steps to successfully expand your business abroad
steps to successfully expand your business abroad, By definition, “going global” is the worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration.
The concept of globalization dates back to the Roman Empire.
Recently, the concept was popularized by Thomas L. Friedman, which argued that the pace of globalized trade, outsourcing, and supply chaining was accelerating and that its impact on business organizations and business practices would continue to grow into the next century. XXI.
For small and emerging companies, “going global” is when a significant company could disrupt its existing business activities.
Therefore, it is crucial for CEOs and business leaders to understand its full impact and determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks.
Stakeholders across the organization are invited to take on more responsibility to continue running day-to-day activities, in addition to the global initiative.
Taking a small global business is a complex and dynamic process.
Gaining a thorough understanding of target markets, competition, current local market trends, and the requirements to successfully launch and drive growth lays an important foundation.
To help grow your business internationally, follow these top 16 steps :
1. Conduct in-depth market research
Before you go global, it’s critical to understand what the full impact will be on your business.
- Prepare a market segmentation analysis to determine if your product will sell in the local market.
- Prepare a product gap analysis against local products. Is there a demand that is not satisfied by a local company?
- Perform a SWOT analysis against the competition. Your product will probably be more expensive than local products. Will the market buy your product?
- Consider market/size opportunities . How big is the market and how long will it take to capture targeted sales?
2. Develop a Strategy and Business Plan
Each market has its own nuances due to economic, cultural, government, and market conditions.
It is important to develop a localized strategy and business plan that drives local success while remaining integrated with the overall company strategy and goals.
- Define short, medium, and long-term strategies. Set reasonable goals to measure progress and costs/benefits.
- Define goals, objectives, and success metrics.
- Complete the business model and structure. Decide whether to set up a separate company, a branch, or a sales office.
- Develop a descending annual budget.
- Develop a tactical project plan with commitment dates.
3. Establish a high-impact team
Many global companies try to launch with executives from the parent company or quickly build a local team from scratch.
This is time-consuming, and risky and reduces time to market. Using proven interim senior executives allows the company to hit the ground running, quickly validate assumptions, and drive key readiness initiatives while the company hires the right management team.
- Bring on senior interim executives with deep domain experience or outsource interim leadership to executive leadership organizations.
- Establish the financial infrastructure: Consider outsourcing it to local service providers.
- Begin the recruitment process for the permanent leadership team.
4. Product preparation
Based on your product gap analysis, take steps to market your offerings for high-impact product differentiation.
- Review specific government and industry regulations to ensure compliance and certifications are obtained if necessary.
- Determine if any product localization is needed. Pay close attention to the translation of your product name into the local language.
- Start a patent and trademark review: Some countries are known for “copying” good ideas.
- Initiate quality assurance tests and reviews based on local standards.
- Consider a local logistics and distribution network. Who will sell your product and how will you get it?
