Several years ago, I sat at a table for dinner with Linqu’s Government Party Secretary. I was invited to have dinner after I had spent the day at a local hospital where we implemented three of our medical devices for the very first time for a feasibility study.
Linqu is a small county in Shandong Province in China. We sat in a private room at a local restaurant, at a round table for 10 people. The table had a rotating round glass tray on which the food was served. I was seated on the right of the party secretary, with my local partner and translator on the left. Around the table also sat the hospital principal, two physicians, and other people I hadn’t met before.
Before the dinner started, I was asked to choose between two fancy bottles of Moutai, a famous brand of baijiu, China’s national liquor. I chose the lower alcohol-by-volume one, 38%. The party secretary toasted me and launched into his welcoming pitch. We had the first round of drinks in these special little glasses.
Food was served on the rotating glass tray. The party secretary stopped the rotating tray at the roasted peanuts dish and served a few on my plate. I picked them up easily using my chopsticks.
After he saw that I could master the use of chopsticks, he rotated the big tray and stopped on the deep-fried scorpions plate. He explained that these young and tasty scorpions had been caught just that morning, and demonstrated how to snap the sting off and eat it like it was a french fry. I did the same and took a bite.
While taking the bite, I noticed how everybody around the table was relieved, so we continued eating and drinking. “Ganbei!” they chorused, which translates as “Dry cup!” meaning “Bottoms up!” We had many of those during that dinner.
I couldn’t speak their local Chinese dialect and they couldn’t understand my English, but during that evening we were all happy, cheerful, and managed to communicate very well.
Culture means many things. It’s not just the language, food, folklore, and codes of conduct. In the business world, it is much more than that.
When a B2B company decides to enter new territory, after conducting market research, they should spend time learning the local culture and behavior before deciding on the right GoToMarket plan.
If your brand is successful in western countries, it does not necessarily mean that you will have immediate success in other countries. You may need to revisit your business model, make adaptations to your product or service, and use different strategies and tactics throughout the customer journey.
It is recommended that you engage with a local partner who understands the business culture and the local market and who will help you to achieve your commercial goals. What drives your success is how well you manage to create personal relationships and commitment on the other side.
As for Linqu, the next day I was told by my local partner that we got the green light to expand our study to other hospitals in the county.
In Chinese business culture, a trusted person with whom you do business is way more important than the product itself.
My friend, Idan Ofer, travels the world. He explores countries, with a special interest in their cultures, and takes photos of people. He does it as a hobby.
After doing this for several years he found that the best, most authentic, timeless photos were taken when people communicated with him by telling their stories. Photos of people that were posing for the camera, trying to get the best possible results, tend to be less successful.
What is more interesting about this is that this narrative crosses countries, cultures, ages, and statuses. It’s demographically diverse, universal, and comprehensive.
Watch this amazing 3-minute video on a full screen, with speakers ON! I named it “People and Cultures”.
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