How to turn your local Business into an international Business

Image credit: Tyler Franta from Unsplash

Whether you have turned a hobby into a career or managed to turn a great business idea into something profitable, you should always be on the lookout for ways to grow your business. This is due to the fact that consumer habits are continuously changing - and you have to be able to change and grow alongside them if you want to remain relevant and in demand. In many cases, failure to adapt results in company closure. ​

One way in which you can grow your business is by turning your local business into an international company. Here are some tips to get you started! 
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• Company growth is rooted in your ability to lead your team, delegate tasks, and get the job done. Therefore, if you want to expand into the international market, you also need to become a better leader. One way in which you can achieve these goals is by signing up for leadership courses. You should also ensure that you develop a strong bond with your employees, as your ability to work together will impact how your business grows. 
• Before launching your international site, focus on growing your online presence - paying particular attention to your metrics. For example, how many followers do you have in each country? This can give you some indication of the areas in which your products or services may be in demand and provide you with a sense of direction moving forward.
• Ensure that your website is easily accessible, no matter where in the world your customers may be viewing the site from. You may also want to consider working alongside a translator so that you can have a few different versions of the site running at once. This makes it easier for customers to understand what you have to offer, and therefore increases the chances of them making a purchase. 
• Do your research ahead of time so that you are aware of the various complexities associated with international trade and product shipments. This way, you can put your best foot forward as you begin to offer your services to a wider audience. For example, you may want to look into professional customs brokerage services to ensure that you can transport your products in a calm, risk-free manner. 
• The amount of customers you obtain is paramount to your success, therefore, you need to ensure you give them plenty of reasons to purchase a product from your company. Thankfully, there are various ways in which you can achieve this goal. For example, you can grow your brand’s reputation by featuring positive reviews and testimonials on your website. 
• Do not presume that the market in one country will be exactly the same in the other - as consumer habits, behaviors, and responses often vary largely from place to place. Therefore, you may benefit from hiring additional staff who have experience working in various different countries. For example, if you were planning to launch a German website for your business, having a person on board who understands the German market and perhaps even speaks the language can make a huge difference.
• Update your market strategy regularly, and assess the success of your previous campaigns to see if any changes need to be made. For example, if you are spending a lot of money on social media advertising that you are not earning back in sales, this is a clear indicator that your social media presence needs some work. 
• Stand out from the crowd (even in the international market) by figuring out what you offer to your customers that they cannot get elsewhere. This is known as your Unique Selling Point, and it can help to set you apart from the rest of your competition and reel in new customers. Once you’ve figured out your USP, ensure that you factor this into your advertising and marketing campaigns.
• When working on the sale page of your website, make it as easy as possible for your customers to make a purchase, as a complicated process is likely to turn people away. For example, you may want to ensure that products can be purchased in a number of different currencies as opposed to dollars alone.
• When expanding your business, you’ll also need to think carefully about your finances. Even if you are doing a good trade, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the extra cash in the bank to fulfill your scalability dreams, according to financing expert, Aurora Capital. The good news is that you don’t always have to bootstrap your way to success. If external people with capital believe in your idea, they will be keen to finance it and make it a reality.  Improve your marketing materials and look for ways to create a convincing case for expansion. The more attractive you make your vision of the future, and the more believable it is, the more money will gravitate towards your enterprise.
  
  

In short, there are various steps you can take to turn your local business into an international business, many of which revolve around simply marketing yourself correctly and ensuring that you enter the market at the perfect time. To put it simply, you need to find a gap in the market that none of your competitors are filling - and ensure that you take up the space.