{"id":2569,"date":"2018-05-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brightpearl20.wpengine.com\/secrets-to-global-growth-8-questions-to-ask-yourself-about-your-products\/"},"modified":"2024-11-22T21:55:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T21:55:31","slug":"secrets-to-global-growth-your-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brightpearl.com\/blog\/secrets-to-global-growth-your-products","title":{"rendered":"Secrets to Global Growth: 8 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Products"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the second post in our \u2018Secrets to Global Growth\u2019 series. You can <\/i>recap on the \u2018Finance\u2019<\/i><\/a>\u00a0and ‘Ecommerce’<\/a> posts now.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

In our first \u2018Secrets to Global Growth\u2019 blog<\/span><\/a>, we quoted <\/span>Nielsen\u2019s Connected Commerce Report<\/span><\/a>, saying: \u201cShoppers are increasingly looking outside their country\u2019s borders, as more than half of online respondents in the study who made an online purchase in the past six months say they bought from an overseas retailer (57%).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s some serious slice of the overseas sales pie that ideally has your brand name on it. So if you\u2019ve decided the time is ripe for international expansion, then we\u2019ve identified eight key questions you\u2019ll need to ask yourself when thinking about launching your products into foreign markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Are you making the most of the market you’re already in?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before expanding overseas, consider whether you\u2019re already making the most of the market you\u2019re currently in. Are you efficient? Do you have a fast time to ship record? Are you quick at invoicing?<\/span><\/p>\n

By considering these questions, you\u2019re able to check whether there are improvements you can make to ensure you have efficient processes in your home country, before expanding and taking old habits overseas that could impact your ability to meet demand. <\/span><\/p>\n

2. Is your business ready for international growth?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Think about whether you have accurate data on inventory<\/a> availability, and whether you can see which countries have growth opportunities for your business.<\/span><\/p>\n

An intelligent back office system<\/span><\/a>, combined with a great reporting tool like <\/span>Inventory Planner<\/span><\/a> will enable you to effectively plan your product strategies and forecast demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also need to be aware of product margins, including the extra costs associated with international expansion and how much it will cost you to ship your goods overseas. <\/span>Check out the finance part of this series<\/span><\/a> to find out more. <\/span><\/p>\n

3. Will you become an indirect or direct export business?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When selling goods overseas, you\u2019ll need to make the choice between whether you will become an Indirect or Direct Export business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indirect Export businesses rely on brokers to ship, market and sell their goods overseas for them, while Direct Export businesses manage the process and control the profit themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re unsure which is best for you, your business and the market you\u2019re launching your products into, then there are lots of organizations around that you can turn to for advice, including your bank, foreign embassies, Chambers of Commerce, and even local business advice centers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each of these organizations have different levels of expertise and knowledge that they can share with you, so it\u2019s worthwhile speaking with each of them during the initial research phase of your growth project.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. How will you localize your brand name?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Consider how your brand name will be translated overseas, and also how cultural differences may impact consumer perception of your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been a number of companies that have re-used their brand name overseas and realized that wasn\u2019t such a good idea (even large conglomerates).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Take Coca Cola for example<\/span><\/i><\/a>: <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

They launched their product in China, only to find out that the translation of ko-k\u00e4-k\u00f6-la meant something like \u2018bite a wax tadpole\u2019. Whoops! Thankfully, they\u2019ve since re-branded to be Kekoukele in China, which means \u2018tasty fun\u2019, and is much more suited to both their product and their brand.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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If needed, find a native speaker within the markets you\u2019re expanding into so that they can identify how your brand name will be translated and perceived overseas. Otherwise, you\u2019ll need to do some extensive research yourselves before deciding whether to re-use your brand name or find something better suited to who you\u2019re going to be selling to.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Do you need a new pricing strategy?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In order to adjust well to exchange rate fluctuations, as well as meeting local market needs, you\u2019ll likely need to <\/span>rethink your product pricing strategies<\/span><\/a> ready for global sales. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ensure you research thoroughly how your pricing will affect your profits when selling goods overseas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Will you need to increase them in order to recoup costs spent on additional storage, extra staff or export prices? Or will you need to discount your prices in order for the consumers in your new market to be able to afford them?<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, should you consider letting your clients pay in their local currency? More and more consumers want to be in control of how they make payments, so it may be worth thinking about when you evaluate your current pricing strategies. <\/span>Adyen<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is a good example of a business that lets consumers pay however they want. <\/span><\/p>\n

6. Are your products right for the new market?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Re-wrapping your current items rarely works, unless you know that your popular, niche products are missing in that overseas market.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s often that different markets call for different requirements, and you\u2019ll need to seriously consider whether there\u2019s definitely a need for your products in the new market, and whether they need a few design tweaks before launching. You may even find that the newly designed products are better for other markets including your home one as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Consider this Procter and Gamble example<\/i><\/a>:<\/i><\/p>\n

The company wanted to expand their Pampers Diapers into Japan. Initially, the diapers were large and bulky, but due to smaller storage spaces in Japanese homes, the Japanese audience needed more compact diapers. Thus, P&G reengineered their diapers to create thinner ones. Not only did they do well in Japan, but they also made it onto U.S. shelves as a more refined and better designed product.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Product design is, of course, a key part of your market research, and in truly understanding your new customer. When investing into international expansion, you\u2019ll need to be certain that your product will be heavily desired in your new market.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Can your business adapt to a different logistics and distribution infrastructure?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Logistics and distribution infrastructure vary around the world. For instance, in India, major corporations like Coke and Nestle have to use non-traditional channels of distribution in order to reach the vast majority of Indian nationals residing in small towns and villages.<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to get your goods in front of consumers, you will need to heavily research how that country operates and fit in with their processes and practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, you\u2019ll need to identify whether your business can support this change in logistics and distribution, both from an operations perspective and regarding the costs involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. How will you actually sell and promote your products?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When selling your goods to overseas consumers, check that you\u2019re listing your products on the appropriate sales channels, and that you\u2019re on the marketplaces the localized market are used to shopping on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some examples include Cdiscount in France, OTTO in Germany and Rakuten in Japan. <\/span>Here\u2019s a great list<\/span><\/a> of ecommerce marketplaces around the world that you can use to map out your sales strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also think about how you\u2019ll advertise your products to your overseas market as well. Social media networks, for instance, differ across countries, both in terms of which platforms are more widely used, as well as how they are used. <\/span>Check out this guide<\/span><\/a> to see exactly what we mean.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In case you missed our other posts in this \u2018Secrets to Global Growth\u2019 series, you can recap on them now via the following links:\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n