One day, you’re making your daily commute. The shops and service centers you pass by are indifferent to you because you already know them like the back of your hand. You see places like coffee shops, flower shops, auto parts stores, and other businesses that most likely have a very local reach. You identify with these businesses because you own one too. However, you’re nervous because, thanks to a lot of effort and discipline, a new challenge is looming before you.
When your brand began life, the date when it could expand beyond its national borders seemed far off. Whether your company plans to take that leap in the short term or is already within that scenario, you should consider reducing the risk as much as possible. Market Research is an ally that should always be at your side. For this reason, we’ve listed four topics in which agencies in our sector can help you explore abroad.
General knowledge. Even if you got good grades in Geography at school, there’s a big difference between what you think you know about a country and what truly characterizes it. Landing on the right foot in new markets requires knowing them in detail. Market analysts are experienced in gathering current data and information. They are also capable of creating summarized reports full of key findings that will allow you to make strategic decisions instead of following hunches.
Target consumer. At first, you might think you can extrapolate your knowledge of the people your brand is targeting when exploring new markets. However, you may encounter surprises along the way. For example, in your home country, you may have a certain population size, but upon arriving in another country, you discover that the population is much smaller than expected. If you wait to discover these during practice, you could turn your expansion phase into one of irreparable losses.
Tropicalization. Although we are writing these lines from Latin America, we must accept a truth. You might assume that most countries in the region are too similar. This preconception can lead you to apply a “copy and paste” approach to all of your company’s processes. However, each market has specific characteristics that can make the ways you produce, market, and transport your offering impractical. That’s why it’s essential to adapt everything necessary.
Communication. You might also be convinced that it doesn’t make sense to adapt the content and audiences of your advertising campaigns to each audience. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even though we live in an era of homogenization due to the use of the internet, there are still brand differences that you must understand to resonate with each national market. Otherwise, you could fall into blunders and misunderstandings that could turn your company’s international expansion into a boycott.
Fortunately, all of the points described above, and others that, due to lack of space, are waiting for a future blog post, can be overcome by hiring the assistance and advice of market research agencies. Through the multiple methodologies and techniques we offer, you can pave the way for your foray beyond your comfort zone to be another step toward your growth, not the stumbling block that ends your journey.
At Acertiva, we are familiar with these cases and have had the opportunity to be part of teams that help brands internationalize. We have a team of researchers and strategic allies ready to understand your concerns and turn them into effective recommendations. Take advantage of our free fifteen-minute consultation to take the next step. It could be the beginning of your next success story.
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