Global Business Perspectives

The international style of business is coming to the shores of America.

The way that social media encourages people to do business – by focusing on building relationships, caring what customers think, letting people get to know the people behind the brand – is a completely old idea.

It’s almost like the social media mavens read an international etiquette book and decided to implement it here, almost verbatim; it also explains a reason why many US businesses are hesitant to adopt social media because it’s “etiquette” and standards are just about as contrary to everything they learned in business school or on the job.

“It’s Not How It’s Done.”

At it’s heart, the idea that you get to know someone before doing business is contrary to “how it’s done” in America.  We have walls, and usually high ones. In American business culture, it’s just about the sale and whatever it takes for that sale is the measurement. Relationships are secondary, and many times used for advantage.  In a recent survey that showed why this doesn’t work, as trust in brands has collapsed. 52% of brands were trusted 1997; in 2008, only 22%.  The landscape IS changing.

I remember the other night talking to a friend (I shall leave them nameless) who his coworkers’ were talking about how the sale is all-important and it doesn’t matter if you lie as long as you get it done.  I’ve had that experience from a lot of salespeople – and my business experience the past few years dealing with all kinds of folks backs that up.  In some ways, being truthful is seen as weakness or an opportunity for exploitation by some.

However, the “social” way of doing business is different.  You know people.  They recommend you, you recommend them; you build networks not just on mutual business goals but commonalities.  It’s like doing business in a small town – you can’t let someone down, because everyone will hear about it.  You need to conduct yourself accordingly, because if you melt onto the bar floor most nights, everyone will know (and a hint: they won’t look upon you highly for it).

So How Is Social Media Etiquette International?

Here’s a couple examples of parities between the social media way and international business.

For instance, it’s rude to not give a personal gift in Asian cultures when meeting someone for the first time because they’ve honored you with a meeting and their time. They want to know YOU before doing business, and that gift had better not be your sales pack.  Same with social media; the unsolicited, repetitive, or noisy pitch is going to be not only turned off, but elicit negative reactions and can be counter-productive.

Testimonials on Websites in international markets are useless and in fact do damage because the average consumer does NOT trust testimonials and on top of it, they feel like the company is trying to put one over.  If you follow social media sites, there’s a major backlash by “average users” on paid tweets, paid posts, and everything of the like because it muddies the waters of trust.

Expand On This Yourself

What other etiquette points do you see that are international AND in social media?  What are things you wished more of those in business did?

Guest Blogger: Jeremiah Staes is the founder of Portage Digital Media and has been helping companies navigate the online space for over a decade.