5 points to consider when expanding your brand into multiple countries

With intensifying competition in many local markets, organizations are increasingly trying to scale their global presence. Expanding your brand into different countries brings opportunities to reach new customers, strengthen your brand and find fresh talent to help grow the business. Getting it right takes hard work, but it also brings great rewards.

Here are our five tips on how to set yourself up for success when bringing your brand to multiple countries.

1. Know your markets

You may have noticed increasing demand for your products and services from groups of tourists or overseas customers. But to justify setting up shop in their home countries, you need to know what’s driving that demand and whether it’s likely to continue.

To find the right opportunities for expansion in other countries:

• Thoroughly research the retail market for your brand in every country you’re considering expanding into. Who are the main competitors in your industry? What trends could affect demand for your products in this market? Is there a lack of similar products available because of a gap in the market or low demand?
• Identify which types of customers you should target and learn about how they engage with their favorite brands.
• Visit each country to make local contacts and gain first-hand insight into how the retail market will support your business.

2. Localize your strategy

Once you’ve decided where to expand your brand, the next step is to figure out how to do it. Differences in culture, regulations, languages and currencies can all mean you may need to tweak your offering to suit the local market. At the same time, you should always keep your values and unique selling point at the center and ensure a consistent brand experience for customers worldwide.

How to localize your internationalization strategy:

• Work with a local advisor to understand how to adapt your brand to suit your target audience.
• Recruit local talent familiar with the culture to give you a head start in finding the best ways to engage with consumers, such as their preferred social media platforms.
• Consider whether partnering with a local business could help you gain a foothold in the market.

3. Find your ideal location

Careful research is key to finding the right location for your brand. While consulting local agencies could point you in the right direction it’s also worth taking the time to walk around and explore the area for yourself.

Tips for selecting the ideal location for your brand:

• Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer: how easy will it be for them to reach you? How far is your business from offices, urban areas, schools, main thoroughfares? Are there parking spots, public transport links, or sidewalks available?
• Spend some time in the area and observe how many people walk past your physical store during the day: do they fit your target demographic?
• Think about deliveries and distribution: will it be easy for suppliers to drop off your goods?
• If you’re running home deliveries, check out the local road network and make sure your store or warehouse is within easy reach of those areas.

4. Make sure your software supports your business needs

You might be expanding to two or three countries now, but how many will you want to reach in the future? Finding software that can support current and future business needs in every country you want to expand to is essential for success.

 What to look for in a software for international retailers: 

• Make sure your system can provide information and product details in the customers’ (and staff’s!) own language and pay in the right currency(ies).
• Make life easier for your employees and select a system that reduces manual work. A unified retail management system ties everything together in one platform – from financial management, to inventory, and Point of Sale – ensuring  smooth, efficient and intuitive workflows and menus.
• Make sure you can meet local regulatory requirements. For example, if you’re expanding your brand to a fiscal country such as Russia, Romania, Poland and others, you need to make sure your retail equipment complies with that country’s certification standards.
• A centralized system that can be tailored to the needs of each country will make it easy to roll out changes and create reports for the whole business or different geographies/ branches. It should also give you reliable reporting so you can see which strategies work best in each location.

5. Go global, engage locally

To engage customers in multiple countries:

• Think about how you can use social media, apps, the web, and loyalty programs to create a seamless brand experience for customers across the world. If they can engage with your brand from anywhere, you can gain valuable insights on the best places for expansion.
• Create local groups on social media to build an appetite for your products in countries and areas you are thinking of expanding to.
• Localize your social media presence to reflect the languages, currencies and personal preferences of customers in different countries – and enable them to benefit from local offers, information, and events.
• Use customer data (with their permission) from social media and loyalty apps to provide personalized offers that reflect their tastes and shopping habits.

Expanding your brand into multiple countries is an exciting challenge. By researching each new market thoroughly, working to meet local expectations, and putting a system in place to support the languages, currencies and regulations of different countries, you can build a firm foundation for global success. Do you need more information or help on how technology can support you in your growth plans? Contact our experts.