Global, Local, "Glocal" Marketing: Is it Possible to Develop the Right Balance?
One of our ongoing marketing challenges here at IntraLinks (and likely for many other companies who are global in scope) is how to best balance global and local needs in messaging, content and demand generation campaigns. The quick answer to that question is of course: "Glocal" is possible! But is "Glocal" really the answer, or do you instead end up with something that meets neither the need for global consistency nor local specificity?
In theory, localizing centrally developed messaging and content should work. I have to admit however that we are still working to obtain the ideal balance. To do it right takes resources, not only in quantity but also in quality — people who really understand each local market and can make meaningful changes to the messaging and content (not just translations or spelling tweaks). Obtaining that level of marketplace expertise by country and perhaps by industry or persona is an ongoing endeavor but critical if we are ever to achieve a meaningful "Glocal" approach.
We here at IntraLinks have started to do this in a more focused and concentrated way. One example that I think worked well is our global partnership with mergermarket and the various M&A research studies we have cooperatively produced. As the leading global provider of virtual datarooms, IntraLinks' clients are extremely attentive to the state of the M&A market. These studies are of great value to our clients in terms of real-time information on trends in the M&A space. We have produced reports on the global M&A market as well as on a country by country basis in many of the key M&A markets. We have promoted these reports both locally and globally in various ways such as local events in different countries as well as global webinars. All of the content is available on our web site as well as on mergermarket's web site. It is global and it is local!
Later this year, IntraLinks' solutions will be made available in many more languages in addition to the English and Japanese options currently available. This will present us with even more opportunity to put our "Glocal" marketing to the test. As a truly global company, this is a test IntraLinks intends to pass with flying colors!