Podcast Transcript

Jo Rogers

Welcome to Customer Success Matters, the podcast where we delve into the importance of ensuring customer success is at the heart of your business and the effect it can have on your growth. I'm your host, Jo Rogers, and every couple of weeks, I'll be providing short, concise, thought -provoking insights to help you transform your retention and growth of clients. Here at Customer Success Matters, we bring you over 20 years of client management, both from an agency and client perspective, pulling on our own real -life examples, as well as interviewing relevant subject matter experts to provide you with the tools and knowledge on how to service your clients at a premium standard, build an exceptional client services team and ultimately grow your business. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any episodes and follow us on LinkedIn for more updates and behind the scenes content. Now let's jump into today's topic.

It's really lovely to have on the podcast today, another ex colleague of mine, Carla Leighton, Senior Marketing Manager at Fujitsu, who recently made a huge move over to Texas in the USA, clearly getting fed up of all the constant rain over here in the UK and needed to move somewhere with a wall to wall sunshine. So Carla, thank you so much for joining me today. It's been great to catch up and hear all about your big move to America and what you're now seven months into your transition.

You starting to feel a little bit more settled and not too homesick, I hope?

Carla Leighton

Yeah, thank you so much for having me firstly. So really good to join you on this. It's, it's gone very, very quickly. Yeah, we were only just saying, weren't we then, you were trying to count down the months and it was like, my God, it's actually been seven months. It's mad how time flies, isn't it? For sure, yes. It's been a whirlwind, but finally starting to feel settled and very glad to be here. Fantastic. Well, thank you very much.

Jo Rogers

So do you want to share a little bit about your background and your journey from working in the UK to moving over to the US?

Carla Leighton

Yeah, absolutely. So over the past decade or so, I've mostly held global roles. So I've always worked across different regions, across different teams, even though I was based in the UK. And one thing that I've really enjoyed is that opportunity to work with colleagues, meet new friends all around the world. So when the opportunity came up moved with Fujitsu over to the Americas team. It was one that, you know, I just couldn't pass up. Yeah, no, I'm not surprised, Carla. I'm really not surprised. An opportunity that sounds fantastic. And I suppose there's this sort of initial expectation, isn't it, that when you move to another English speaking country, that it's not that going to be that different. But what were your initial impressions when you started working in the US?

So I've specifically moved to Texas, so it definitely has its own identity even here in the States as well. There are a huge amount of differences between the US and the UK. And I always do say that I'm very lucky to have English as my first language, but American and British English are definitely not one in the same language, first off. The next thing that I would say is the business culture is different. I'm based down here in the South. There's definitely an openness and a friendliness with people that is very, very different to what I experienced in my life back in London.

The next thing is the pace. And I think that really shouldn't be a surprise to a lot of people listening. There is so much energy and determination to get things done over here in the Americas markets. There's a belief around that old adage done is better than perfect. And there was some of that attitude in the UK, but definitely when I compare the Americas markets to other countries around the world, there is a much, much faster pace to keep up with. And together with that, there is more of a risk taking culture, which was the part that I find really fascinating. There is such a strong kind of sports culture, especially college sports here in the US.

And I see that kind of competitive nature and that willingness to give it your all, even if you fail at the end of it, as something that's really reflected in the way that people approach business here as well. So you definitely have to be all in, you have to have that internal drive within yourself to be successful. And finally, I'd say it's, there is much more of an egalitarian and relationship driven culture here. So in a lot of countries around the world, there are more formal hierarchies than we have here. That's even the case in the UK, I would say. I think there's an assumption from people all around the world that the US is much more focused on the individual. What are you going to do yourself? But there is still definitely a really strong team and community at the center of how things get done here as

Jo Rogers

That's really interesting insight there, Carla. And I think a lot of insights that actually most of us wouldn't actually really have an understanding of unless we had someone on the ground in the US or a US counterpart that works over in the UK. just having that sort of a look behind the curtain is really interesting for those of our listeners, especially at the moment where we're seeing more agencies looking for work outside of their normal UK remit and actually starting to look at countries like the US to actually open and expand opportunities there.

So for you, what are the sort of key differences that you've noticed in marketing strategies between the UK and the US?

Carla Leighton

So I guess the elephant in the room is, of course, the regulations around marketing and around advertising.

The rules are very, very different from what you can advertise on TVs, health warnings that you need to include, and you're never going to be able to get away from that. Going back to that pace point that I talked about earlier. So all around the world, doesn't matter where you are. Customers are being inundated with information every single day. And what I really see resonating best in the Americas market is content and messages cuts of the chase, something really clear, really punchy that speaks to the need and the pain point of the customer and cuts through that noise.

