Breaking Into the US Market with Media Influence
Cleantech is a global industry with players cropping up everywhere, from Finland to New Zealand and everyplace in between. Yet, sooner or later successful companies must break into the US market to keep pace in the industry. And the pie keeps getting bigger here. Since 2008, the US clean technology market has grown an average of 8.9% a year. By 2013 it’s expected to reach $88.6 billion. With such strong growth year after year, the cleantech industry is moving at a very rapid pace. What companies would look to accomplish in a year, they work to achieve in a mire six months or less. They are sprinting to keep ahead of the competition, and those who slow down, run the risk of being left behind.
BCC Research reports graph: Andrew McWilliams, partner at 43rd Parallel, LLC
Breaking into the US market also requires this hyper-speed. Companies do not have the luxury of waiting a year to establish themselves and land that first big deal or project. Headquarters back home want to see progress quickly. They pressure satellite offices every quarter to demonstrate their success. So, once the decision has been made to play in the US market, companies have to hit the ground running. A targeted and integrated marketing and public relations strategy is the fastest, most cost effective means of gaining fast exposure in the US.
Many of the companies looking to grab a piece of this growing market are European companies who have prospered from favorable renewable energy policies in their home countries. They have long lists of success projects and happy customers. Despite these many assets, American companies often have no idea they even exist. This lack of awareness causes a massive educational problem for companies breaking into the US. Educating each prospect one by one, is not only time consuming, it’s incredibly inefficient. To successfully educate new US customers, international companies have to use the one-to-many approach, and the US media is an extremely quick and cost-effective way to do it.
In the US, the media so dominates American perceptions of business that companies left out of these media conversations often find it difficult to gain traction in the market. Many people look to their industry trades, blogs and top tier newspapers to tell them what’s hot, what’s credible and most importantly, what products and companies are most likely to succeed in today’s fast moving cleantech market.
The world is moving fast for cleantech reporters, too. They have shorter deadlines, more content to produce and are often covering multiple topics and multiple job descriptions. They look to companies to provide them with story leads and new angles on evolving issues. They often welcome hearing updates on a company’s progress. However, they also usually have no time to go looking for that news themselves.
An integrated marketing and public relations strategy can give international companies breaking into the US market a leg up on the competition. Successful projects can be transformed in to eye-catching advertisements and compelling case study articles. Website copy and content can be updates to appeal to American audiences. Customer satisfaction and testimonials can be provided to reporters looking to add that personal touch to reports. Views on current industry events from company spokespeople can be offered to journalists cramming to cover a timely new story immediately.
With a Technica team on board, these ‘media assets’ and each new milestone of success in the US market can be quickly communicated to future customers. We are well versed in a variety of channels, from broadcast and blogs, to top tier news outlets and social media channels. We know how to write about foreign companies in ways that US reporters will relate to. Our years in newsrooms mean we know what they are looking for and how to frame it for them.
By capitalizing on real world examples of success from overseas and effectively communicating new successes in the US, international companies can swiftly influence the prospective of new American customers. They can take audiences from mild curiosity, to feelings of credibility and confidence — which are critical for signing on that coveted dotted line. At Technica we know the American market and how to get you in.
