Business Growth: Think Big, Think Global – Well, Why Not?

March 9th 2017 | By Steve Grant

Whether you’re a business owner running your company single handed with a vision of eventually having a team around you, or you’ve already got a small team and are looking to expand and take more people on in the future, the dream of growth and success will probably be something that occupies your every thought.

Growth is a natural dream in business. The thing is that these days, business owners needn’t restrict their vision. Why contain your dreams of expansion just because you’ve started out as a small operation? Global marketing and expansion really is for every business, regardless of its size. Why hold back when today’s technology and the right digital marketing expertise can allow you to market to and do business with audiences all over the world?

Why contain your dreams of expansion just because you’ve started out as a small operation?

Making a Business Look Bigger, With Minimum Investment

It’s totally possible now to make a business appear much bigger than it is, without very much investment at all. Providing you’ve got a strong internet presence, a professional looking website and solid branding, plus people who can help you create a buzz around your brand and guide you to explore potential new markets; the world really could be your oyster.

What’s more, thanks to so many ‘things’ now being made available ‘as a service’, such as cloud platforms that allow anytime working, software, devices, IT infrastructure and audio/video conferencing, it really is possible to develop a world class set-up without any need at all for capital outlay.

Here we take a look at some of the latest innovations designed to enable the small business to take itself to a worldwide stage.

Digital Marketing

International expansion is definitely not off limits for businesses of any size. Digital marketing channels are far from restricted to the UK, and with the right strategy there is no reason why platforms like Google and Facebook for example could not aid the successful tapping of new markets.

Back in December we covered how lookalike audiences can be used to gain new customers and boost sales, and this initiative can easily be used to target overseas audiences both with Google and Facebook, as can the localised online advertising that we talked about last summer.

Organic search engine optimisation is something else we’ve talked about in a previous post, and with some strategic planning and expertise, there is no reason why your business shouldn’t be doing well in the search engine results not just in the UK, but in other countries too.

International expansion is definitely not off limits for businesses of any size.

There are so many other channels and social platforms to explore. What it all boils down to is strategy. Identifying those markets that will welcome what your business has to offer is the first step. Then it’s a case of ensuring that your communications talk the right language for the overseas audience. This is vital, because customer behaviour is not consistent across different markets.

For example, not everyone speaks English, and you may also be surprised that not everyone searches the internet using Google! There’s some great advice on this on the Government’s Department for International Trade website, and of course consulting with a renowned digital marketing specialist will give you access to the expertise you need to make your way out into worldwide markets.

Technical Innovations

Collaboration and face to face communication is essential in business. You may for example decide to engage local agents in the countries you want to develop. Brainstorming and sharing ideas is vital and is well known to improve critical thinking and problem solving. You will also want to converse directly with new customers so that negotiations have the personal touch, but without the expense of travelling half way around the world of course.

The benefits of conversing face to face cannot be over-emphasised. So how to get together when you are miles or even time zones apart?

Thankfully there are plenty of technical innovations that will allow your business to communicate with a global audience, and help you collaborate with local teams. The Surface Hub from Microsoft is just one of them.

Incorporating a huge interactive whiteboard, the Surface Hub connects people through their own personal devices, allowing the sharing of content and ideas whilst engaging with others anywhere in the world via an internet connection. A single tap can instigate a meeting and once it’s ended, all the content created or updated is saved and emailed to participants. On-board cameras and microphones mean real time eye to eye contact is possible, and the system works alongside all your favourite productivity apps such as Microsoft Office and also Skype for Business, which itself is a gem of a virtual meeting tool.

The benefits of conversing face to face cannot be over-emphasised. But how to get together when you are miles or even time zones apart?

Office 365 is another innovation that is built for remote working and allows the smallest business to grow its operation without having to expand its office space investment. 365 offers cloud-based remote, secure access to Microsoft Office, email, calendars and contacts across all types of device – mobile and desktop – without the need for on premise servers that are expensive to run and maintain. It means you can grow your team without having to invest in more workspace, and you have the advantage of being able to work any time, any place and therefore converse with overseas customers as it suits their local schedules.

The great news is, pretty much all of these innovations are available on a flexible subscription basis, which means no capital outlay, and only paying for what you use: ideal for the smaller, growing business.

In Summary

Any business of any size has the potential to grow in leaps and bounds, and should never limit its vision to within domestic confines. There are audiences out there, right across the world, which could be ideal recipients for what you offer. All you need is the right help and direction when it comes to marketing, and a few modern technology innovations to help you communicate and collaborate.

If you’d like to discover how your business could thrive in an international market using the latest pioneering digital marketing initiatives, why not talk to Figment?