So in the US especially, it's not about inundating them with information, giving them more than they need to quickly identify whether they have an interest in finding out more. I remember years ago actually, when I was studying marketing, reading through a paper that was looking long form content. So what is typical in different markets around the world? And it was looking at, you know, the US compared to Germany, for example, where a one pager in the US would be the equivalent of kind of a six, seven pager in Germany, but just because of the natural expectations that people have of the detail and the information that you'll be providing to them from the get go.

And then I guess, comparing the US and the UK specifically. think people over here, and this surprised me, people are so much more comfortable in being sold to. So if you go into a store, there is an expectation that someone will be attending to you, whereas in the UK, it's a lot more standoffish, right? You go in, you look at things, you make a decision, you ask for help if you need it. But over here, there is much more of a process of kind of being guided through your decision making that is just the norm.

Jo Rogers

Which I think ties into sort of my next question, Carla, that I was going to ask you, which was, so I mentioned earlier that there's a lot more agencies looking to expand over into the US markets. So what would be that sort of advice to them to do that? Because obviously, if you're saying that there's a sales process there that little bit more avert than it would be over in the UK. What sort of advice would you give for those that are thinking about reaching out that they should consider? So the biggest advice and you know, whether this is agencies moving, whether it's organizations looking to do business anywhere, the best advice is focus.

Carla Leighton

Don't try to go too big. Don't just see and test where you land. Be really, really focused on the markets you want to work whether that's the industry, the organisation size, the target demographics that you're looking at, or even the geographies. And while the US is one country, I alluded to it at the start, each state really, really does have its own identity. One size does not fit all over here, so you need to really look at where do you think you will play well.

When an organisation or, you know, when I'm looking to bring in an agency, I'm looking for them to bring expertise and value add. It's not just about having the capacity, having the resources to do things. It's about the knowledge and the know -how that you're bringing to it. There might be lessons and experience that you can bring from other geographies, other markets, but you need to also make sure that you have those local experts in place or that you're really taking the time and investing and understanding the market that you want to be successful in. I would say for us in my current role, if we're delivering a project that makes our customers successful and it makes that project owner the absolute rock star of what they're doing, that's when we know that we've done our jobs right. And that's the type of relationship I've had with my agencies in the past, I want someone who can come in and challenge me, bring new ideas, make me better in what I do. Because that's how you build that ongoing relationship.

Jo Rogers

Honestly, Carla, this is invaluable advice. And I know this is probably might be a little bit too early in the day. So I do appreciate that it's been a bit of a seven month whirlwind for you. But have you seen any common mistakes that UK agencies are making when they try and enter the US market, whether that's what you've experienced or whether you've seen that when you were in the UK yourself?

Carla Leighton

Yeah, so I mean, leaning on my global experience from the past as well, where I've been looking at running campaigns across multiple different regions as well. The biggest mistake that I really see happening is the expectation that it's the same language. So quick win to rolling out marketing in multiple different territories, right? Whether it's, you know, US and Canada, UK and Australia, they're all very, very different markets with different needs as well. So standardisation, you know, it has its role, but we are operating in a world where personalization and localization is so important. It's not one size fits all anymore at all really good example of this is actually when you look at supermarkets, so grocery stores for my friends in the US.

Using the example of Walmart, I was reading about this a few weeks ago, they stock over 60 different types of canned chili across the US, but only three of those types of chili, so three of the brands are carried nationwide. And that's because there are different preferences, tastes, different, know, even within the same country, there are so many different requirements that they're looking at. So they have that localisation in place and what they're selling. And those changes that can impact everything from how products are made, manufactured, to how services are positioned, how, you know, how you're packaging things to provide it, whether it's a product or a service, and understanding the audience's wants and needs so important to making a localisation approach effective. So that's probably the biggest mistake I see is one size does not fit all.

Jo Rogers

Really, really interesting, Carla. So thank you so much for sharing that. But I was wondering from your perspective, because obviously, again, you've been working in this global role for a long time now, whether you were based in the UK or based in the US. How have you found those teams working more collaboratively? how do they work effectively to collaborate better? Because obviously, again, we've just talked about this cultural differences, how they like to approach things, you're saying Americans want more of a sales -led approach. What's your tips in terms of how UK and US markets can collaborate more effectively?

Carla Leighton

Yes, it's a really great question. actually, for me, it's not just about UK and US, it's colleagues and friends from all around the world the more that we can collaborate and learn from each other and take our own learnings to our own business cultures, share ideas, the stronger that we become as individuals. And it's not just about geographies. It's looking at what's happening in other industries, taking inspiration and learnings from there that maybe we can not replicate, but we can take some of that expertise and apply it to our own industry or our own roles.

For me, diversity is absolutely critical for all of us to grow as individuals. So the broader that we can make our knowledge and our experience, the more diverse that we can make our teams and our communities, the stronger that we become collectively also as individuals, because it really helps you challenge how you think about things. It gives you a fresh perspective on things. And that's something that I personally enjoy, you know, learning all the time from as many different people as possible, from as many different backgrounds as possible. And I think that's something that we should absolutely all try to lean into as well.

