Finding Common Ground in Global Business Relations
As with any global business or initiative, dmarcian and its employees are often faced with the challenge of effectively communicating and collaborating with people from all over the world. Barriers in language, culture and etiquette are among many differences that both make the world a diverse and beautiful place and require different approaches in our mission to provide DMARC for all. In this piece, New Business Representative Egor Kouchnarev shares insights and skills on navigating customer relationships across many nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Changing Global Landscape
Asia-Pacific nations are home to a wealth of cultures that come together in a melting pot. Australia and New Zealand are examples where natives and immigrants alike create a multicultural experience that is well-established and healthy for business. Living with diversity helps improve tolerance, acceptance, creativity, communication and much more.
Spaces such as information technology where building a lasting relationship with a potential customer can determine the course of growth thrive on understanding the needs of those very people. The skills required to meet an individual’s business needs while maintaining a professional and personable relationship are strengthened by exposure to so many different people. While cybersecurity is fundamentally a digital space, the principles and learnings from analog experiences are guiding lights.
The 2020 pandemic changed everything about business and tech. In-person interfacing had to change, and online presence for business became immediately critical. Some Asia-Pacific nations, such as Australia, responded by doubling down on cybersecurity and offering free educational programs to train the next generation of experts. The advantage of this shift has allowed for a world where global business operations are commonplace and further allow business relationships to flourish across states, countries and continents.
While the net of opportunity has been cast much wider in recent years, the web of vulnerability is wider cast as well. Phishing is a persistent and ever-growing threat in the online world. Artificial intelligence and other technological advancements only make manipulating victims easier. Social engineering is the most fascinating aspect of cybersecurity—studying what it takes to create a malicious campaign sheds important light on just that. Mass phishing exploits enabled by social engineering are too easy and too dangerous; unfortunately, people are always going to be the weak link regardless of the number of protections.
It is important to counteract these threats by creating genuine and authentic relationships with clients every day. In a way, this is not unlike the information technology space, where real people are relied upon for solutions and answers to unexpected problems. The person-to-person connection is a core element in the customer experience.
Navigating Mutli-Cultural Business Relationships
Balancing potential customers with existing relationships and larger market initiatives all over the Eastern Hemisphere can be challenging at times, and it can also be very rewarding. When having cross-cultural discussions, never underestimate the power of respect.
Though dmarcian is primarily an English-speaking business, many customers may not speak English as their first language. To someone with less experience, an email might come across differently than intended. It might be one or two words that read as rude, but in reality the sender is shy or simply has different cultural norms for online communication. There are countless personas a customer could inhabit. Patience and compassion go a long way.
Being keen on picking up differences in business practices between the spectrum of countries in Asia-Pacific can make all the difference in maintaining healthy rapport. Countries like Japan and India have different communication expectations than nations in Europe and the Americas. Reading and understanding those patterns is a skill, and it’s important to master, not unlike patterns that exist between clients from different industries. Everyone who works with customers hones these skills, but not everyone realizes it.
A lesson any global organization can take away is to be as open-minded as possible and to not take things personally. Everyone has needs, be it DMARC for keeping their domains safe online or another business desire. At the end of the day, it is about inviting and trying to understand others in a way that leads to building a greater world together.
For anybody working globally, observe existing relationships first. Play by the books before putting your own spin on things. Offering technical advice and gathering customer feedback are two key components to a business relationship; the personal touch that makes those relations memorable comes naturally with time. Conversations with customers don’t have to be solely sales-focused—they can be much more human than that.
Want to continue the conversation? Head over to the dmarcian Forum.
