapt their products, services and marketing campaigns to make a more positive first impression on Turkish consumers.

Links:

• HeliCo Translation website
• HeliCo Translation on LinkedIn
• Helico Translation on Facebook
• HeliCo Translation on Instagram
• Burcu on LinkedIn

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

Judith Hornok is the Founder of Hornok & Partner, an internationally recognized innovation company for business success based in Vienna, Austria. She is also the author of a new book called The Arab Business Code, which deals with the cross-cultural challenges that Western companies may face when doing business in the Arab states of the Gulf region (i.e. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).

As a trained journalist, Judith spent over 15 years researching the social and emotional mindset of Arab people in the Gulf region, and advising European businesses on how to be successful there. Her first book, Moderne Arabische Frauen / Modern Arab Women, was published in 2011 in German and English. Her second book, The Arab Business Code, was originally published in German in 2018, and as of February 2020, an English version is now available.

Judith is The Decoder because she decodes human behaviour. She specializes in deciphering the often culture-based behaviours of people in order to facilitate business negotiations, help people overcome professional challenges, and mediate between seemingly irreconcilable positions. In her new book, she explores the "codes" of Arab business people, describes some techniques for successful communication, and explains why it's so essential to identify and manage The Emotional Hinderers in business as well as in life.

Links:

• Judith's website
• 'The Emotional Hinderers' webpage
• "The Arab Business Code" on the Routledge website
• Judith on LinkedIn

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

Dana Doswell is the Founder of Dozzy Inc., an independent consultancy that helps Latin-American businesses enter the North American market and vice versa. Originally from Canada, she is now based in Mexico and provides cultural training to business executives, with a focus on sales, marketing and networking in English and Spanish.

After completing her Bachelor of Commerce degree in Nova Scotia, one of Canada's Atlantic provinces, Dana came back to Toronto in 2017. Following a brief stint at KPMG and a year working at an IT company, she co-founded a strategic marketing firm called Sidepart Digital. Headquartered in Toronto, Sidepart helps business owners in the financial and legal services sectors by building digital ecosystems through automation and workflow optimization to reduce labour hours and find new revenue opportunities.

In 2019, Dana decided to relocate to Mexico and to launch her own consultancy, Dozzy Inc. Currently based in Mérida, in the Yucatan, she is focused on helping SMEs optimize their sales, marketing and customer-service strategies for better cross-border business.

Catch Dana's insights into Mexico's evolving consumer market, and why foreign brands may need to significantly adapt their marketing – from their value proposition, to their content, all the way to their tactics – to be successful there.

Links:

• Dozzy Inc. on Facebook
• Dozzy Inc. on LinkedIn
• Dozzy Inc. on Instagram
• Sidepart Digital website
• Sidepart on LinkedIn
• Dana on LinkedIn
• Dana on Instagram

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

Yingying Li is a cross-cultural communication and leadership coach, who has over 10 years of experience in operations and business development in the U.S., China, Brazil, India, and Turkey. She is the Founder of Yingfluence, Inc., a Silicon Valley based start-up that empowers professionals to connect and lead their brands cross-culturally. Her clients include high-level executives from companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Cisco and Intel.

With its mission of fostering empathy and opportunities, Yingfluence's services range from futuristic executive coaching, to creative branding, to advanced communication and global partnerships among multi-cultural communities, such as China, Latin America, and the United States. It also boasts a multilingual talent think-tank of so-called "Yingfluencers", which empowers cross-cultural professionals to become thought leaders, to create a positive influence, and to move humanity a step forward.

Yingying believes that Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is critical for the next generation of global leadership. In addition to her work at Yingfluence, she also co-hosts and co-produces a podcast called How China Works, which helps foreigners become "China-smart". The show uses a hybrid East-West perspective - crossing cultures, generations, and genders - to find common ground and build understanding.

