Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

Are You Ready to Go Global?

Sandy Tapper

Everywhere you look, globalization is being hailed as the next evolution in Internet marketing. But before you jump on the globalization bandwagon with the expectation that the world will now beat a path to your online doorstep, there are a number of business and marketing issues that need to be considered.

Some may see expansion into overseas markets via globalization as the quick-fix answer. However, without evaluating your business model, implementing a globalization strategy can be viewed in the same misguided logic as “we’ll lose money on every sale, but we’ll make up for it in volume.” Huh?

Whether your business is brick-and-click or solely web-based, don’t assume that expansion into overseas markets or foreign language translation of your site will make up for a poorly thought-out business plan.

Key Issues to Consider Before Going Global
Focus your resources on identifying and addressing the strengths and weaknesses of your current core online strategy, including asking these questions:

Who are your primary and secondary target audiences who are most likely to take advantage of your product or service; i.e., those with a greater propensity to buy what you’re offering?

Which of these target audiences reflect your most profitable revenue source?

Will these target audiences vary from geography to geography, given cultural and purchasing behaviors? If so, how will that affect your online approach?

How effective is your current English-language-based web site in generating online sales or meeting stated goals, especially from other countries? (Check your site logs or web tracker to identify your visitors’ countries of origin.) What are the incremental gains to be derived by globalizing?

What traffic-building programs have you implemented to generate online sales or achieve other goals? Will similar programs implemented in other markets be as effective, or are there other issues to be considered?

What are the realistic goals of site globalization, and at what cost? What are the expected return-on-investment (ROI) objectives?

If resources are allocated or diverted for globalization, what impact will that have on the effectiveness of your core site? Will the necessary funding be available to fully market your globalized online presence without diluting other marketing strategies and tactics?

Consider “Glocalization”
Much has been written about globalization, particularly how it’s more than just translation: language options, content, navigation and cultural nuances are just a few of the many issues that need to be addressed by webmasters.Perhaps you should consider “glocalization,” defined by Logophilia’s WordSpy as “The creation of products or services intended for the global market, but customized to suit the local culture.” Many US-based companies opt to translate, manage and market their sites from either their US headquarters or from a single overseas office.Glocalization via localized staff involvement and/or localized outsourcing can help dispel the “outsider” or “foreigner” image that may negatively affect your brand image. However, glocalization involves more overhead and less centralized control. If you desire a singular universal brand, this lack of control may be an issue, unless you have a “brand identity cop” on board.Go It Alone or Create Strategic Alliances?
Once you’ve decided to globalize, do you launch your globalization plan simultaneously across several countries, or do you go on a country-by-country basis (which may tip your hand to competition)?

It’s already a given that globalization requires the substantial investment of time, money and resources. The multitude of languages, cultures, currency and buying behaviors, let alone back-office operational issues, creates a complex infrastructure that can present a logistical and budgetary nightmare.

As you start on a globalization strategy, it may be prudent to start out on a centralized basis to understand, first-hand, the issues emerging from your particular business, web site and marketing strategy. From there, you’ll be in a better position to evaluate and determine your roll-out strategy into other geographic areas.

A less expensive, less traumatic option may be to create alliances or joint ventures with already-established complementary businesses in those markets where you’d like to expand your business. There will be headaches of a different sort, such as the melding of different corporate philosophies. Yet, the potential of going online sooner with an existing business may offer a more immediate benefit to the bottom line.

Learn -> Anticipate -> Plan -> Implement
When all is said and done, globalization is a business strategy that should be considered within the context of your overall business model and profitability objectives.

The above-mentioned case study on LastMinute.com highlights some real-world glocalization pros, cons and contingencies that every organization needs to address before taking the globalization step. LastMinute.com’s experiences clearly illustrate the need to evaluate exactly how and why globalization will benefit your business before implementing it.

Sandy Tapper is a marketing maven and Internet evangelist helping businesses achieve an impactful, results-oriented web presence through strategically-driven site development and marketing.

