admin Today’s world has become smaller, more connected. With modern technology and infrastructure, establishing a business has become easier. But the true success of business lies in harnessing the global purchasing power. Circumstances are favorable for any enterprise to fare well in the global market, be it retail, logistics, consumer services or manufacturing industries. Opportunities are abound. There is no dearth of opportunities, and the rewards for success far outweigh the risks of failures. The root for such advances is globalization. Globalization can be traced all the way back to the Roman civilization. They had truly started the globalization revolution. In more recent times, the concept of globalization was popularized further by Thomas L. Friedman in his book “The World is Flat”. In this book he argued that the pace of globalization was accelerating, and that its rippling effect would continue to impact business organizations and business practices even in the 21st century.
Going global, a term that is quickly becoming popular and is defined as the world wide movement towards economic, financial, trade, and communications integration, is as important for small and emerging businesses as it is for large and already established corporations.
Taking a business out in to the global market can be a challenging and daunting tasks. Here are a few things to be kept in mind that can help your business not only survive but flourish in international markets.
- Localizing your brand
The first and foremost thing needed to make your business successful is understanding the culture of the country you want to set up your business in. And the main factor that goes hand in hand with culture is the language. It is paramount to have a thorough understanding of the local language. Even though English is the predominant language of the world, locals would consider your business foreign if you refuse to use their language. They would happily flock to their already existing, local language speaking businesses. Serving consumers whose primary language is not English should be the first thing on your docket.
Once you have a good grip on the local language, care must be taken to understand the culture of that region. Business promotion should be done carefully so as not to hurt sentiments of the locals. If anything, you should conform to their culture, which would make your brand more endearing. Humans regard organizations that understand their culture with great respect.
- Employing local professionals.
Whenever you are expanding to a new region, it always helps if you hire the local professionals rather than bringing professionals from your own country. The first question that locals always ask whenever they see a new business open up in their region is: “How many jobs are going to get created?” They hope and wish to work, and if they learn that the new organization that is being set up is ready to employ the locals, it would make your brand appear more friendly. Word of mouth is a crucial factor, and the employees working there would automatically spread the word about your business, making your brand more known region wide. On top of that, it would be much cheaper to hire locals than bringing professionals from your home country. There is a lot of red tape and bureaucracy that can lengthen establishing your workforce and make it heavy on your pockets. Hiring locals would simply eliminate this problem.
- Research overseas market
Always ensure that you have done proper research about the local culture and unique market conditions of the region where you are expanding your business. The research should include relevant regulations. The best way to do this is by sending a team on the ground to the various parts of the region in your expansion plan. Besides dispatching a market observation team, have some of your best minds spend time with the locals to better understand their culture and develop contacts.
Overseas markets can hold significant growth potential for all types of businesses. However, it takes a proper transition strategy to successfully expand from a local to a global reach. Several large brands have established an impactful presence abroad, and the same can happen with you.
The difference between the success and failure of your product depends entirely on the difference between good and bad market research. This rings even more true when initiating a workspace in foreign markets.
All the various challenges and obstacles of market entry are compounded when you enter a market with different cultures, customs, languages, laws, and infrastructure to what you’re used to dealing with in your home market. If rigorous research is not conducted beforehand, the risk significantly grows, and your business may have a hard time surviving.
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