5 Things to Consider Before You Take Your Company Global

3. Invest in local personnel

When you enter a foreign market, you might think the best idea is to train your existing staff to deal with the new market in term of communication. However, it might be a better idea to use local staff instead.

For example, by using a local copywriter or social media manager you will be able to use their skills to avoid dialectic pitfalls, capitalize on the search engine habits in that particular country and gain a greater insight into social media behaviors.

The first social media network that comes to mind is the global juggernaut that is Facebook. Developing a local in-country presence on Facebook should be the first step when delving into social networking in a foreign market. However, keep in mind that Facebook is not number one in every country in the world. For example, Drauglem is the number one network in Latvia, QZone is still the most popular in China and Zing is number one in Vietnam.

Furthermore, using local personnel also says to the country you are entering that you are investing in local talent and creating opportunities for people there, which will give your business a boost and an advantage over other foreign companies entering the market who don’t make the same considerations.

4. Promote your business locally

If you promote your business locally, you will give your product or service an invaluable boost.

Additionally, if you have staff present in a foreign market you will be able to connect and interact with customers more efficiently and get word out about your products and services.

Word-of-mouth, advertisements and social networking are going to play important roles early on. Connecting on a personal level with customers and interacting with them should be a high priority.

As mentioned previously, there are different social media platforms in various countries, but this is also true with search engines. Yahoo! dominates Japan, Naver is the market leader in Korea, while Baidu rules in China. Baidu, like Google, has its own advertising programs, so working to leverage local search engines potential customers use, will be vital for effective promotions.

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Photo: Massimo Dutti

Christian Arno is the Founder and Managing Director of UK-based translation company Lingo24, one of the world’s leading providers of translation services and website localization across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Launched in 2001, Lingo24 has worked its way to becoming the web’s favorite translation company, working with more than four thousand translators and clients in over sixty countries. Arno established Lingo24 as a 22 year old Oxford University graduate in 2001. Connect with Lingo24 on Twitter.