Bringing your business to new markets in other countries has never been easier, thanks to the simplicity and availability of global advertising
When you’re expanding into a new market, you should definitely have a solid marketing plan in place. Fortunately, there are loads of online advertising options that can help spread the news about your business.
Do some research into social media sites in the countries you’re considering targeting. Do they have social networks unique to their region? Are Facebook and Twitter just as popular there?
Digital Marketing Tool: Digital marketing jargon buste
Digital marketing gives you easy and instant access to a global marketplace – and this makes expanding your business to other countries an attractive possibility
Before you dive in, you’ll want to evaluate your business’s readiness. Write down the countries you are interested in marketing your products and services to. Next, log in to your web analytics tool and review your geographic reports for the last six months. What are the top regions or countries? Are engagement or conversion metrics showing interest? This exercise can help determine if your business already has a certain level of interest from other countries, and can be one way to help prioritise the market you target first.
Visit a tool such as the Google Global Market Finder (http://translate.google.com/globalmarketfinder/g/index.html). Enter a keyword you are interested in researching. Select your location and language, then filter by your target market. Do you see any countries that might be worth researching in more detail?
To expand globally, you need to communicate in other languages and provide support to customers wherever they are
Matt needs to make sure his website is suitable for his Portuguese customers. He’s made a list of translation and localisation tasks.
The follow items relate to localisation:
√ Adjusting colloqualisms so they make sense in Portuguese
√ Calculating prices of the products in local currency
√ Adjusting humourous product descriptions so they make sense in Portuguese
Localisation is where you adapt content to suit the culture. For example, removing or rewriting colloquialisms, idioms or humourous content, and generally making the site feel as if it’s tailored to the needs of the new market.
Localisation might also include changing things like currency, addresses and cultural references to bring the content in line with the local market.
Make a list of the countries you want to target and note the languages spoken in each. Can you support the languages with your current or future translation plans? Before getting started, be sure you’re able to properly support customers in other countries.
Expanding into new markets is exciting – but it isn’t just about marketing. You need the right technical infrastructure, a strong supply chain and compliance with laws and regulations.
Before begin there are a number of things he should check, including:
Customs duties or tariffs
Portuguese taxes
Exchange rates
Product safety requirements
Whether he needs insurance cover
Go online and research business agencies and customs laws for your target markets. Call or visit your government taxation and business office to gain an understanding of your own country’s export rules. Put together a list of your discoveries and then consult with a legal or governmental expert.
When it comes to expanding your business globally, don’t assume that your website processes are ‘one size fits all’
What things will I do definitely need to do now he has customers in a new market?
√ Use an international payment system
Payment system can be used in Portugal, and accounts for different currencies and taxes. Paypal and Worldpay are two systems that have an international focus.
√ Research the Portuguese music scene
I know enough about Portuguese culture and the music scene to tailor his products to his customers.
√ Check his site from an international point of view
My site works from an international point of view. Matt needs to run through the process a visitor would have when they access his site.
Automated translation services can give people an idea of meaning but won’t translate the content as well as a native speaker would.
Doesn’t need to visit Portugal – that’s the benefit of online shopping. However, the occassional trip to the country, and learning the language, could help him better understand his customers’ culture.
Using a search engine, research the top payment methods in your target markets. If you’re not currently set up to accept this payment type, investigate adding it to your payment options.
You might have all your systems in place to accept international orders. But can you deliver your products accurately and on time? What about customer service and support? Are you prepared to handle refunds and exchanges across borders?
Needs to check the shipping process and the time and costs involved before he starts selling records to his Portuguese customers. Shipping across borders can be complicated and more costly.
Not all shipping companies support international shipping, and many require specific labels to ship, so Matt will need to do his research.
Matt will also want to make sure customers have a way to contact him from abroad in case of any issues.
Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash
DIGITAL MARKETING BY GOOGLE