Tips on taking your business international
Taking any business international can be a really daunting prospect regardless of how prepared or confident in the journey one might be. It not only means entering a new and unfamiliar market totally different to the one you’re already used to, it also requires stepping outside of your comfort zone, and will mean taking a bit of a risk. That being said, taking a business international can be an incredibly lucrative move and, in some cases, is essential for expansion and growth into new territories and towards new audiences.
Having expanded from a team of three people to operating in 23 different markets around the world, with offices in Spain and Hong Kong, I have vast experience of taking a business international, and have the following tips to offer those thinking of doing so:
Choose your market wisely
Before doing anything to take your business international, you need to ensure that you firstly pick the market you want to enter into, and ensure that it is the right choice for your brand.
It might help you to make a shortlist of potential territories that you could easily move in to, focusing on those that are most suitable for your product(s) and service(s), as well as where the highest demand is for what it is that you are offering. Take time over this initial stage and implement as much market research as possible, and it will help you in the long run to ensure you’ve not wasted any time.
Understand the international market
Once settled upon a new location, or selection of locations, it’s vital to take some time to understand how the market works, as cultural differences could hugely affect how you operate in terms of how consumers buy, what types of marketing and outreach works there and the best methods of attracting and retaining new audiences. Understanding how the market you are moving into works will help you to finetune your strategy, make sure that you reach the right people and that your message is relevant at the same time as staying on-brand with your global messaging.
Start with a small trial
You don’t want to throw all of your resources into a market you are still somewhat unsure of, until you know for sure that it will work; you need to take risks if you’re expanding globally, but they need to be calculated. Start small, earn your first £1 before scaling up your operation. If your first attempt works well, then great – you can expand and scale up, but if it doesn't, then you can go back to the drawing board without having lost significant resources.
Be realistic in your expectations
Although starting small and scaling up is certainly the best way to go about taking your business international, this process will take time. You can’t expect to hit the ground running and assume you’ll witness exponential growth straight away. Accept that the process will take time, and set realistic timelines so as to temper your expectations.
Form local partnerships
Make use of any connections that you have in the local market, and partner with people that you know and trust from the area if possible. Unless you have an extensive knowledge of the market you are entering into (and this is probably unlikely), you will need to make use of local connections to help and support you. Often – and this is particularly the case in our industry – there will be local people that can offer advice and assistance. If you don’t have any pre-existing relationships with anyone in the market, your best option would be to begin reaching out and forming a network in your chosen location.
Familiarise yourself with local regulations and legalities
This is something that will be helped hugely by any local partnerships that you form, but it would be prudent to learn the local laws and regulations yourself, as they could differ substantially to the ones that you are already used to. Seek assistance from a regional lawyer with experience in business expansion, or even a specialised international expansion consulting firm, to help you get to grips and understand the local rules and lingo.
Tailor your marketing efforts
As already touched upon above, each country has its own unique culture and ethos, meaning that marketing efforts that you employ in your own nation may not work as well in a different territory. You need to think of what will speak most keenly to the local market, and what will stand out against other competitors in the area. In addition to this, it’s helpful to have an online presence in each market that you are operating in, and ensure that all content is tailored to the crowd there.
Taking your business global isn’t an easy task, and the above tips scratch the surface of what you need to do, but they form a solid basis of what you should do, and it all starts from picking a relevant market, and ensuring that you take the time to fully understand it.
