Anyone who has had their own business for a while will tell you building a business and expanding globally isn’t always easy.  In order to be successful you must have a structured plan to grow your business.

This is much easier when you have a clear idea of which markets you are going to target this year and who those customers really are in those markets.

We want to make sure that your international marketing materials and messages are all closely aligned with each territory and genuinely localised for your customers, so that your product resonates with them. 

You must show you understand them and they, in turn, will be able to follow you and your message will speak to them clearly. No matter what their language. 

Here's 4 questions you should ask before finalising your global growth plans...

1. Should we streamline our business for a specific Niche?

If your plan is to grow an online business only, then you will find that niches genuinely work best, specially when scaling up into new markets globally. This is because the internet is a huge place and rather than needing another amazon or eBay, the market wants and is looking for specialisation and personalisation. 

The market, your customers, search this vast ocean of space for specific terms, specific products and specific ideas. They do this in every country, worldwide.

Therefore, if you can streamline your business to appeal to certain niches you are going to do far better as you grow globally, than trying to be a generalist.

I found this great article online by Alibaba’s drop ship that have picked out which product niches they think are going to be highly profitable with low competition this year. Check it out here.

These include product lines which are are tapping into the eco buzz that is around at the moment and also looking at some specialised tech and accessories.

2. Have we brainstormed new growth markets?

You shouldn’t be afraid to diversify your business as a growth strategy and one way to do this is to have a brainstorming session about all the potential new markets that you could take your brand into.

This could be new locations globally, new product lines and range extenders or even new verticals.

A great way to brainstorm new growth markets is to hold a strategy workshop. Allow yourself to come up with some off the wall suggestions, put them out there - you never know what might stick.

Of course, you will need to do a full business case to support any investment into new markets and new product lines but if you are bold enough to embrace it, it could lead you to become a specialist in a new field.

3. Have we actively considered new Sales Channels?

As well as looking at new markets, you should proactively be looking to find new sales channels for your products. You don’t always need to sell into different countries to get growth.  It's not the only way. Instead, consider expansion via different online sales platforms and marketplaces as well.

Maybe you only sell direct to your customers from your website now, you could quickly expand your sales channels this year by using sales platforms like Amazon and Walmart marketplace as other outlets for your products.

This is a step that is relatively easy to do and brings with it a huge target audience of willing customers. Be brave enough to look around and see which sites and platforms have a ready-made audience for your specific products or industry. 

The beauty industry is a great example that is filled with multiple "curated" websites featuring brands pulled into a single platform under drop shipping terms. 

4. Have we checked Google Trends?

When looking for a new market niche it is important to use all the tools available to you, such as Google trends. This will let you know about the volume of searches for your potential market. If there just aren’t enough people looking for your products, then it is probably not worth expanding in that area, unless you have very big budgets to create the market!

Do some market testing with any new product ideas. Ask your potential customers what sort of products they are looking for and what they want to see developed in the future - what functionality or design are they missing now and what do they feel is the next trend?

Make It Happen In Your Business

Reviewing which markets you are targeting this year should be a central part of your annual marketing plan and core to your overall business growth strategy. 

It is especially vital to review this before you launch into a fresh international location or product line. You want to truly understand the market you are targeting for growth and your customers.  Our aim is always to evolve with these customers as they change over time so that you deliver what you know they will want and your business stays fresh and competitive.

Next Steps:

• Consider if you have clearly defined the niche for your business - if not, can you become truly known for something? 
• If you are driving for International expansion, take some time to reflect on whether there is further work to do to niche down and get closer to your target customer in each country.  Can you get more specific in your customer messaging this year, can you localise your messaging? 
• Make sure that as you create your Marketing plan for this year, that a full review of the market you are targeting and the customer you want to serve is at the heart of all your business growth activities.
• If you would like my help in creating your 3 year business growth plan and brainstorming ideas for growth, please feel free to schedule a call.