Besides her consulting work and her podcasting activities, Yingying serves as an Executive Trainer and Partner at Founders Space, a top-ranked Global Accelerator for overseas start-ups. She is also the COO at Skive it, Inc., a Deep Learning start-up headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area.

For this interview, Yingying joined me from Beijing. She talked about why she believes it's never been more important for global-minded entrepreneurs to stay calm, think big, and improve their understanding of foreign markets. She also discussed how she uses digital channels, including LinkedIn, to help build cross-cultural bridges for herself and for her clients. Catch this fascinating conversation.

Links:

• Yingfluence, Inc. website
• Yingfluence, Inc. on LinkedIn
• "How China Works" Podcast website
• Founders Space website
• Skive it, Inc. website
• Yingying on LinkedIn

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

Prof. Svend Hollensen is the author of Global Marketing, a textbook he first published in 1998. Now in its eighth edition, the book continues to be the most up-to-date and comprehensive text of its kind, with cutting-edge case studies and a focus on the impact of new technologies and perspectives on international marketing. For nearly twenty years now, this title has been a definitive, truly international guide on the topic of global marketing. Since its original publication, it has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and a localized Indian edition.

A native of Denmark, Svend holds a Masters' degree in Marketing & Business Administration and a Ph.D. in International Marketing. After several years of working in the private sector, he took on the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Denmark, and he has been teaching there ever since, becoming Associate Professor of International Marketing in 1993. He also teaches at London Metropolitan University and at the Europäische Fachhochschule Hamburg (Euro FH).

In addition to his book on Global Marketing, Svend has published numerous journal articles over the years, as well as a number of other successful book titles, including on Marketing Management, Marketing Research, Essentials of Global Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. Alongside his successful career in academia, my guest has been running his own international marketing consultancy for over 20 years. His clients have included several multinational companies as well as global organizations such as the World Bank.

Links:

• Svend's book: "Global Marketing", 8th edition
• Teaser pack for "Global Marketing", 8th edition
• Pearson request form for a complimentary copy of "Global Marketing" (ISBN 9781292251806)
• Svend's books on Amazon
• Article on "glocalization" by Hollensen & Møller
• Article on "glocalization" by Hollensen & Schimmelpfennig
• Svend on LinkedIn

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

Laurence Lim Dally is the Founder & Managing Director at Cherry Blossoms Intercultural Branding, a boutique marketing agency based in Hong Kong and New York City. She is an expert on diversity and the decoding of cultural differences. With her Cherry Blossoms team, she helps Western brands in the beauty, hospitality, jewelry, fashion, and wine & spirits sectors to better resonate with Asian consumers.

Originally from France, Laurence started her career working for the French government on diversity and equal opportunities issues, before moving to Hong Kong in 2008. There, she founded her marketing agency, Cherry Blossoms, with the goal of bridging the gap between East and West.

Since 2018, Laurence has been based in New York City, and is a now frequent keynote speaker on China and marketing for organizations such as China Connect, the Women in Innovation Forum, the French Chamber of Commerce, Sotheby's, Jingdaily, and major international business schools.

Links:

• Cherry Blossoms website
• Cherry Blossoms on LinkedIn
• Cherry Blossoms on Instagram
• Laurence on LinkedIn

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

John Yunker is a recognized expert in the field of web and software globalization. I first featured him on episode #059 of this podcast. He is the Co-Founder & President of Byte Level Research, which was the first agency devoted to web globalization best practices. Over the past two decades, he has helped hundreds of companies improve their global content, websites and software through specialized reports, consulting, speaking and training sessions.

Based in Ashland, Oregon, John works with many of the world's largest multinational corporations, providing web-globalization training and benchmark services. He is perhaps best known for his series of specialized reports on web globalization, in particular the annual Web Globalization Report Cards, of which the 16th edition is now available.

