What happened to marketing in Vietnam?

If your job is to do international marketing in Vietnam - or in Finland - you really should [not] read this. It's a long story and may cause high blood pressure to some. Other overseas Finns - or Vietnamese - may feel a compelled to comment. Consider yourself warned.

In 2001, in my role as a General Director of EuroCham, I was asked to speak to the members of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry (VCCI) about Vietnamese prospects to market the products in the European Union.

And, I did, together with Mr. Niels A.R. Sundvik, then the Chairman of NordCham.

We gave presentations over the business and cultural aspects, and how should Vietnamese companies do their marketing and prepare for the future.

We both encouraged the companies in Vietnam to take active role in marketing, not to wait that someone comes to your doorsteps asking if you have something to sell.

We both emphasized on open communication, honesty in all dealings, consistency in good quality, and keeping the promises... to walk the talk.

Back then, consistency in quality and timely logistics were big issues. In one extreme case the goods disappeared and the container was full of stones... but that's another story.

Later, I was interviewed twice by Vietnam Economic Times, in June and in July 2001, and again I stressed about the importance of being proactive, and marketing as an investment that pays back.

I also explained marketing as an added value chain always keeping the customer in mind, where both ends of the chain are tied together as a loop, and where all the extra fuss and unproductive doing should be minimized if not entirely stopped to ensure Win-Win result... before LEAN was so fashionable. This part was never published for some reason.

Perhaps something went lost in 'translation'.

However, at the VCCI seminar, I added something that I never thought would be a issue here in Vietnam but did it because of my own background and experience as a Finn. It relates to communication and I quote myself:

"Remember that the very least you can do is to reply to every single potential customer, to every request, no matter who, from where or even if you do not have anything to sell to that specific company or person at that moment. Every connection or piece of information can be useful in the future."

I said this only because it was a big challenge back then in Finnish companies and to Finnish individuals, and unfortunately it still is.

Back in the 1990s, it was almost impossible to get any sensible reply from the Finnish companies.

Some say that the reason is shyness. Yes, it could be that the Finns are shy and reserved but I do not believe that this would be entirely the case. I still argue that it is about the attitudes... perhaps arrogance and ignorance, two destructive elements in business and life.

As I love my fatherland like any sensible person, I have always tried to communicate leads - aside of my real job - for the Finnish companies, and I have had few of those as I traveled quite a lot and met a number of business people all around SEA.

In 90 percent of the cases back in time, I got no response whatsoever. The remaining 10% was with no effort, mostly questioning who am I and why do I ask... although I always explained it in my first contact request.

Today, I mostly focus - aside of other things - on promoting Vietnam and the opportunities here as this is my home now. It shouldn't be even unpatriotic as a Finn because much of this effort is aimed at Finnish businesses.

Unfortunately, being an overseas Finn - 'ulkosuomalainen' in Finnish, no idea what it would be in Vietnamese... - is like being stamped as a "strange animal" among the entirely domestic species.

I could share experiences over few cases but just to save your time, I tell only about one. In mid 90s, I met - through a mutual friend - Singaporean investors and some people from Myanmar who were looking for crushers, conveyors and sorting devices. What a fantastic sales opportunity for some, but then...

After trying to get a reply from Finland many times, I finally got a very short reply: "We have a sales agent in Singapore, contact them", in Finnish language of course, followed by a name of the agent and a phone number that did not work. However, I did reach the agent who said: "Sorry, don't remember this company now, what are they selling?". After explaining, yeah lah, but no... country risk and all, sorry.

One Finnish company refused the opportunity with a reply "Asia is not in our strategy!"... with the exclamation mark, or course. Very understandable, strategy must be kept chrystal clear. Yet, I still wonder if it's really strategy that is to prevent business... or is it the culture that does.

So, in 2001, I cautioned Vietnamese businesses about the behavior like this.

What is the reality today?

Out of around 20 enquiry - to companies & people who I do NOT know - here in Vietnam in the past 20 months, I have received 3 + 2 replies of the following:

1. "We will get back to you as soon as we reach the person responsible for this". They never did get back, perhaps the person responsible got lost.
2. "Sorry, we don't understand what you ask. Can you write in Vietnamese?" The reply was in Vietnamese, and yes, with some assistance I did write in Vietnamese... no further response, maybe I wrote something wrong.
3. "We are not in exports, sorry". Well, it is a good reason not to sell... just as the strategy.

Two of the replies were swift, smart and well written. Absolutely crafted by professionals in marketing communication, reflecting an open corporate culture as well. In both cases, business opportunity was born and seems to go all the way through.

It means 10% success remembering that 17 companies out of 20 never replied.

Is ten percent a lot or too little?

By the way, another two companies - with their spam filters - rejected my mail as a spam. I don't remember sending spam to anyone, EVER... except one time when I sent some Hormel foods to Dalat, Vietnam.

Maybe it is about the credibility? After all, all the above was done pro bono, as a hobby I would say. Should immediately asking couple of thousand euros would add the credibility... what do you think?

Meanwhile, has anything changed in Finland?

Still no response and the country is in its deepest recession of all times. My good friend and one of my ex-clients in Finland just told me that even inside the country, he doesn't necessarily get a reply from the supplier.

My jolly good fellows... not like this, please!

Responding is reactive, right? How can we be proactive if reacting is already too hard for us?

In Vietnam, I understand that sometimes language could be an issue but seek some assistance then, there is plenty around, foreigners and local. The clients in Europe, USA, Australia or anywhere else are not going to learn Vietnamese just to buy stuff from you.

If it is about an attitude, like in Finland it just may well be, improve it. It pays!

If there is anything to learn from American, it is swift, businesslike and polite replies.