International Business Development Strategy
In today’s economy, it seems that everyone is scrambling to keep existing clients and find new ones. And the question of getting international clients pops up.
The trouble is that some people seem to look at developing their international business with a little too much haste. The businesses that contact me for guidance on developing their international business almost always need to be reminded of the following three important points.
Find The Right Product
It’s easy to embrace international business when you already have something to sell. If you are currently selling something to local clients, it’s easy to assume you can sell it abroad.
The problem is that your assumptions may be wrong. And the problem gets bigger if you develop a marketing and sales plan based on these wrong assumptions. The sad thing is that wrong assumptions can keep you from identifying great market opportunities.
Key Point: Spend time to make sure your product is appropriate for your international market. The amount of time you need to spend on market research here depends on your business, your product and many other factors.
Tip: There’s a balancing act to do in knowing when you have too little information or whether you’re expecting too much information at this stage. You may need a little bit of international marketing flair to know when you have enough information to proceed.
Position Your Product
Even when you’ve identified what you want to sell in a new foreign market, you still need to spend time to find the best way to position your product within this new market. Your sales success depends on how well you can position your product in your international market.
Key Point: Find the right way to position your product for international sales and use this in your international sales and marketing tactics.
Tip: Different cultures respond to different emotional buttons, so always listen to learn more about these emotional buttons and improve your empathy with these clients.
Adapting Your Product
When you sell to different cultures, you may need to adapt your product to increase your sales appeal to different clients. It’s not always an easy task and there are many little things that can be overlooked.
In addition to this, adapting your product to an international market can also impact many different areas of your own business. The process can take some time to get it right.
Key Point: Give yourself time and resources to learn how to adapt your product to sell well to different cultures.
Tip: Pay close attention to your assumptions about your international market and spend time cultivating and listening to feedback from you new clients.
Successful International Business Expansion
Many businesses spend time preparing to enter a new market only to realize they need to re-work their sales and marketing once they reach the entry point.
This is a direct result of cultural differences and the challenges faced when trying to sell to people who respond to different emotional buttons and live in a different environment.
What About You?
- Do you have any international business tips to share?
- How are you developing your international business?
- What are you doing to identify the emotional buttons that bring in international sales?
More On International Business Development Strategy:
- 3 Key Points For Businesses Going International
- 5 Actions To Start Developing Your International Markets
- Action Strategy For International Business Development
- Aligning Your Questions To Build Your International Business
- Are People In Small Countries Better International Business Developers?
- Are You Outsourcing Too Much?
- Define International Business
- Global Or International Business?
- Is The Expense Of Foreign Travel Stopping You From Getting International Clients?
- Market Research For International Business Development
- New International Business Development Phase Today With The Right Marketing Mix
- Online Success? Study Traditional Paths To International Business Development For More
- Plans With Adaptability, Flexibility And Agility
- Small Businesses Need To Take Action To Uncover International Business Opportunities
- When Discrimination Is Useful In International Business
She is who I turn to when I have questions and you should too"
-- Chris Garrett, co-author of the "Problogger" book
