[00:11] Peter Boolkah:
Hi, Peter Boolkah here, and welcome to today’s edition of The Transition Guy.
Joining me today is Matthew Lee Sawyer, who is an American business founder, teacher at Columbia University and NYU, and author of the book Make It in America.
Welcome, Matthew.
[00:31] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
Thank you so much, Peter. I’m delighted to be here and to have an opportunity to speak with you and your listeners.
[00:39] Peter Boolkah:
That introduction is a bit of a mouthful! You’ve accomplished quite a lot and do a great deal of teaching. What are you teaching?
[00:51] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
I started teaching around eight or nine years ago. It’s a second or third career for me.
I’ve been teaching marketing strategy and communications at Columbia University.
I developed a course there called Industry Insider, which gives students who come to Columbia and New York from around the world an inside look at the marketing, media and communications industries.
We bring in many experts from different companies. During the past semester, we had people from Google, Colgate and Mastercard. It’s a way for students to interact with business executives.
At NYU, I’ve been teaching more traditional business strategy and marketing strategy.
[01:45] Peter Boolkah:
You use the word marketing frequently.
Many businesses don’t appreciate how much they’re operating in a marketing economy.
I’m not sure what it’s like in the US, but many UK companies that aren’t succeeding aren’t necessarily failing because of a lack of available business.
The economy isn’t as easy as it was previously, but considerable business is still available.
I personally feel that we’re now in a “first seen, first bought” economy. If the people searching for something see you first, you have the highest chance of obtaining the business.
[02:33] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
Definitely. Marketing is critical, and there are many different phases within it.
There’s the final stage you mentioned: what you communicate, how you equip the salespeople and how you use digital marketing to attract customers.
But there’s also the first part of marketing.
What do you want to sell? What do you want to tell people? Which markets and opportunities should you pursue?
From there, you identify and develop a strategy that helps organise the entire company.
[03:21] Peter Boolkah:
Why do you think this level of marketing knowledge doesn’t filter down to entrepreneurs and smaller businesses, particularly in the UK?
We have relatively few mid-market businesses and even fewer corporations.
[03:40] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
I’m not sure.
Entrepreneurs are often very good at listening to the market and identifying its needs. The problem they face is scaling.
You might have a very dynamic entrepreneur or business founder, but how do you scale that throughout the organisation?
That’s one of the subjects covered by my book, Make It in America: How International Companies and Entrepreneurs Can Successfully Enter and Scale in U.S. Markets.
The book explores how you scale.
It positions the United States as the best market in the world. It’s the largest, it has an extremely stable economy and there are many opportunities involving finance and the stock market.
But there’s a great deal to understand and accomplish before coming to the United States.
My focus is helping entrepreneurs and established businesses enter and scale within one of the world’s largest and most lucrative markets.
[04:57] Peter Boolkah:
What are some of the unique challenges companies face when considering an expansion into the US market?
[05:09] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
The first is that it’s enormous. Where do you begin?
You need to decide which locations, products and markets to pursue.
One company featured in the book supplies architectural and building products. It’s a Belgian company with approximately a thousand different products it could have introduced.
It identified the four or five products with which it would enter first. It then grew from that initial position, built a factory and expanded significantly.
Which product categories should you choose? Which markets should you target?
There are approximately 330 million people, but many different tribes and markets within that population.
You also need to choose the appropriate distribution channels.
Many different decisions need to be made, so you must focus carefully upon which decisions matter.
[06:22] Peter Boolkah:
When you talk about entering the US, are there any cultural or market differences companies need to understand?
[06:36] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
Absolutely. Culture is enormously important.
When you speak to companies that have struggled or failed, culture is frequently one of the things they discuss.
Through my company, USAccelerator, we help companies identify their markets and create a market map.
We identify the market, but we also create a culture map so that they understand the different cultures.
During the past year, I’ve added people to the team from Switzerland, Belgium and Italy, as well as somebody from Latin America.
They help us understand how American culture relates to or differs from the cultures in those countries.
It’s one thing for somebody to explain American culture. It’s another to understand the differences between American culture and your own culture so that you can navigate them successfully.
You can read about it, but it’s difficult to succeed unless you’re here and have appropriate coaching.
[07:58] Peter Boolkah:
Culture is definitely something companies need to consider before moving into the US.
I’ve never encountered the idea of a culture map before. That’s interesting.
[08:12] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
We’re developing that approach, and the book contains some excellent case studies.
One concerns a German window company called Menck. It had been operating in Germany for approximately 120 or 125 years, manufacturing high-quality wooden windows and doors.
Around 2014 or 2015, the company identified what it thought was a considerable opportunity. It was already selling into the United States, so it decided to pursue the market in a much bigger way.
It secured a $10 million investment, built a factory, moved people over and employed a local team.
Within approximately two years, the US operation had gone out of business. The company continued operating in Germany, but it closed the US factory and left the market.