Besides his annual report cards, John is the author of several books, including The Savvy Client's Guide to Translation Agencies, The Art of the Global Gateway, and Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies, which was the first book devoted to the emerging field of web globalization. This widely acclaimed book is now used in a number of university and corporate training programs and by most of the Fortune 500. My guest's most recent book is called Think Outside the Country: A Guide to Going Global and Succeeding in the Translation Economy, and it is now available in Japanese as well as in English. Last but not least, John writes a blog called Global by Design.

Tune into this latest conversation with John, as he shares some takeaways from his 2020 Web Globalization Report Card – including current best practices and which companies are leading the field ­– as well as some thoughts on the future of global business.

Links:

• Byte Level Research website
• The 2020 Web Globalization Report Card
• Global By Design website
• Byte Level Books
• John's personal website
• John on LinkedIn
• John on Twitter

This episode was sponsored by Vistatec.

Dean Foster is a cross-cultural business expert, intercultural training consultant, author, speaker, and the Founder & Principal at Dean Foster Global Cultures, a training and coaching company focused on cultural competencies and agilities.

Based in New York City, Dean has played a central role in the development of the field of cross-cultural training and consulting. He has worked with most major Fortune 500 companies, national governments and NGOs. His work has taken him to more than 100 countries around the world, and to every continent – including Antarctica. He believes that living in the 21st century means experiencing cultural complexity every day, allowing it to transform our travel, our work, our holidays, our relationships – in short, our very being – if we are to become the global citizens we need to be.

Besides his consulting work, Dean is on the faculty of the American University's Intercultural Management Institute in Washington, D.C. He has also taught at other premier institutions, including Harvard Business School, Columbia University School of Business, New York University, and Darden Business School. He's a frequent contributor on the topic of culture, global work, and social issues for major media outlets such as CNN, CNBC, the BBC, Newsweek, USA Today, and The New York Times.

Dean is the author of five books, including Bargaining Across Borders, which was voted one of the top 10 business books of the year by the American Library Association. And he is the co-host of Oops, Your Culture Is Showing! – a podcast that explores global cultures and issues around cross-cultural communication.

Links:

• Dean Foster Global Cultures website
• Dean's books on Amazon
• Podcast: Oops, Your Culture Is Showing!
• Dean on LinkedIn
• Dean on Facebook
• Dean on Instagram
• Dean on Twitter

Note: this interview was recorded at the very beginning of March 2020, just before the spread of COVID-19 caused international travel to be suspended. Still, as corporate executives are forced to move their international business meetings into the virtual realm, and companies rely entirely on digital channels for their global business communications, cultural differences in communication require as much attention as ever.

- Kathrin Bussmann

Gloria Petersen is the Founder and President at Global Protocol Academy, LLC, a company that provides training to professionals who are navigating today's global business world. Her dynamic presentations have inspired audiences for over 30 years to handle professional and social situations with class and finesse. She is the author of The Art of Professional Connections, a four-guidebook series with companion Subject Matter Expert training modules. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to emerging entrepreneurs.

A graduate of the Protocol School of Washington, among many other credentials, Gloria has hosted the FOX television series, "Image of Success", served as etiquette judge on The Learning Channel, and has as an expert on numerous radio and television shows. She has also published articles and served as a contributing columnist for magazines, trade publications, and corporate newsletters.

Prior to founding Global Protocol Academy, LLC, Gloria spent sixteen years in civic and corporate roles developing her professional presence, business etiquette and international protocol experience. She continues to focus on keeping her knowledge current by conducting surveys, attending frequent symposiums, and monitoring the business climate for emerging issues.

Links:

• Global Protocol Academy website
• Gloria's personal website
• The Art of Professional Connections website
• Gloria's "The Art of Professional Connections" book series on Amazon
• Gloria on LinkedIn

Note: this interview was recorded in late February 2020, before the spread of COVID-19 caused international business travel to grind to a halt. However, even while meetings with foreign counterparts have had to move into the virtual realm, and companies are relying entirely on digital channels for their international communications, differences in cultural etiquette and protocol still need to be considered.

- Kathrin Bussmann