Business profits for brick and mortar store fronts in remote locations, can also come from international sales. On French national television recently there was the story of a Frenchman that got 90% of his business from 50% of his customers through internet sales on a website he created.
International Business Case Study
International Internet Succes From an Isolated Brick and Mortar French Location
The story is cute and spoke of the difficulties he faced with his business.
This unschooled 65-year old clock repairman from a very small city in the French countryside is looking forward to his retirement. But he is finding it difficult to get someone to replace him. He did not say that getting business to his little shop was hard. He didn’t mention difficulties speaking with his clients, even though he only speaks French. He found it difficult to find someone who was willing to move to the small city to fix clocks that are shipped in from all over the world. His international customer base is vital, as it is for any business that wants to expand.
Localization is the process of making an easy to read website that is suitable to a foreign market. This is the task of taking an existing website and molding it to be acceptable to an audience far away. This is much more than translation. Translating a website is changing the words to be read in a different language. The art of localizing your message englobes all of the subtle changes necessary to make your message communicate fully to the reader.
Internet gives any businesses the ability to reach an international audience. I am sitting in France as I type this. Small businesses should know the importance of having revenues in different economic environments. They should also by now be recognizing that an important step in those international sales is directly related to the localization of their website.
If this clock repairman from an isolated French town with a population of under 20 thousand can create an international business, you can too.
If you are interested, you can see the full report on TF1.
More On International Case Studies:
- Case Study For Getting Your Website Visible In Japan
- Internet Strategies For French PME
- Internet Success For An Isolated Brick and Mortar Store
- Should Successful Internet Marketers Get Into International Marketing?
More In These Get International Clients International Sales Road Map:
- Discover Your International Business
- Plan Your International Sales Road Map
- International Market Research
- International Web Visibility
- Connect With Your International Markets
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It’s quite likely this guy has extraordinary skills or very rare skills, but it is reassuring that even from faraway places people can still go global.
Kenneth
Kenneth,
I don’t think international success is not directly related to talent or skills.
I actually see it as a mindset issue….and business opportunities and good marketing.
When I hear about local businesses, any business, I see international opportunities everywhere.
Sure I would need to learn more about the business at hand.
But there are so many different angles to take when looking at expanding your business internationally.
More established businesses might be weighted down by their own branding issues.
But even then, what is really stopping them from doing something on the side?
International business success can start small, the only thing you really need is action…then the capacity to adapt to business opportunities and good marketing skills. Again your mindset is vital at this stage too.
That’s why a step-by-step action plan for expanding your business internationally is the key. It gives you the time to adapt along the way. Adapt your products and services, your marketing, your budget…and your own mindset.
Ready Fire Aim + adjusting your international mindset throughout the process = less risk + success if your business idea is internationally sound.
This French guy took action above all else. He just got up and did it. And then he adapted to the international opportunity as he needed to: he gets in his car. Sure he made mistakes in the beginning. But his mindset was right. And he persevered.
I think that is where most international businesses get stuck – they don’t take action and then adapt to what they come up against. And then there is the problem of wanting to go too quickly and forcing yourself on other cultures.
Any thoughts?
so, what do you think about the main differnce between e-marketing strategies and brick-and-mortar maketing strategies? why?
Phibe,
That is one big open ended question.
Well, if I give you a general answer, and assuming we are talking about e-marketers and not people caught up in the internet marketing to get rich quick business, this is what I think:
Most e-marketers get too caught up in the software-based marketing tools. They can easily lose their main business focus, or not use the tools well enough to guide their marketing well.
Most brick and mortar businesses do not use the marketing tools available to them to discover new business avenues.
Essentially, they only look at marketing from their own perspective. Customers today see online and offline businesses as one market.
And that is why the difference in marketing can hurt your business.
I see, that is a bit complicated. I need to assimilate it~ Thanks a lot for ur answer~
Great carnival, got a lot of posts to read. Thanks!
Hi there Norhafidz,
Thank you for dropping by…
And glad you like the carnival. They are always an excuse to take the time to see what others have to say.
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