Made in Taiwan to the Global Market
I remember when I was a child, the number of technological products that captivated us, and the vast majority had an unmistakable and unforgettable stamp thanks to which many, today, many people still know this country: MADE IN TAIWAN.
Currently, in Taiwan, there are thousands of companies with a very important added value in the quality of their products, companies that are largely unknown globally and even many of them nationally.
The vast majority do not have a marketing department or the one they do have is really ineffective. Surely there are many different causes, but today I will talk specifically about those that we have studied in a market analysis.
But where is the problem?
Why do we all know about companies like Apple, Tesla, or Google but few outsides of Taiwan know where top Taiwanese tech companies come from?
Branding is not being done, or at least not, in the right way. After researching the market in Taiwan and confirming this fact, I decided to create IGNITE Global Marketing and help Taiwanese companies reach the global market without the need for excessive costs.
Obviously, this lack is influenced by the political situation and status quo concerning other countries, for example, the new CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger, recently spoke to the press about how unacceptable it was to have the production of microchips in Asia, in a career made up of protectionism and it really is desperate to regain the market leadership that they have lost in the last year.
In fact, he was referring to the Taiwanese company TSMC who, in addition to having taken away their leadership in the market, has ironically become their supplier. But talking about Taiwan and considering it a country can lead to big problems with the neighboring PRC depending on who and where says it.
To all this must be added the non-existent marketing culture in general terms. There is no investment in marketing, ODM and OEM are handled daily but that many entrepreneurs on the island still do not seem to understand.
It is common to find managers who think that marketing is an expense. Some of them do not understand that marketing is really an investment, a good investment and that this great tool serves to increase the profits of the company, as long as good marketing is done.
Reaching the public at the national level is one thing, but competing in the global market is something very different for which you have to be very well prepared before investing a single dollar.
The Global Market
I remember, when I moved to Taiwan, I brought my beloved green Nike cap that had been given to me after a trip to Las Vegas in the US. When I got here, I was warned of the negative meaning of wearing a green cap in Taiwan, something absolutely unsuspected from a foreigner's point of view.
Likewise, in Taiwan, I have asked people very often if they kiss or hug their parents, siblings, relatives, or good friends. Here it is not common, it is something rare to do it, so it would be almost impossible, from the Taiwanese mentality, to create a campaign for a specific b2c product focused on the Latin American market, for example, where a daughter would kiss her father and give him a big hug, something really common in Latin culture in Europe and America.
And it is not enough to be a European citizen to know how the market works in Europe or to have lived there for a couple of years. The culture, experience, and professionalism of decades working for international brands globally are a plus that very few can offer in Taiwan today.
They usually ask me if I am an English or Spanish teacher. It is common to see any Anglo-Saxon working as an English teacher as if by knowing a language you automatically become a teacher, a very serious profession that takes several years of study. But being a teacher is a wild card here.
Taiwan Marketing Agency
Some of the full-service agencies that may offer a marketing or advertising service do not have professionals with decades of experience in the global market, beyond Asia, or even outside of Taiwan.
To this must be added the large expenses derived from commissions to third parties that make a product that is also less than optimal, since the professionals who develop the assets are usually young people just out of university, some of them have not even traveled more beyond the borders of their country and all they know about abroad is thanks to the movies or the internet. They can be amazing for the local market but no for the Global Market, both are totally different.
In my experience, there are cases in which large multinationals in Taiwan also leave their global marketing in the hands of directors who do not understand this concept and create strategies according to their personal tastes, being far removed from what consumers in other countries are actually looking for.
Personally, I am daring and I like to try new flavors, and in this daring, I discovered a food that is currently among my favorite flavors, the "stinky tofu", a smell and taste that in European countries is undoubtedly unpleasant.
- But for my taste, it is very tasty!
- Yes, but you are not the target of this product.
Therefore, it is important to understand that personal preferences for a color, or a flavor, probably will not meet the sales goals of our company.
Marketing is a set of techniques that study consumer preferences to later be able to offer products tailored to the consumer, decisions cannot be trivialized to the preference of personal taste without failing in most cases.
Again, I have to remember that it is important to trust the global marketers to ensure our investment and its success. Building a brand is not easy or cheap, so leaving our future success or failure to change can be a tremendous and irreparable mistake.
Define my company
That is why it is important to define with total clarity who you are, what you do, and where you want to go, as explained in a previous article, and with all this well-organized data, hire true professionals who can help you conquer the global market.
Even if your company is running without marketing, with good marketing you could multiply your sales and profits, but you still don't know it, especially in the COVID era where every country is working digitally.
Another reason is that medium-sized entrepreneurs do not want to invest their money in marketing, especially doing it with foreigners is a great handicap.
It scares, because of the language, because of the culture and because of the way of working. It is a serious mistake that we have to solve. After all, foreign marketing professionals are the ones who really know the markets outside of Taiwan, because many of us speak and write in Chinese, and because we know perfectly the culture and traditions in Taiwan since we live here for enough years.
The government is aware of this data and is currently working to help improve the branding of Taiwanese companies with specific benefits to correct this problem, subsidizing up to 5 million (NTD) for companies that really trust professionals and have a plan to renew themselves, take advantage of this government investment to increase the economy in Taiwan and invest in creating a recognizable brand, Made in Taiwan.
Therefore, our objective and our mission at IGNITE Global Marketing is to help Taiwanese companies open up to the global market, allow and contribute to the growth of the economy, and the creation of jobs and opportunities in Taiwan, thus also creating values for the future.
You can also check the videoblog
