068 – Guest Interview: Cultural bridges into Asia – expanding successfully with Kathryn Read

Kathryn Read is an international sales and marketing consultant with over 25 years’ experience developing niche products in emerging markets. She helps small and medium companies to break through international barriers, creating successful entrepreneurs and a thriving global marketplace.

Kathryn firmly believes that business is done between people, and places her focus on building strong relationships that form a solid foundation for doing business. She sees herself as the bridge between small and medium food and drink companies and their ideal distribution partners in Asia or Eastern Europe.

In this episode we talked about global expansion topics including how to build up cultural insights that will help you communicate with people by going beyond cultural stereotypes. Kathryn also shared how to build cultural dynamics into negotiations and key entry mistakes businesses make when they expand into Asia.

What you will learn in this episode:

How to successfully prepare when launching into a new market
Balancing local market and global head office requirements
Key entry mistakes businesses make when they expand into Asia
Adapting brand communication for local consumer needs- what you need to consider
Building cultural dynamics into negotiations
Understanding the people you are working with, going beyond cultural stereotypes
Developing your cultural knowledge
Trends in Asia for 2024
How to make sure your messages land when you communicate

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