The way we run our businesses is changing very rapidly and getting more international. With that practice various cultural differences and perceptions start to emerge. Since i’m in a fashion business i get approached by numerous manufacturers and social media agencies from all over the world offering their services. Recently,  i noticed a much larger amount of unsolicited emails and social media posts from the Middle East, China and India manufacturers. Some of their emails are professional but most are plain bad business practices. I think globalization is an amazing thing and wanted to give some tips on how i and other business owners in the USA and, probably, other countries would like to be approached:

1. Social media and intoroduction etiquette - Do not post your manufacturing information with prices on any brand’s Facebook wall and LinkedIn posts. Please do not Tweet about it either. Such information as manufacturing prices should be kept confidential. Best practice is to email the company with your services and price list privately. I would never approach a company that does it to me or someone else simply because i wouldn’t have any trust in them. Don’t connect to me via LinkedIn as a “Friend” because you are not and I will not connect you or do business with you after that type of introduction.

2. Size of initial information –  Maybe it’s a New Yorker in me but if your email or a post is more then 4 key sentences about your company or service i won’t read it because i simply don’t have time. I understand that there is a cultural acceptance in some places to ask a total stranger via email on how “your mother, father and grandparents doing” but i’m not inclined to have my family’s well being discussed like that. Please do not send generic emails that need to be scrolled 5 times to get to the point of what you’re offering and every single price per product. Please don’t give me 3 paragraph explanations about why prices in your world’s region is less then other regions. If i’ll be interested in your services i’ll respond inquiring more information or save your email for the future.

3. Offer only what’s relevant – Research companies you’re approaching and their business needs. I can’t even tell you how many times i’ve been offered metal scraps, scissors, baby blankets and other items that aren’t relevant to my business via all of my website emails, contact form, Facebook and LinkedIn. I understand that there is such thing as cold-emailing but target it better. The only thing that this type of an unsolicited contact gets from me is that i block or mark it as spam. I don’t email hardware stores  offering them my fashion accessories and you should use same common sense.

4. Social media service offers – Before  you approach a company research what social media strategy they already have in place. I had both individuals and companies sending me extremely long emails with a lot of big and meaningless buzz words offering to create my brand’s Twitter and Facebook Fan page. Why would i even consider using your services if you don’t know that i already have both and quite successfully in place. Isn’t making information sound more personal is a one of the main points of social media services?

5. Learn my name and gender - Sometimes i don’t know if i should laugh or get offended by that one. It’s understandable that mass emails are used to pitch services and it’s fine. Just to be on the save side use a simple “Hello” in the name field instead of “Sir/Madam”. Don’t just say “Dear Sir” because there are a lot of women who conduct business in today’s world. Someone should have told that to a man who emailed me that “he was willing to be working with a female”. Also, please, don’t call me “sabinales.com” because i’m a woman and human being and not a website. My name is Sabina and i get Sabrina, Salena, Sanina and other name combinations. If you email me with my name spelled correctly then you’ll get a lot more of my attention. Please don’t email to me stating that you “found my profile picture very attractive and therefore would like to conduct business with me”. As flattering as it is that picture was on a professional website not a dating one. There are better ways to combine professional and personal.

Hope this information will be useful and please feel free to share and add your experiences.