At some point or another, just about every business needs to think about expanding their operation. Sometimes it’s simply the desire for greater profits. Other times, it becomes a necessity simply to keep competitors at bay. In either case, if you’re looking to expand overseas, there are definitely some important elements to consider if you want to succeed.
Do Your Research
Don’t just assume that because you’re doing well in your current location, you’ll automatically do well elsewhere. This is a naïve assumption that will definitely cost you quickly. Plus, when you’re moving overseas, this is even more true. Chances are there are a number of things about this new market that differs from the one you’re used to in a number of ways.
So look into everything from local trends to culture to government to competitors. Once you’ve done all this and decided it still makes sense to move, you need to start considering how you’ll translate your product or business into the language and social norms of this new overseas market.
Understand the Culture
That dovetails nicely with this next point. You’re about to do business in a brand new world. So don’t expect promising results if you can’t understand their culture. This is about more than just the foreign market. To succeed over there, you should know how to do everything from greet a friend, use slang and understand how their history still affects their present.
Find Business Partners
Most companies rely on some kind of business partner for their operations. If this describes your business, be sure you look for local options when you expand. Using your current partners could cost you in a number of ways, not just where overhead is concerned. Local business partners will also help you land a new network of industry resources in this foreign land and help you transition into this market.
Go with Local Marketing
You may have a perfectly sufficient marketing team at the moment, but they probably won’t be up to the challenge of handling this essential task while overseas. There’s enough on your company’s plate right now without adding the headache of trying to market to an overseas market you’re hardly even familiar with yet.
On the other hand, a local marketing team already speaks the language, understands the market and knows all the social norms. They can get your marketing up and running in no time.
Learn the Law
This should go without saying, but doing business overseas means you need to know all the laws involved there. Everything from labor laws to your taxes change when you cross a border, which leaves you very vulnerable if you’re not careful. Here, too, it can help to hire an advisor to assist you.
Speaking of laws, this starts from day one. Say, for example, you’re taking your business to Singapore. In that case, you absolutely must register a Company in Singapore in order to do business.
Keeping the above in mind and addressing these issues as soon as possible is the easiest way to take your company to a new market and find the success you wanted?
