International Expansion Strategy – Deliver Growth
Take your business overseas which can open up new opportunities, at times of uncertainty in the current UK and global market.
The challenges of taking your business into new international territories are complex, but very exciting and getting this right can lead to sustained and robust growth.
Some of the specific advantages of going global include:
- You can reduce risk of relying too heavily on your home market.
- You can extend the sales life of existing products by finding new markets.
- Improve your potential for expansion and growth where you seek out new markets for your existing products or develop new products for your new market.
- Plan, Plan, Plan
- Exporting from UK into your target country.
- Appointing a local agent/distributor.
- Developing of local manufacturing, assembly, or local sales or service establishment.
- Licensing to a company in the target country.
- Establishing a joint venture with a local company.
- Establishing a new wholly owned subsidiary.
- Acquiring an established business in the target country.
- Transport costs.
- Trade obstructions which include tariffs, and non-tariff barriers.
- Political risks.
- Economic risks.
- Total Costs.
- Your short, medium- and long-term strategy.
- Prepare a market segmentation analysis to determine if your product will sell in the local market.
- Prepare a product gap analysis against local products. Is there a demand that is not satisfied by a local company?
- Perform a SWOT analysis against competition. Your product will likely be higher priced than local products. Will the market buy your product?
- Consider market opportunity/sizing. How big is the market and how long will it take you to capture your targeted sales?
- Carry out a detailed supply chain analysis – can you access the raw materials/logistics etc.? Or will you in the first instance rely on local distributor.
- Create localized commercial agreements.
- Review industry-specific regulations to ensure compliance and certifications are obtained if needed.
- Maintain corporate records and governance.
- Determine if any localization of the product is needed. Pay close attention to the translation of the name of your product in the local language.
- Initiate testing and quality assurance review based on local standards.
5) Establish Your Management Team
Many companies try to launch with executives from a parent company or rapidly build a local team from scratch. This is time consuming and can be risky. So use a proven senior interim executive that allows the company to hit the ground running, while the process of hiring the right senior management team is conducted without time pressure. 6) Establish a Go-to-Market Strategy Once you have decided on how you wish to go international (i.e. ‘build’, ‘buy’ or ‘ally’ or combination of all three). Ensure you have got your “go to market” strategy planned out. Ensuring you have a fully aligned sales/marketing strategy and team The effective selling and marketing of your products requires a comprehensive, cohesive strategy that addresses sales strategy, sales delivery, pricing, value proposition, marketing strategy, and marketing programs, which together create a clear market differentiators.- Decide on your optimum sales model: direct, indirect, OEM, distributor, hybrid?
- Determine your sales methodology: solution, feature, consultative, price?
- Develop a comprehensive marketing plan.
- Develop a detailed KPI (use A3 matrix) to ensure you know you are heading in the right direction.
- Develop a detailed on boarding marketing material for local distributor, if this is the route you decide to go.
- Evaluate and develop your pricing model.
- Expanding your business overseas is not for the fainthearted, but for most businesses it will be inevitable as global markets offer greater opportunities for growth. By carrying out a detailed planning process the difficult job of “going global” can produce great results and your initial detailed analysis of the opportunity will help guide your initial choices.
- Work out if you need to expand your export strategy or outwardly invest in a country by developing new sales channels; a manufacturing facility; logistics hub etc. Remember you can use a combination of different approaches at different times, based on what is most effective for your business.
- Pick your new market region/country carefully. Finding customers who want your products at the right price could be challenging, but put the local customer at the heart of your thinking- this will be the key to unlocking your business potential. Avoid using existing systems and procedures for convenience. Instead, put the new strategy and local customer needs at the heart of your thinking.
Contact Rakesh Shah 0778 555 8344