Wow! I literally couldn’t write fast enough to capture all the brilliant insights Nicola, Bonnie and Anna shared in this power-hour 30 minutes. Having spent years in FMCG marketing teams, I know their knowledge is invaluable, and any marketer looking to take a product across borders would be lucky to tap into their brains. What I equally loved about this chat was walking away feeling inspired by this group of powerhouse women. Their experience is enviable and testament to the role marketing can and should play within a business.
My notes are as follows, but I highly recommend you find yourself 30 minutes (or 15 on 2x speed) to pull your own takeaways.
Bonnie Slade - Founder and CEO of UBD Food, home of NaturKidz (a home-grown NZ snack my kids love). Bonnie has taken a leap, breaking the norm, and leading with bravery as she’s launched an export first brand.
Nicola O’Rourke - Director, Board Member, FMCG Expert. I’ve heard more than one person use the term ‘fan girl’ when they speak of Nicola. And her super clear take-aways from this quick chat has already put me in the fan-girl bucket. She’s launched over 200 products into six markets and she’s not finished yet.
Anna Henwood - Stickybeak CEO, champion of marketers, and legendary global marketer.
10 Tips for a successful international launch:
- Slow down to speed up - do the consumer and value chain work up front - check your long term view.
- Know your customer - do your homework - don’t hold on to your brand too tightly as you must adapt to the market and local consumer needs.
- Know your supply chain and margins - align globally and be clear with partners. There will be different pricing strategies and expectations in each market but it's your role to manage it across borders.
- Answer (no, really answer) these 4 questions (thank you Nicola!)
- What is the problem?: Deeply understand the problem you're solving for your consumer group (be hyper targeted)
- What is the solution?: Clearly define how your product solves the problem. Think about the full experience, not just the physical product.
- Why now?: Explain why now is the right time to address this problem.
- Why you?: Articulate why your brand or product is the best solution, over all the other options consumers have
- Be defendable - tailor your value prop for the consumer AND retailer - then validate!
- Fail fast - research and consumer feedback is so accessible, there’s no excuse not to test and learn. (Have you tried Stickybeak? 😉)
- Think global first, or at least 'where next?’
- Mistakes are ok - we all make them - but make sure you’re learning from them and adapting for next time
- Set goals - know what winning looks like. This might be a scorecard or milestones you want to hit. Either way, align stakeholders around these points!
- Celebrate the wins! Your first order is exciting, but the third, fourth, fifth mean you’ve got something going
FUN FACT: Austin, Texas and Suzhou, China are Nicola’s top cities to do business in.
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