With an extensive track record in packaged goods marketing, retail services, high tech and business-to-business. She welcomes inquiries and comments at http://www.tappernet.com or stapper@tappernet.com.

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13 Ways to Find New Hidden Markets

Laurel Delaney

What is your global strategy? Your answer is a decision that reflects an analysis of market potential, company capabilities, and the degree of marketing involvement and commitment your management team is prepared to make. And since strategy drives how we react and address the business issues we face everyday, let’s examine 15 ways to find new or hidden markets in the world marketplace.

1. Find and expand into new geographical markets for an existing product. This is the simplest and quickest strategy to grow your business. It requires minimal investment with infrequent and either direct or indirect exporting, and little planning of market development. Exporting is a common growth tactic for both mature international companies as well as smaller companies. This market entry strategy contributes to the revenue stream and profitability of an increasing number of enterprises.

2. Tap and penetrate emerging markets. We cannot wait for big emerging markets like India and China to grow up. The work should begin now to take advantage of opportunities presented by rapidly developing economies and to ensure that we are ready to reap the rewards when these markets explode.

3. Source new products that complement existing ones and offer them as a new, specially priced package deal. This should be a snap by surfing ThomasNet.com (http://www.thomasnet.com/), Alibaba.com (http://www.alibaba.com) and GlobalSources.com (http://www.globalsources.com), which provide a wealth of information on potential manufacturers.

4. Reduce dependence on existing markets. Protect your company against the risk of decline in domestic sales by exporting, using the Internet, licensing or franchising your industrial products.

5. Develop new applications for existing products that can be offered to new buyers. Here’s where a few months of actually living in a foreign country really pays off. It enables you to learn firsthand how the locals do things and what they need to do them better.

Perhaps a favorite food dish in China could be made better and or more quickly if you changed the speed of a kitchen mixer. Or maybe reconfiguring an existing vacuum attachment would be perfect for some out-of-the-way corners in Sri Lanka. Before you set out to do business in a particular country, ask some simple questions. How do the people there like to spend their time? What are their favorite gadgets? How do they clean their homes or cars? How are their clothes laundered? If you can’t travel there, the information-gathering strategies outlined above should give you some answers.

Think beyond the everyday uses of things as well as cultural constraints and you’ll be amazed at the opportunities that arise.

6. Cross fertilize your marketing efforts through a variety of industries. For piano wire, market coverage should pollinate over into the sporting goods (fishing), movie and soap and detergent industries to reach new and appropriate buyers and to broaden the scope of your business activities.

7. Take the market to your buyers. If you can’t beat or woo them, join them where they are located by setting up shop locally in the country in which you wish to do business. Are you making bicycles spokes and trying to sell them in a country without bikes? Then you better ship a sampling of finished bikes first, educate the consumers, find a small manufacturer and then secure buyers for those spokes!

8. Offer new services that complement your industrial products in order to boost profits. This segment of marketing involves all countries at every level of development; even the least-developed countries are seeking computer technology (China and India, for example) and sophisticated data banks to aid them in advancing their economics.

9. Move more production of subassemblies and parts to cheaper offshore factories. That’s what Hoveround Corp., maker of motorized wheelchairs and scooters in Sarasota, Florida did. The problem they ran up against was set prices by fee structures for Medicaid and by contracts with large insurers. By moving production outside of the USA, the company has consistently widened profit margins slightly each year.

10. Establish a strategic global alliance (SGA). An SGA is a business relationship established by two or more companies to cooperate out of mutual need and to share risk in achieving a common objective. This strategy works well for market-entry or to shore up existing weaknesses and increase competitive strengths.

11. Globalize your business by forming worldwide product groups by function. Your design can be done in California; your manufacturing can take place in China and your distribution might start in Antwerp. Together, you have a powerful global network.

