International Customer Expectations
In order to get international clients you need to pay special attention to your international customer’s experience.
What does this mean? Well, you really need to be aware of what your international customer is going through.
Where? At the intersection of your business and your international customer’s needs.
Response To Customer Needs
Let’s have a look at the two different levels of his needs in international business:
- The need your international customer has and how your offer fulfills this need.
- Your international customers needs during his buying process.
Cultural Differences
In international sales the response to these two different sets of needs can highlight cultural differences.
Positioning Your Offer For The Best Cultural Response
The first basic need all businesses need to address is the offer.
Selling a product to different countries usually involves a new product positioning.
- Different cultures may appreciate different qualities or features
- Different cultures respond to different emotional buttons in sales
Identify Cultural Differences In The Buying Process
Different cultures have different ways of buying things. And they may have different needs during the different buying stages:
- Inquiry
- Evaluation
- Purchase
- Use of product or service
- After sales support
Some cultures may have more developed needs at different points in the buying process. This can make the buying process seem different in different cultures. You may need to address different points in varying degrees of detail or differently.
Process And Questions
All good sales professionals follow a process for evaluating their customers needs and moving them towards the sale.
- You need to adapt this process for your international clients.
Part of this process is knowing which question you need to ask your customers.
- With international customers you need to remember to ask the appropriate questions at each of the different buying steps.
Your Offer
First, you need to keep their one big need in top position. This is the need your offer fulfills.
For sales success, you need to understand exactly how your offer fulfills this need. And this information comes from your international customers. Any assumptions based on customers from other countries can be wrong.
Immediate Needs
Next, you need to know what your international customer needs at each specific step of his buying process.
This means systematically asking what your customer needs at this particular point in time. Again, assumptions based on your knowledge of what works in another culture can be wrong.
If you are just beginning to develop your business in a particular country, these questions and their answers are also vital for your exploratory market research.
Focus On Your International Customer
The process of finding out what your international client needs is important. Your company might have a process that does not give your full value.
A good process does not need to be complicated. Often it is the most simple tactics that work best.
International Sales Guide
With the right process you will be able to create an International Sales Guide, or cheat sheet. This is a very short guideline outlining all of the key sales and marketing information for selling one specific product in one specific culture.
How do you do this? Well it all starts with:
- Finding the right questions to ask
- Asking the right questions to identify your international customer’s needs
- Finding your best response to these needs
- Identifying anything stopping your international customer from fulfilling his needs
- Good teamwork and collaboration to see the whole picture of your international customer’s experience
- Creating the best experience for your international customers
Use Your Strengths
A very large part of creating a good experience for your international customers is in the details.
Most people focus on language and cultural barriers. This is natural.
But instead of focusing on your weaknesses, why not focus on your strengths.
You can often create a great experience by paying attention to the details you hear from the international customers you already have. This is a process most good sales professionals do well. They simply need to adapt these skills to international customers.
Yes, cultural differences can make the process seem difficult in the beginning. But perseverance in listening to your international customers will increase your international skills.
The process of finding the right questions and asking them at each step along the way gets easier with practice. And improves your international sales.
More On International Customer Expectations:
- Cross Cultural Customer Service Expectations
- Customer Expectations, Satisfaction & Loyalty
- International Customer Experience
- Up-Sell Expectations Across Cultures
More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:
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