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Are you planning to take your business international?
If yes, thumbs up! In a country where about 50 percent of new businesses die within 10 years, it’s a major feat that you have beat the odds and are now eyeing the global market.
Doing business globally is an ideal way to grow your market base and increase your revenues tenfold. However, pulling off a successful global expansion is easier said than done. In fact, it’s possible for an expansion to go wrong and result in the failure of a business.
That’s where this article comes in.
Continue reading to learn how to take your business global successfully.
Are You Really Ready to Go Global?
Expanding quickly too soon is one of the major reasons many small businesses fail.
Clearly, the stakes are high. This is why you need to be sure that your company is ready for global expansion.
How do you do this?
The first thing to consider is the demand for your product or service outside of your local or national market. Just because your company is doing well in your country doesn’t necessarily mean it will replicate the success in other nations.
Have thousands of customers in international markets been inquiring about your product? What about competition in the markets you want to enter? Are there well-established companies that are already offering a competing product?
Next, look at your internal capacity as a company? Do you have the funds to finance a global shipping line, for instance? What about the personnel?
When you have answers to these questions, it’s easier to tell whether your company is truly ready for global expansion.
Identify Global Markets
Going global doesn’t necessarily mean you start doing business in all the countries across the world. You have to be strategic. This means identifying countries where you will expand to first.
There are several factors to consider when picking a foreign country for your business. There’s product demand, ease of entry (government regulations and taxes), and culture.
An ideal nation should have a strong demand for your product and entry regulations shouldn’t be prohibitive. You also want a market where the culture of your target customers isn’t vastly different from that of your own.
For instance, as a business in an English-speaking nation, there will be cultural differences, including language barriers, if you plan to expand to say, Spain.
If you have to, this would mean hiring Spanish-speaking employees and even using a translation service to break the communication barrier. Contact here to speak to a translation company that can help you.
Choose the Right Entry Method
Your market entry strategy can make or break your global expansion efforts, so it’s super important to get it right.
Entry methods include direct exporting, franchising, joint ventures, partnering, licensing, and acquisition. The right method for you depends on a number of factors, including the nature of your product and the market you’re eyeing.
Once you have chosen a method, keep assessing its effectiveness. If it’s not working, choose another method.
Is your Business Ready to Take on the International Markets?
Global Expansion Done Right
Global expansion can be all your business needs to finally evolve from a small business to a big company. However, it can also bring your business to its knees. What makes the difference is how you go about the expansion. With this guide, you now know how to do it right.
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