Jo Rogers

Definitely. Interesting, I was at a conference recently, and I don't know whether you know her, but Erin Meyer was there. And she talks all about just so much research on culture and how global businesses need to understand all the different cultures and how collectively they communicate and work with each other all so differently. So what working with a Japanese counterpart and how they respond in a meeting or what their expectations of that meeting is completely different if you have a German in the room, for example. So that's that diverse community that you talk about now is so interesting and an important piece that needs to be part of, as you say, part of the collective team.

But also the understanding of what actually that means then to your group, doesn't it? It's how do you now work with each of those individuals? Because they will all expect and want and need different ways of actually being communicated to or understood or expectations set, et cetera. It must be fascinating and you must be learning so much by having that opportunity to be able to be speaking to all these different cultures and learning so much from it.

Carla Leighton

Yeah, one thing I would add is, and this has really, really helped me in the past, right, working with so many different and polar opposite cultures of what I'm used to is, if you're looking to expand into a new territory, you're looking to expand the team and bring in people, make sure that you have something like a buddy system in place, right? So you're giving people a chance to connect outside ou know, the teams and the Zoom meetings and everything like that, making sure that whether it's once a month, once a week to start with, you're just giving them 15, 20 minutes time to connect as individuals, a safe space to ask all the questions that people don't want to ask, because it can be really uncomfortable actually putting yourself out there and saying, I don't understand how this works. I don't understand why. we've had a meeting and this was the outcome, or I don't understand why this request is coming through. And having that safe space where you can have those frank and open conversations and have someone explain from their perspective how things work is invaluable.

Jo Rogers

Yeah, that's really great insight. And yeah, I can totally see why that would be really important working with teams for sure. So Carla, obviously moving over to the US as you've shared very eloquently, there's all these different things that need to be considered if you were going to be reaching out and working in the US market. And it sounds great and it does sound great. It really does. It sounds that, you know, they're very forward thinking, they're very fast paced, you know, they sound like, you know, a very get it done kind of culture. But is there anything that you miss about the UK's approach to marketing that you kind of feel that's missing from working in the US?

 Carla Leighton

So that is a fantastic question. I'm just saying, yeah, no, it's everything over here can be bold, quite, you know, you're on all the time. Whereas not necessarily just UK, but other cultures, there's more of kind of the humble kind of approach things as well. And I guess that is, you know, by nature, I am introverted. and when you're operating in a market where you're always on, you're always energetic, you're always bringing it, you know, that can be a challenge to get used to, for sure. Sometimes I think, gosh, I could just be back in my flat in London and having a slightly calmer pace of things, but it's infectious at the same time, right? As soon as you all go, as soon as you're bringing that energy, you get on a roll with it, for sure.

Jo Rogers

Yeah, probably helps those six o 'clock in the morning calls when you're probably still pretty tired. But actually having someone there that's boosting everyone's morale is actually probably quite a nice thing rather than everyone just still waiting and needing their coffee in the morning, isn't it? Yeah. Although nothing will ever replace a Sunday roast, I can tell you that. yeah. Is there anything that you miss? What's your big miss, missing item unrelated to some marketing that you're missing from the UK?

Carla Leighton

Honestly, it's chocolate. I hate to say it, but American chocolate is just not for me. Finding places and every visitor that comes over gets a shopping list of treats to bring that I miss from home, to be honest. Luckily they don't come too often, otherwise I'd be in trouble. That's fair. I've had that quite a lot, actually. It's funny. Little care packages of chocolates.

Jo Rogers

I used to do that when I moved over to Australia I used to get little care packages sent over for me because there's just certain things that you just can't replace from the UK, can you? Anyway, Carla, thank you so much for sharing that. I think it's been incredibly timely, this conversation as well. I know that we've been chatting for a little while about wanting to do this and waiting for you to be a little bit more settled in Texas. I think that actually what we've been talking about today is really important for a lot of agencies right now who are thinking about, know, as we know, markets pretty difficult at the moment.

There's a lot of agencies going for not enough work out there and a lot of them are starting to look at where else there's some potential opportunities for growth in the US market is one of those. So having someone that's had kind of got the empathy of having been working in the UK and now moving over to the US and seeing the differences explain that in such an elegant way that you've done today. So I really appreciate you giving us your time and your expertise and being able to give that insights to them to really hopefully get everyone just to take a moment to think about how they're going to start to do the outreach. What's the right approach not to just go into it, just thinking I'm going to go and target those in America and start socially, you know, think about what regions, how to niche it what's the differences, what's the cultural differences, etc. So thank you so much, Carla, for giving us your time and sharing all of that very, very insightful information.

Carla Leighton

Thank you so much for having me. It's always a pleasure.