Culture was a major contributing factor, including the product itself.
The company made tilt-and-turn windows. They’re extremely popular in Europe and open inwards into the room.
Those windows aren’t widely used in the United States, where people have traditionally used outward-opening casement windows or double-hung windows.
The company didn’t sufficiently understand the customers. There were also cultural issues involving skilled workers and numerous other factors.
Its attitude was that the product was better and perhaps ten years ahead of the US market in areas such as energy efficiency.
It assumed customers would naturally want the product because it was better. That didn’t work out.
[10:12] Peter Boolkah:
Clearly, a great deal of work needed to be done.
Surely the same principle applies to any company entering any international market.
[10:23] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
Yes.
You wouldn’t go on holiday or take a journey without a map. Why would you try to enter a new market with your business without a clear map showing where you want to go?
What are the things you need to highlight? Which potential issues and problems should you avoid? Who are the competitors?
You also need to understand the cultural factors you mentioned.
[10:55] Peter Boolkah:
If somebody is planning to relocate or expand their business into the United States during the next year, what three practical strategies would make the move more successful?
[11:07] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
First, it’s important to recognise that it isn’t necessarily about relocating the entire business.
Some companies have done that. There’s an Australian e-commerce software company called Rokt. The US market became so important to it that it eventually moved its headquarters to New York City.
But for many companies, it’s about expanding.
The first requirement is doing your homework and conducting the investigation.
The head of the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce told me that many companies say, “Let’s go to the US, and once we’re there, we’ll figure it out.”
You need to do that homework beforehand.
You must also identify the people you can trust—the trusted advisers who can help you.
Second, you need to ensure that you have sufficient financing. Entering the US isn’t inexpensive.
You need to consider employment, office space and legal costs. The US legal market is very different from those in other countries.
You need knowledgeable and successful lawyers, and they aren’t inexpensive. You must ensure you have enough financing.
Third, adopt a longer-term perspective.
You might lose money during the first couple of years, so you need a three-to-five-year perspective.
The potential upside is considerable because it’s such a large market with so many economic opportunities. But you must approach it with a long-term perspective.
[13:17] Peter Boolkah:
Moving onto something slightly more light-hearted, I’ve heard numerous times that American consumers are more likely to make impulse purchases, while European consumers are more likely to research before purchasing.
Do you think there’s any truth in that belief?
[13:34] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
I think there can be.
There was a Belgian software company featured in the book. It provided security and building-access technology to businesses.
It found that American customers might test the product and purchase it after only a couple of telephone calls.
However, those customers were also very quick to say, “This isn’t working,” or, “I have this problem.” They would suddenly decide to get rid of it because it wasn’t doing what they expected.
There’s a very high level of expectation.
In some respects, there may be more impulse purchasing, but US consumers can also be extremely demanding and particular.
You need to understand their needs, communicate properly and manage their expectations.
In that company’s case, the first people it employed in the United States worked in customer service. It needed local people to manage those relationships.
The business found it relatively easy to sell from Europe, but it required on-the-ground customer service in the United States.
[15:06] Peter Boolkah:
That’s extremely important.
Returning to marketing, how do you stay ahead in the constantly evolving digital-marketing landscape? What trends do you see shaping the future of online advertising?
[15:22] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
It keeps changing and becoming more crowded, which makes it increasingly difficult to break through.
I think trust and access to trusted sources are important.
I’ve created a LinkedIn group called U.S. Business Acceleration, which I would encourage your listeners to join.
It provides curated information about the US market.
When you visit LinkedIn, you see information about promotions, birthday parties and advertising. It can become a dog’s breakfast—almost like Facebook for professionals.
I’m creating a channel containing curated information about one subject.
Anyone can join, although we validate the information posted there.
I think people will increasingly return to trusted sources that provide good-quality information.
[16:43] Peter Boolkah:
Providing genuinely useful information. Great.
[16:48] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
Yes.
[16:50] Peter Boolkah:
If people are interested in what you’ve discussed and want to explore your work in greater detail, or perhaps connect with you, what is the best way to do that?
[17:03] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
My book is available through Amazon and all the leading booksellers.
It’s called Make It in America: How International Companies and Entrepreneurs Can Successfully Enter and Scale in U.S. Markets.
It was published by Wiley in December 2022.
My company is called USAccelerator, and its website is usaccelerator.biz. I’m also available on LinkedIn.
[17:51] Peter Boolkah:
Wonderful. Thank you very much, Matthew. That was extremely insightful.
If anything has resonated with you today and you would like more information, head over to boolkah.com and get in touch.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please like it, subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes and share it with other people so that we can get it in front of as many listeners as possible.
Remember: failing to learn is learning to fail.
Once again, Matthew, thank you very much. You’ve been an excellent guest.
[18:20] Matthew Lee Sawyer:
My pleasure. Thank you very much, Peter.
