The International Trade Centre (ITC) estimates that global merchandise trade will reach $28 trillion in 2024. Taking your business global is an exciting prospect. It opens doors to new customers, fosters growth, and establishes you as a significant player. But it’s not the most uncomplicated venture to undertake.

The world is your oyster, but if you’re trying to get your business to go international, you’ll need careful planning, lots of honesty and a strategic approach.

Venturing into the international arena comes with its own set of challenges. From navigating complex regulations and cultural differences to managing logistics across borders and adapting your marketing strategy for new audiences, the road to expanding your local business internationally can be filled with obstacles.

Let’s consider the potential advantages and challenges of expanding your business internationally:

How to set up your local business for international expansion

Beyond the basic groundwork of market research and business plan development, there’s a valuable framework to help you determine if your business is a good fit for international expansion. This framework is called the RAT: Relevant, Appropriable, and Transferable test.

The RAT framework can help you assess your business’ capabilities in a new market context. Here’s how it works:

• Relevant: Consider if your product or service is genuinely relevant and valuable to customers in your target market. Why should people care about your business or service? Is there a gap in the market? More importantly, is there a market in the gap?
• Appropriable: Does your business offer something unique or specialized that local competitors won’t be able to replicate easily?
• Transferable: Can your business model be easily adapted and implemented in the target country without significant cost increases or diminishing value?

If you honestly evaluate your business through the lens of the RAT framework, you can gain valuable insights into your suitability for international expansion.

5 proven strategies for global expansion

1. Market research: Conduct thorough market research to identify the perfect international markets for your business. Analyze factors like:

• Demand: Research online communities, freelance platforms, and industry reports specific to your field of business
• Competitor analysis: Who are your competitors in the target market? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Look for opportunities to fill gaps in the market or offer a differentiated service.
• Regulatory landscape: Learn about the tax implications of doing business in your chosen country. Find out the visa requirements and business licenses you’ll need to set up in your target countries. For this, you might need to consider hiring locall accountants and/or lawyers to resolve these complexities.‍

2. Localized marketing strategy per country: A cookie-cutter marketing approach won't work for expanding your business internationally. Based on research into your target countries, you’ll need to tweak your message to resonate with your target audience in the market into which you want to enter. Consider the following factors:

• Language and quirks: Translate your website or create a country-specific landing page for the country. Also ensure marketing materials and social media content are written with the local languages. Take care to study cultural nuances because what might work in one country will likely not in some other countries. Some quips may also get lost in translation. It’s best to work with a professional translator or marketing agency familiar with your target region(s).
• Marketing activity and channels: Popular social media platforms may work differently in different countries. User behaviour and online advertising channels are likely to change as well. Figure out where your target audience spends their time online and tailor your marketing accordingly.
• Cultural sensitivity: Be mindful of cultural norms, nuances and quirks. Play it safe in the beginning to avoid offensive or insensitive content in your marketing materials. When you’ve figured out the lay of the land, you can then work with locals on more ambitious messaging.‍

3. Embrace flexibility and collaboration: The beauty of doing business across borders — much like the digital nomad lifestyle — is its flexibility. When expanding into your new target countries, keep a flexible mindset. Be prepared to adapt your business model to fit the needs of your target market. This might involve:

• Offering different pricing structures: like local currency options or tiered pricing
• Seeking strategic partnerships: with local businesses that cater to the target audience in your industry.
• Offering alternative payment options: like popular payment methods favored by your local target audience in your target countries. Grey helps you make and receive payments in more than 40 countries.

4. Build a strong online presence: Make sure your website is professional, user-friendly, and SEO-optimised for the new country.

• Optimize your website content, landing pages, meta descriptions, etc. to enable them rank higher in local search results.
• Include client testimonials in your landing pages: (translated into the local language if possible) to build trust and credibility.
• Build an active social media presence: to engage with your target audience, share useful and enjoyable content, participate in industry conversations, and offer consistently excellent customer support.

5. Set up a trusted way to receive payments: It wouldn’t be business expansion if there were was no payments involved. You will need a reliable banking partner to help you receive and make payments in multiple currencies from anywhere in the world. Grey is available in over 40 countries and is designed with the global professional in mind.

Ready to take your business global? Create a Grey account today and manage your international finances effortlessly.