Is your business ready for international expansion? The following tips can help ensure success when it’s time to take your brand global.
Understand regional laws
Marketing to a global customer base requires developing an awareness of any regional regulations or laws that may impact your products, services, advertising strategy, sales and so on. Specifically, you must have a thorough understanding of tax code, corporate law and customs in your target region. Failure to consider these regulations could spell disaster for your expansion plans.
Create an international website
A global business needs a global website, so follow these steps to make sure your site is optimised for an international audience:
- Ensure your site design can accommodate translation without losing readability.
- Use servers near your global customers for faster page loads.
- Be aware of any colours or symbols on your site that may confuse or offend your audience and adjust icons and graphics for proper interpretation.
- If you use e-commerce on your website, build in a function that easily converts currencies, so your customers don’t have to.
Adjust SEO
It takes some finesse to create SEO strategies that work on a global scale. Take some time to learn about different search engines favoured by customers in your target market, as they may differ significantly from the ones you’re familiar with. Work with native speakers who have expertise in SEO in your target market to get a sense of the keywords and phrases that will drive your content and help localise your message.
Embrace new cultures
You must develop an understanding of the culture you hope to target with your international expansion. Consult with local professionals, content creators, marketers and translators to help focus your communications in a way that will resonate with your expanded audience.
The goal of expanding your business globally is to create a wider audience for your product or service. By taking some time to learn about and understand new cultures, legal issues and local differences that could impact your messaging, you’re setting yourself up for greater success in an international market.
