Every business, large or small, should not overlook the numerous opportunities for growth that exists overseas. Striking key deals with international clients can be a great opportunity to grow and expand your business to have a global reach. These new markets could well provide more profits and chances for expansion than your local home-grown businesses. They might have a better appreciation for your products and you might end up making connections with vendors and suppliers you previously wouldn’t have met locally.
The challenge lies in reaching these clients and communicating with them to close the sale. Marketing your products to an international audience entails understanding their regional cultures, laws and behaviours. What might appeal to your existing customers in your local area might be viewed differently in another country. You have to rethink your sales strategy and come up with one that is likely to make inroads with international clients.
Before kicking off your new international marketing strategy, consider the following tips on how to successfully interact with clients in a foreign country.
- Have an online presence.
A solid online footprint is vital if you want to get your products before an international audience. In addition to a carefully designed website, your business should also have a social media presence. These act as your online brochures to show potential clients what you have to offer.
- Work on your cross-cultural competency.
Having a website or social media presence is one thing, getting your potential clients to understand your message is another. In order to ease communication with your clients, you need to consider translating both your site and social media accounts into different languages.
Furthermore, look into hiring a consultant familiar with the target market to help tailor your messages to the intended audience. This will help you avoid any miscommunication.
- Embrace technology.
Technology has made it easy for businesses to communicate with their clients. While emails are good for keeping a recorded history of client requests, phone calls and face-to-face chats via video conferencing are ideal for negotiations and clearing up misunderstandings. For this, you will need cost-effective and convenient business phone lines, such as http://primus.ca/business/phone/local-business-phone/, provided by a reliable and reputable company. Open communication channels also allow you to stay connected with suppliers, vendors and other business associates around the world.
- Understand regional laws.
When marketing to global clients, your business should be aware of regional regulations on sales tactics, advertising and products. In some regions of the world, advertising related to certain products, for example pharmaceuticals, are subject to approval by various governing bodies. Regulations concerning sales tactics such as premium offers, raffles, contests, etc. also differ by region and your business should do adequate market research to ease market penetration.
- Hire multilingual staff where possible.
In order to increase communication between your business and international clients, you should hire multilingual staff members where possible. This will make both clients and vendors comfortable when dealing with you. Such staff members are also invaluable when it comes to creating sales pitches and advertisements in a different language than the one you are used to.
Going global and landing international clients is an excellent way to expand your business. It might take time but your efforts will pay off in the end.
