– Create a structure where buyers come to you first with LinkedIn content.
To enter the European market, mid-sized domestic manufacturers must participate in overseas exhibitions and trade shows in North America and Europe. Booth rental costs of 30 million won, sample transportation, interpreters, marketing materials, and travel expenses add up to at least 100 million won. Of the 100 visitors to a booth, only about five are decision makers with purchasing authority. Business cards are exchanged, but emails sent after the show have a response rate of less than 3%. Buyers may have visited dozens of booths that day and can't remember which company makes what product.
Securing distributors is another option. However, distributors prioritize established brands that are already selling well. New brand products end up gathering dust in a corner of the warehouse. If sales haven't been positive after six months, they demand additional marketing costs, claiming "the market response is not good." Networking through referrals is no different. Meetings are scheduled, but contact is often cut off with a simple "we'll look into it."
What CEO Kim Joseph Metel noticed was the commonality between these three methods: the lack of corporate control. At trade shows, they rely on visitors to their booths; in the agency model, they rely on the sales will of their distributors; and in networking, they rely on the influence of referrals. A more serious problem is that they don't know "why it doesn't work." There's no data. All they have is the simple conclusion: "It doesn't work."
When CEO Joseph Kim founded Metel in February 2024, he proposed a completely different approach: using LinkedIn content to attract overseas customers. "At trade shows, the first message is 'buy our products.' But on LinkedIn, the first message is 'we understand your problems,'" he explained.
CEO Kim Joseph studied video and illustration and held various positions at IT companies, including content director, product designer, and product planner. "On the surface, it may seem like a shift in roles with completely different characteristics, but the essence remains the same: we focus on changing perceptions and encouraging specific actions, focusing on specific audiences and the problems they face," he said.
He emphasizes three key points in content design. First, rather than instilling new perceptions, he focuses on reviving forgotten memories and emotions. Rather than explaining the need for data security, sharing the loss of having your passport stolen by a pickpocket while traveling in France becomes a compelling reason to explore cybersecurity programs. "The key to content design that creates a shift in perception is to reawaken and revisit buried painful memories," he explains.
Second, content is designed to allow consumers to clearly state their position. A statement like, "AI is transforming the marketing industry" might elicit a resounding "I guess so." However, a statement like, "Using AI copywriting tools will make your brand look like your competitors'" will give consumers pause. He believes, "Consumers remember content that forces them to clearly state their position with a yes or no, rather than content that simply concludes with a yes or no."
Third, content must be designed based on unique experiences and perspectives that no one, including competitors, can replicate. CEO Kim Joseph asked AI about the probability that someone who studied film studies would become a broadcasting station intern, IT startup content manager, product planner, product designer, and eventually a startup founder.
Even if we calculate it optimistically, it's 0.0000000018%. "There are 90 million entrepreneurs around the world, but none of them have the journey I've taken," he said.
Metel's approach is specific. First, she uses LinkedIn Sales Navigator to precisely define her target buyers. Filtering by country, industry, job title, and company size yields a list of thousands or even tens of thousands of potential customers. This is a far cry from handing out 100 business cards at a trade show. She already knows who they are, what they do at their company, and what their current interests are.
Next, we develop a content strategy. Twice a week, under the CEO's name, we publish content that addresses real-world concerns of our target buyers and suggests solutions. This isn't simply about promoting a product. Buyers who read the content will think, "This person understands our industry," or "This person could solve our problem."
We send personalized connection requests to buyers who engage with your content. These messages aren't spam. They're relevant to the buyer's interests, have already viewed your content, and offer information sharing rather than an immediate sales pitch.
"Buyers build trust over a three-month period by viewing content, exchanging comments, and engaging in direct messaging," explained CEO Kim Joseph. When the time comes to decide whether to purchase automated equipment, buyers contact us first. This is a structure that "encourages customers to come to us on their own initiative."
The initial investment cost is also about one-tenth of that of a trade show. Even if you combine Metel's service fee and the LinkedIn Sales Navigator subscription fee, it comes to about 4 million won per month. At 24 million won for a six-month contract, it's a quarter of the cost of attending a single trade show. More importantly, this investment isn't a fixed cost. If the exchange rate fluctuates unfavorably, you can instantly change your target country. Changing your target filter on LinkedIn takes just five minutes.
Every step is tracked with data. Content views, profile visits, connection acceptance rates, message response rates, and meeting conversion rates are analyzed monthly. Insights emerge, such as, "The German automotive industry has a 5% response rate, while the chemical industry has a 15% response rate," and "Messages emphasizing cost savings have a three-fold higher response rate than messages highlighting product features." If exchange rates fluctuate or regulations change, strategies can be adjusted within two weeks.
For the past 21 months, Metel has operated a LinkedIn-based overseas customer discovery service, analyzing over 180,000 content patterns across various industries. It currently has 70 cumulative clients, with a high proportion of mid-sized manufacturers in the manufacturing, bio-healthcare, ESG, and cosmetics sectors. In 2024, the company's first year of establishment, sales were 140 million won. By 2025, it is projected to reach 600-700 million won in annual sales, putting break-even on the horizon. In July 2024, it secured 350 million won in seed investment from Sopoong Ventures, The Ventures, and Mark & Company.
What CEO Joseph Kim aims to create through Metel isn't simply a LinkedIn marketing agency. He's shifting the paradigm of B2B overseas expansion from "waiting" to "taking initiative," "dependence to independence," and "opacity to transparency." Instead of waiting for trade show schedules or renegotiating agency contracts, companies can simply change filters and adjust their messages on LinkedIn. Traditional B2B sales methods, which once yielded a mere 3% response rate even with a 100 million won investment, are now shifting to digital direct sales.
You must be logged in to post a comment.