For many business owners, the idea that they can grow and expand their business into different markets is a big deal. Often the idea of just making sales in the first place is a big step. But after a while, you are going to start setting bigger goals.
To the point that you might even toy with the term ‘going global.’
Going global means selling to more people worldwide, ensuring you are up to speed with things happening in different countries. Eventually, you or some of your staff might need to call on commercial moving experts to get new offices set up.
Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash
It’s a big deal and a lot to think about. Here are a couple of tips about what you need to consider for going global.
Deep dive into your company
You might think that you know everything there is to know about your company, and perhaps there isn’t that much to know. Well, here are some things to chew on:
SWOT analysis against other companies in the countries or states you are expanding into
Is there a product gap that you have or one that you can fill?
What is market segmentation like? Could you sell to that local market?
How big is the market, and how long would it take you to capture your targeted sales?
Business plan
You might be confident in your business plan and think you might not need another one. However, you will need a fresh business plan and a strategy to deal with each new country you are moving into. You’ll be dealing with localization - and if that isn’t something you are familiar with, you should make sure you learn what it is and how to use it.
You’ll need to define the following:
Strategies in the long, medium, and short term. Including the costs and the benefits.
Create objectives, goals, and what your success metrics will be.
Will the business model and structure be the same? Or would you need to take a different approach?
Products
Are your current products ready for the new market? Or do you need time to get them ready? And more specifically, is there anything you will need to do to remain competitive in the new market?
Quality assurance and product testing to satisfy the new market
Local logistics and distribution
Product localization (things like power cords, batteries, translations, and language
Copyright and trademarking
Organization
Are your organization and the team ready for the responsibility of being a head office? Do you or your team leaders feel you are ready to move to a new office to ensure there is no downtime?
You all need to be flexible and prepared for some hiccups along the way when it comes to your expansion - having a team that works well to adapt and move forward with one joint goal is essential for the successful expansion you are looking for.
One way to meet some of the expansion goals is to start outsourcing some tasks to people locally to the market you will be moving into: Key Things To Consider When Outsourcing Your Business.