2 fatal business mistakes Western expats keep on repeating in the UAE

4 min. read.

"People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic." - Seth Godin

I would argue that this conclusion is particularly true for businesses in the UAE. But let me start from the beginning...

Although I left the corporate world in 2014 and threw away my marketing strategist hat to pursue a new career, SMEs - managed by Western expats - still keep on approaching me with the request to have a closer look at their blind spots.

Continue reading! Even if you do not work in marketing. I will gladly explain you why: The two expensive mistakes, which Western companies seem to repeat in the UAE can be most clearly seen in marketing departments, yes. But the ignorant thinking, on which the problem is based, goes through all departments and hierarchy levels. Let us have a closer look at these two faux pas today.

1.The power of the traditional, familial & tribal culture

The UAE is a country with a culture that is strongly influenced by traditional, familial and tribal values and bonds. This is not a personal opinion, this is a fact. So there is nothing to judge, nothing good or bad about it. If you keep the history and development of the 45 years young UAE in mind, this social phenomenon perfectly makes sense.

Now how does this knowledge help us in the role of a Western expat doing business in the UAE? The answer is quite simple, we just seem to have forgotten about it: People trust people; not companies. Some of you will argue that this principle isn't only true for the UAE, it is relevant all around the globe. Correct. But due to the special emphasis on relationships, the business culture in the UAE is more people centric than in Western countries.

If (business) relationships matter more than back home, we have to spend more thoughts, time and money on our networking, strategic relationship building and maintenance activities. How? Here are a few examples:

Go to resp. send your sales staff and GMs to leading industry events, (let them) speak at conferences and - this seems to be a nightmare for Germans - talk a bit about your family when networking. A bit I said. Give people a glimpse of the private you. Also important: Listen to your customers and understand their needs, ask them how you can improve the user-experience, invite the most important ones to special events or send them small but high quality (keep the "VIP mentality" in mind) presents - especially when they helped you with a favor. This will increase the likeliness to get personal recommendations, which are highly valued in the UAE.

2.The game-changers: Local content & language

Many Western companies and businessmen I talked to have the tendency to go for a "one size fits all" strategy. They use the same Marketing, PR & Sales content - e.g. flyers, project examples, case studies, presentations - as they use back home in their countries. This does not and will never work. Why?

Think out of your customer's perspective. They want to feel special. They want to have the impression that your services/products are custom-tailored. If this isn't the case, they will still want to know if your products/ services also work in the UAE - in a different business culture, on a different legal foundation, in a different climate etc.

The best way to convince a customer is to show him UAE based project examples and local success stories. Quote local clients, show local pictures and videos, speak about your outstanding intercultural problem solving skills etc. In one sentence: Do great local work and then proudly talk about it. If you don't, you miss out on potential business opportunities. Last hint: Always mention your local address and customer service number. Imagine it is Sunday and your customer calls your UK office... suboptimal, right?

Another important aspect is the language barrier that might have a negative impact on your business. Once again, listen to your customer and do your research: Is it enough to use English content or should you also translate your material, web page etc. into Arabic? Do you need Arabic speaking sales/customer service staff? If so, keep the different Arabic dialects in mind - which one do you need? In some industries the major decision makers might be from a totally different background (e.g. India, Pakistan, the Philippines). Also do a proper research on legitimate Arabic copywriters, the market - from what I have seen so far - has room for improvement.

Conclusion

I hope I could convince you of my conclusion that only Western businesses and people who understand the power of relationships, cultural differences and the art of storytelling have a realistic chance for a sustainable, long-term business in the UAE.

And no, the tools and strategies for achieving this target are not rocket science. They just require a tiny bit more social intelligence, empathy and effort than economic theories or business schools taught us.