Redefining an apparent problem as a dilemma can help unlock new ways to grow a brand
If you’ve been in an airport at any point in the last decade, you probably remember seeing the famous HSBC ads lining the corridors. The bank’s campaign pushed us to rethink the ways we frame our daily routines, such as relying on prescription drugs or herbal remedies to cure what ails us.
What is interesting about these provocations is that we perceive them as dilemmas, where we are urged to make an “either or” decision rather than one that’s “both and.” Helpfully, HSBC also got us thinking about whether what works in one part of the world works everywhere. For businesses with global reach, that question now matters more than ever before. Consumers, clients and customers want to feel heard and understood at a local level, and want to be offered more than just global templates as part of an anonymous corporate globalization strategy. If we frame the business question as a dilemma rather than a problem, it opens up a much wider, more creative range of options that typically deliver more profitability.
Problems vs dilemmas
Typically, we define a problem as something with a discrete beginning, middle and end which must be fixed, solved, erased, eradicated. A problem has a clear-cut solution, and is resolved once that solution is applied. A problem, such as making changes to your brand’s name so it works around the world, is readily fixable, and once done, it almost never recurs.
A dilemma is when you are faced with two tensions that seem to be opposing, with the temptation to focus on one of the two rather than on both at the same time. Each tension influences the other; clear advantages and disadvantages are associated with each of them. Until the tensions are recognized and strategies are developed for integrating and managing them, the issue will recur, often leading to much budget and attention being assigned to “solve” the dilemma – rather than to manage it. It is an approach that never removes the challenge.
Common dilemmas include the challenge of balancing safety and speed to market, of managing pressures to focus on your products or services while being equally focused on clients or market segments, and the challenge of whether to centralize key functions or to locate them in your countries or regions. And for international brands, the global/local dilemma is one of the most frequently recurring.
Analyzing dilemmas
It may seem daunting to try integrating the tensions that shape business dilemmas – yet it’s not as difficult as you think. The first step is to identify the two tensions and look at the pros and cons of each. Work with your team to generate points for and against each tension – but keep in mind that the cons of one approach are not the pros of the other.
Next, in order to optimize the pros of both, ask: “How might we do X and Y so we get these benefits from both?” List – and prioritize – the strategy options that get the best of both. Apply criteria to decide which to take forward: these may include the amount of complexity that can be tolerated, the amount of cash required, the breadth of stakeholders that would need to be engaged, or possibly how much time is required to change today’s approaches.
Remember that you are not seeking a neat “solution” that will resolve the issue and confine it to the past; the nature of dilemmas is that the opposing pressures will continue to create tension. But by actively managing the dilemma, you can choose which benefits to pursue.
Managing the global-local dilemma
For marketers, pressure from clients, customers or consumers for ever-more local offerings makes the global-local tension one of the most common dilemmas. There are a number of common potential strategies for managing it.
Freedom in a framework Defining which aspects of your products or services can be localized by country or regional teams, via some clear parameters. For example, they may be asked to localize formulations and pack sizes, or put marketing comms into local languages.
Sharing best international practices Creating an internal forum with representatives from the various country business units that amalgamates the group’s observations of which current offerings are effective, and ways they could be more relevant through localization.
Experimentation Trying some specific localizations to gather cause-and-effect data resulting from localizing different aspects of the value proposition.
One brand that has shown itself adept at integrating global and local is the Nestlé KitKat candy bar. In the UK, where it originated, KitKat’s offering of flavors is fairly traditional (including caramel, dark chocolate, orange, dark mint and hazelnut cream among others) across 29 count lines, including a vegan option, two-finger bars, four-finger bars, an Easter bunny and Easter eggs.
In Japan, while most KitKats are the famous four-finger bar, the range of flavors is specifically built around that country’s consumer: it includes wasabi, matcha green tea, pumpkin, baked potato, sake and even hokkaido melon (sweet melon and mascarpone cheese placed in between thin wafers). This localization is a good example of the “freedom in a framework” approach, as the Japanese business was given guidelines for what must stay the same (the brand name for one), while being at liberty to vary the flavors. The Japanese team also recognized the importance of putting the bars in nice boxes for gifting. It has helped make it a common gift before important exams and other events, capitalizing on the fact that the brand’s English name sounds very like the Japanese phrase kitto katsu to, “sure to win.”
Go local
Reframing your international marketing challenge as a dilemma can help to manage the apparently contradictory pressures for global and local brand approaches. It allows you to cater to customers, clients and consumers who expect most of the same benefits of brands’ global offerings, while creating the flexibility (and revenues) needed to adjust for country or regional preferences. Ambidexterity in managing the tension between global and local will certainly be rewarded.