12. Form joint-ventures in places where you desire to do business. For example, many years ago, JCPenny had developed three alternatives for implementation in global markets: (1) owning and operating JCPenny department stores, (2) licensing for forming joint ventures with local partners, and (3) exporting private-brand merchandise to be sold through other retailers. Since then, the Internet has fostered another alternative for growth.

13. Market your business aggressively and in the language your buyers understand. For example, if you make one style of an electrical component, what happens if the market changes and your buyers no longer need your particular type of component or they learn how to source it cheaper elsewhere and on their own? In a case like that, it is best to supply many grades, more styles and more types of electrical components to ensure at least one product will always be in demand.

Global competition requires quality products designed to meet ever-changing customer needs and rapidly advancing technology. Develop your global strategy. Refine your international business practices. And discover every imaginable hidden market for your products and services. You will transform your business and take the lead in the world of expanding customer choices.

Global business expert Laurel Delaney is the founder of GlobeTrade.com and LaurelDelaney.com. She is also the creator of “Borderbuster,” an e-newsletter and The Global Small Business Blog, which are both highly regarded for coverage on global small business. She can be reached at ldelaney@globetrade.com.

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How to Get the Most for Your Translation Dollar

Sara Freitas-Maltaverne, SFM Translation Services

Taking your business international often means enlisting the services of a translator—a potentially risky undertaking. How do you know if the translations you’ve purchased do your product justice when you don’t understand the language? Worse, can you be sure that the translations won’t cause serious damage to your image or result in the costly duplication of work? Example: It cost a small, innovative microtechnology firm nearly $2,000 to have their brochure for an overseas trade fair reprinted and overnight-shipped to the venue when an error was discovered in the translation.

Whether you need the latest foreign market research to launch your product overseas or compelling marketing collateral to grab the attention of potential customers, a professional translator or interpreter is an invaluable ally. Remember: translators work with written documents (brochures, reports, correspondence), while interpreters communicate orally.

Here are a few things you can do to increase your chances of getting a successful translation—and your business’ chances of making it in today’s global marketplace.

Penny wise, pound foolish: bilingual does not equal translator.

A European property management firm needed an English version of its annual management report, originally written in French. To save money, the firm decided to assign certain parts of the translation to its in-house bilingual secretary. One of the gems produced: In a description of the firm’s partnership with a leading national bank (“alliance” in French) the well-meaning admin—no doubt with the help of a French-English dictionary—came up with the translation “wedding band,” which is another meaning of the word “alliance” in French, but clearly not the right one here. The cost to the company? In addition to the lost work time the admin spent slogging through the translation, the firm had to pay a rush fee to have the report retranslated by a professional in time to get it to the printer.

How can you avoid falling into the same trap? By calling in a professional translator and drawing up clear specifications for your project.

The following three steps will help you get your translation project off to a good start.

1. Decide what needs to be done, when, and who is responsible for each stage. Everyone involved in the production process (from document authors to DTP) should be aware of the timeline and specifications. Put it all down in writing.

2. Once you have determined your workflow and deadlines, you will need to choose a service provider. As a general rule, professional translators work into their native language. (Are you translating your product literature into Mexican Spanish? Look for a native Mexican translator!) Referrals from colleagues in your industry are a good place to begin your search, as are professional translators associations. The ideal translator has a track record both in your industry and with the type of document you need translated and can prove it by showing you examples of previous work.

3. Once you have selected a service provider, check again to be sure the purpose of your translation is clear. Are you translating incoming texts that your business needs for information purposes only or outgoing material that will have an impact on how your company is perceived by customers? The quality you need—and the cost—will vary accordingly. Discuss this with your service provider and get all commitments in writing. You and your service provider should know and agree on who is responsible for each step in the translation process.

Still not sure you’re ready to cross the language barrier?

You can better prepare your business to go international by learning as much as you can about working with translators and interpreters before the pressure is on. Start with Translation: getting it right, a free downloadable brochure endorsed by language industry professionals. Professional groups like the American Translators Association are also an invaluable source of information. Once you have the tools you need to take your business overseas, the sky’s the limit.

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