or most entrepreneurs, the goal is to eventually sell worldwide. Entering foreign markets means you get to reach a much wider audience, so there are more people to buy your products or services equalling a huge influx in profits. However, it can be a little more complex than you might have first realised, and there are some things that you’ll need to bear in mind when it comes to going global. It’s a massive undertaking and there will likely to be issues along the way that you’ll need to resolve first. Here are some points to think about.
Product
The first thing to ask yourself is whether the product your selling will be suitable for the foreign markets you want to enter. Find out if there’s already a competitor there who can sell what you’re selling for much cheaper, or if something in the culture that would render your products useless to the people who live there. For example, if you specialise in cold weather clothing then selling in a hot climate isn’t going to be suitable!
Marketing
The difference between different cultures in the world is enormous, there’s so more to selling abroad than simply translating an ad or marketing campaign that you’ve had success with over here into another language. A country’s culture and their values will massively depict what kinds of things they’re interested in buying, so you need to know what marketing techniques that will work on them or work with a company that does. There are lots of reasons why a company that’s successful in one country can be a failure or even an in another, so don’t just take chances.
Communicating
One of the biggest difficulties you can face when selling overseas is the language barrier. It could be worth hiring an interpreter or use a company like Architekst; while English can be considered as a ‘global’ language, only 20% of the world’s population actually speak it. So the language barrier is something you can’t afford to overlook.
Shipping
If your company sells physical items (rather than say digital items or online services) then shipping them globally is something you will need to consider. If the items are very large or very fragile then you might need to rethink some materials. You will also need to check if the ingredients or materials in the items you’re selling are permitted in that country, some materials and ingredients are banned in different countries so just because it’s legal where you live doesn’t mean it will be the case everywhere. You could look into investing in your own fleet of ships, or you could build a factory and distribution centre abroad, making it easier to get your products to new destinations.
