B2B Marketing Leader Reveals Smart Tips to Grow Tech Company Globally

Expanding into the European market can be a boon for tech companies. According to Harvard Business Review, U.S. companies default to Europe for good reason: a well-run SaaS company at IPO derives about 30% of its global revenue from the region. Revenue opportunities like this are rare. However, to achieve these kinds of results, it’s important to ‘get it right’.

We speak with Amandine Servain, VP International Marketing, CM Group to find out how B2B companies can achieve growth and success in their European expansion journeys – and it’s not as straightforward as you might think. Discover why a small dose of humanity and big bold decisions go a long way in this competitive marketplace.

AZK Media Managing Direct Azadeh Williams unpacks how to grow a technology company in new regions with Global B2B Marketing Leader Amandine Servain

So you have to take a very global-to-local approach when it comes to Europe. Obviously, our brand CM Group is a global brand. But when we go to market, we have to meet the local needs. And so the way we do it, mostly in marketing, is by getting the content that we need that will match what our clients are looking for at the moment.

That also applies for the tactics that we're going to use. For example, an event that works in the U.K. might not work in France and a digital channel that works in Spain might not work in the Nordics. So we really have to have local people in our team that understand their market, so they can also drive and guide that local strategy.

We also live in the world of image, video and entertainment. Marketers live in the creative world, and we have to take the same approach. And that's actually how you stand out. It’s the way you create and build your brand. You must have a disruptive approach to your brand strategy.

When it comes to B2B marketing tips and strategies, what really works?

There are two parts to this. We have the digital world, but this year, we have the ‘back to real’ strategy, back to meeting face-to-face with our clients and customers. So we are focusing on creating an event experience that will drive this conversation. For example, how can you meet clients and prospects in ways beyond a trade show that truly brings value to the face-to-face interaction? That’s the ‘real’ side.

Then, obviously, we’re a tech company and still leveraging the digital channel a lot. But we’re not just throwing something out to see what kind of fish we are going to catch. We have more of a spearfishing approach that involves understanding the customer, what they’re searching for and when. This is what we call the account-based marketing (ABM) strategy, and it’s really something that is growing in the B2B market now. And it’s made possible by the marketing technology evolution that we’re seeing right now in the market.

How can the ‘human element’ help a tech company differentiate?

Vendors face many challenges in the U.K. market. But, like anything, with the right tools, you do it by being authentic in the way you approach the market, especially when we’re talking about Europe. Be authentic. Don’t copy and paste from whatever you see in the U.S. and do it in the European market.

Try and test. Get the buy-in from your board. Then test the bold. You might fail, but at least you tested it. And if you succeed, then you can expand and work at scale, having a strategy that works in the new country. Remember, there’s nothing blocking you but yourself, a limiting belief.
Watch the full video interview in the heart of Paris, France here.

Authored by Julie Cooper, Senior Content and Communications Specialist at AZK Media.