By: Stephanie Aanstoos
Account Coordinator

July is a prime month for travel and vacations. I for one had a wonderful visit to our nation’s capital for the Fourth of July (very appropriate, I know). I’m guessing many of you have taken a summer vacation as well, or have plans to soon. But what about your brand? Is it ready to travel, regionally expand or even go international? If your company is growing, it may be time to reevaluate who your target audience is and what markets you’re reaching, or have the potential to reach.

With social media and digital marketing, you can now easily network globally and target people and areas that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. The internet allows any company to become a global retailer without physically leaving the country. Here are a few questions to ask before taking your brand abroad:

  • Is your competition entering international markets? If not, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be the first one to take this step; however, if they are, you definitely should explore expansion.
  • Are other markets in need of your products? The biggest reasons to expand may be to meet the needs of those in other areas. Do the research to determine the potential demand for your product and weigh the costs and benefits to calculate the return on investment (ROI).
  • Is your business capable of promoting, delivering and supporting your products/services abroad? Just because the ROI shows a high profit potential, doesn’t mean the move is logistically possible. You will need to plan ahead and scope out the differences in the new markets.

If you and your company decide the time is right, you must now begin to formulate a strategy. There are two different strategies to use when going international: global or multi-domestic. A global marketing strategy standardizes marketing efforts in all countries and assumes all markets are the same. This allows for centralized management and increased efficiency, but clearly fails to grasp the singularities of individual markets. Multi-domestic marketing strategies acknowledge that consumers vary by market and tailor products and messaging to each.

The types of products you offer and the industry you’re in will factor into which strategy is best. There are many other things to consider with these, but we won’t go into any more depth right now. Assuming you are just in the phase of beginning to market to audiences in another country, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Relevancy. People will only pay attention to things that are important to them. Just because you put it out there, doesn’t mean anyone is going to read it.
  • Local knowledge is key. Get into the heads of the ideal customer in the new market; research and learn as much as you can, because these consumers are not going to be the same as your current target market.
  • Transcreation. This is just a fancy word for adapting your message to another language. Don’t just translate the text of your site, the name of your brand, or your taglines because each country or region will have different cultural points of reference. Your campaigns will not resonate or be received in the same manner.
  • Barriers to international marketing. There are many barriers to know and understand before expanding to a new country. These include: legal, language, monetary, distribution, domestic competition and tariff barriers. Learning the laws, regulations and cultural nuances is key to international success.

Even if you’re not ready to go global, our world is becoming more interconnected everyday. If you have begun to reach audiences outside your primary geographic location, you should look into expansion, or at least reevaluate your communication strategy and consider different plans for different markets. Good luck and safe travels!