(ThyBlackMan.com) After establishing a successful business within your home city and growing great reach across the entire country, the next logical step is to expand your business abroad. The benefits of such expansion many; it allows you to expose your business to an entirely new audience, allowing for exponential increase in both sales and brand awareness.
Like any new challenge, expanding into a foreign market takes careful consideration and planning. The way you approach business abroad will undoubtedly be different, from international business protocols to adjusting to the customs and cultures of foreign consumers. Remembering this will allow you to stay ahead of the curve.
Find your key market
Substantial market research is needed here in order to identify where your business is most likely to succeed, but there’s a lot you can learn from companies who have successfully walked the line before you in the shift from domestic to international. For example, British payday loans provider Wonga quickly became one of the UK’s fastest growing digital
companies upon its foundation in 2006, partly thanks to its focus on young, urban professionals, who typically were not catered for by payday loan providers. Wonga built its image and its products around a strong and growing target market,
They also displayed continuous technical savvy that’s been influential in their ability to scale quickly – they were the first company to master a fully automated customer risk calculation, they were also first in providing an instant lending application on the iPhone to make their user experience as simple and straightforward as possible.
The company’s rapid growth in the UK gave way to opportunities abroad. Wonga saw that Spain was a viable opportunity thanks to their intricately detailed market research into consumer awareness and subsequent demand for ‘quick and easy’ online approach to loans. In 2013, they fast-tracked the expansion into Spain when they bought up an established competing site in the region – Credito Pocket, which was based in Barcelona. Wonga have since taken further strides into Canada, South Africa and Poland with similar success thanks to their watertight expansion methodology.
Before taking the plunge, invest in thorough market research in order to find a need that your business can fulfil, there is no guarantee that one country’s customers will display the same buying habits and needs as another. Base your decisions on strong first hand data and minimize your own assumptions based off previous success (until you can validate them).
Adjust to local standards
A new market in a new country will require some getting used to. Presentations and meetings take on varying structures depending on what country you’re in. Even big differences such as those between hierarchical management structure and a more flat, equality-based management style can vary widely from country to country within Europe.
In some cases, your presentation style and even how you deliver your content may require an overhaul before you can be successful in a new country. Some countries may expect your pitch to be succinct and direct, whereas others may allow a meeting to run on – or not even start on time. Be sure to research the business culture of the market that you are interested in and adjust to local standards as much as possible.
Communication issues
Your new country may speak English, but that does not mean they are speaking the same language as you. Americans are often caught off guard by British euphemisms, mistaking British politeness as positivity. In much the same way, the American tendency to offer positive feedback as constructive criticism is not always understood for what it is by Europeans. While a British person might phrase an order politely by asking “could you take another look at this?” an American or European may misunderstand this as advice or a suggestion, and not something that necessarily needs to be followed through. Similarly, being told something is “great” in Europe often means that it is close to completion, if not perfect already. However, “great” can simply showcase polite enthusiasm when it comes to business in the US.
Overall, expanding into a new market is an exciting step for your business, and one that, if done right, is sure to bring countless benefits to your company. Adjust your expectations and prepare accordingly and you will have success on an international level.
Staff Writer; Peter Sumlin