Advisory No 2 - HOW TO GET AN 'A' IN GEOGRAPHY (PART 2)

The complete guide to expanding your business to new and emerging markets. 

(For Part One Refer http://bit.ly/ZsHi8a) 

   

Location! Location! – Are you in the right place?  In your initial research you should have established the right place for your business but sometimes you need to be fully operational before you discover that you’ve picked the wrong location.  Your concerns may be practical, operational or that it’s just too hard to get out and meet your customers.  If you’ve made a mistake, fix it if you can and fix it fast!  Our customers judge us by our location and a good location allows us to literally bump into clients leading to new business wins and assisting with customer retention.

Make it work – You may have a product or service that has been hugely successful in your own market but you need to be sure that there aren’t regional variations that may completely negate the effectiveness of that product in a new environment.  For example, a hugely successful user interface in Western countries may become ineffective when it is subject to the regulation and censorship restrictions of the Middle East and Asia.  Be prepared that your tried-and-tested product or service may still need to be adapted to cater for the requirements of a new market.

There is no flat world.  Make no assumptions about technology; particularly if you are in a digital or online business.  Public Internet and business connectivity are not a standard experience worldwide. If you are entering emerging markets particularly with a new technology product be mindful that paperwork, couriers and hard-copy media are alive and well due to poor Internet performance in some countries.  Be careful to test the local reality against your marketing proposition.

False Economies.  You may think it’s cheaper to build equipment at home and ship to site but be warned, head office sourced hardware and equipment may incur taxes and customs delays that completely offset your planned savings and can delay your ability to go live.  Taxes in some markets can be as much as 65% of the retail price and your equipment may be tied up for months with hopeless red tape.  This can limit your ability to operate and may sabotage your business plan.

Timeshift – To protect yourself from a disappointed board and shareholders, the smartest thing you can do when entering a new market is to take your best case business plan, push it forward 3-6 months and you’ll probably be right!  The odds are against any plan for a new market succeeding when it is completed from the comfort of head office.  It’s best to be proactive here and spend as much time as you can on location. You will undoubtedly make changes when you are closer to the action onsite.

Growing your business into new markets can be one of the most rewarding things you can do in your career but keep in mind that whatever new market you enter, it’s is not your home territory and as long as you continually compare your strategy against operational reality, you’ll have the best set up for success.

The Advisory Partnership works closely with its clients to provide scaleable operational solutions for their international expansion strategies.

www.theadvisorypartnership.com

Advisory No 1 - HOW TO GET AN 'A' IN GEOGRAPHY (PART 1)

The complete guide to expanding your business to new and emerging markets.

1.     Remember what your mother said, Do your homework or you won’t learn anything. You don’t know what you don’t know, so try to find out everything you can about a new market. Whether it’s an international market or just another State in your home country, you can’t make any assumptions and you can’t be sure that just because you have a successful model at home that it will automatically apply elsewhere.

2.     Phone a friend. Use your contact network to learn about their experiences.  What worked for them and what didn’t?  If you don’t have someone in your network then find a local consultant who can help you understand the market.  If you find a consultant, check out their reputation and references as closely as if they were a new member of senior staff.  You’ll risk a lot of investment on their recommendations so be sure that you’re getting the best qualified advice.

3.     Hire the ‘A’ Team – It may be the same business in a different market but it’s still effectively a new business. You probably won’t have much time to start generating revenue and offsetting your costs so hire the best people you can within the available budget.  Hire people who have done what you do before;  people who are already credible and trusted in your area of operation and who’ll be able to hit the ground running with your product and service.  Don’t be tempted to hire cheap unqualified local labour as they’ll require training and sap your energy as they move along a slow learning curve.

4.     People are stylish – if you are entering an international or emerging market don’t be short-sighted on how your people will operate from day to day.  Employment expectations, language capability, education and culture may all be markedly different to how you normally operate and you will have to make some allowances in your process to ensure that you get the best from your team.  Some teams will require a firm prescriptive management style and others will require a hands-off empowering style.  Your success is dependent on working out which is the right approach and managing accordingly.

5.     Send in a SWAT Team – You have hired some fantastic local talent, and you’ve adjusted some of your process to ensure that you can operate effectively.  Now you must surround them with everything that is great about your organisation.  It’s an extra cost but it’s a worthwhile investment.  Send in an established team from your own business and surround your new team with all the knowledge, passion and enthusiasm that has made your business great at home.  This can’t be a fly-in-fly-out approach.  Give them some time to bond and to really share the essence of what your business is all about. The time and energy you put into helping your new team out now will save you in the long run.

Growing your business into new markets can be one of the most rewarding things you can do in your career but keep in mind that whatever new market you enter, it’s is not your home territory and as long as you continually compare your strategy against operational reality, you’ll have the best set up for success.

The Advisory Partnership works closely with its clients to provide scalable operational solutions for their international expansion strategies.

www.theadvisorypartnership.com