Cracking the global market

There are plenty of challenges that come with running an international company, not least ensuring the aims and culture of your firm are communicated to your workforce across different markets.

Expanding into any foreign market is not without its risks, so getting all of your employees pulling in the right direction should certainly be a priority. Part of this task involves getting staff, no matter what part of the world they are operating in, to understand your business’ values and getting them to believe in the product or service they are selling.

Once you have done this, it becomes much easier for them to push your goods onto the target overseas market.

Keeping in touch

Previously, speaking to different teams across a global network was a costly and time-consuming affairs and involved flying to different parts of the world for face-to-face briefings. This could sometimes even be counter-productive, with the hours spent travelling taking away from time that could be spent catching up on the work that accumulates while you are out of the office.

However, with international conference call facilities this is no longer the case, meaning the global businessman can have a meeting in Brazil and a meeting in Germany in the same day.

Picking the right people

Having the right staff at the helm is a must for any business, regardless of whether it is limited to a domestic market or the global one. For the latter, special attention definitely needs to be paid to make sure your managers have the right balance of local knowledge and home experience.

You should not underestimate the impact that having someone who implicitly understands the market can make on your business’ fortunes. Equally vital is acknowledging there are subtle differences in every territory you may try to establish your business in.

These may seem like minor details. However, if you give even the slightest impression you do not understand your audience, this has the potential to badly damage to your company’s prospects. As a result, getting people in who can help navigate around these issues can really help, especially in the early days of setting your firm up overseas.

Remaining focused

Think quality, not quantity. While it may sound impressive to say your business is operating in 16 different international markets, if the figures show you are struggling to make an impression in any of them, then you may have to question what you are doing there.

The key is to focus your attention on getting things right before expanding further. Business translation services like London Translationscan really help with this to ensure you are approaching consumers in the correct way, not only grammatically and linguistically, but also in terms of context and culture. This extends not just to words, but also colours and images, as you may find these have varying meanings or connotations in different markets. The last thing you want to do is sent out a mixed message.

Ultimately, stay true to what has already made your business successful, but be mindful that your vision may need to be tweaked slightly. Invest in the right areas, do not stretch yourself too far, too quickly and you will see your firm grow.

Cracking the global market
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