Haven’t you heard, the world is a global village? So why should your company remain stuck in your hometown if it has the potential to grow and expand globally? You’re right, it shouldn’t. However, if you feel like you are ready to grow your business globally and take over the world, you should know that this is not an easy endeavour, but it can be very rewarding. It is a road that requires careful planning from the very start. Later on, you will have to deal with the challenges of staying competitive on an international market, but let’s just stick with the easier part for now.
1. Research, research, research
Do not be in a rush to rule the world and enter a market without researching its rules and the demand for what you are offering, beforehand. This is a mistake that costs a lot of companies their profit and even leads them to bankruptcy. Perform thorough research of market size, entrance, labour supply, cost-efficiency, legal regulations and geographical constraints. This information will help you narrow down the markets for your company’s global beginnings.
2. Understand the culture
Businesses should first understand their target audience. Taking a company global is more difficult than starting a business in your home country. In order to engage a foreign audience, you need to be culturally sensitive. You can’t just assume that the same strategy that worked at home will work on them. Try to research what content resonates the most with the culture of your new market.
3. Ask local experts for help
For previous steps, you can ask the local experts to help you out. They can give you great insight into the rules of the game in their country and the characteristics of the audience. For example, if you are planning to expand your business into Australia, and want to settle down in a prominent city suburb or a central business district, a desirable way to go would be to consult an expert Parramatta solicitor regarding everything ranging from acquiring an office space to settling partnership disputes.
4. Overcome the language barrier
Moving your business from the United States to Australia doesn’t pose much of a problem when it comes to language. However, moving your business from an English-speaking country to Germany, France or Brazil can potentially become a huge problem because of the language barrier. Hiring a freelance translator can be a great start towards the solution. They can help you negotiate with partners and clients, and translate your website to different languages.
5. Establish personal relationships
Pulling the strings from your home country can be convenient, but it isn’t effective in the long run. To build relationships and trust with your managers and employees, you’ll need to facetime. Visit the country or countries where you are planning to establish a foothold and talk with your new associates about the company’s ideas and goals.
6. Localize your marketing strategy
As mentioned in step 2, an important part of establishing a business abroad is understanding the local culture. This will help you tailor a marketing strategy according to the demands of the local market. A significant step here is researching the local competition and their marketing strategies, so that you can find the best-suited means to stand out.
7. Seek local allies
If you see that you are struggling with succeeding in the local market, you should not hesitate to seek help from local businesses. These companies are already proficient in selling and marketing to the given marketplace. Building trusting relationship with them can provide you with a support system and valuable insight into the language, market trends and culture.
8. Set up an international billing system
Currency exchange and different payment systems used to be the most complicated aspects of expanding the business globally. However, with new technologies and payment tools, it has become much easier to set up a billing system for another country. In fact, most of these methods often include the fee and tax guidelines for the given country, so you don’t even have to research that on your own. There are also convenient international credit card processing options, so this part of the expansion is made much easier.
Expanding your business outside the borders of your country requires considerable effort. But with the world becoming more open to international businesses, there are a number of tools and strategies that make this journey far less tedious, and a little more delightful.
