5 ways to reach a global market

To get the best out of your business you will need to look beyond your borders. Herein we consider how to expand your trade beyond local borders.

Businesses can grow into huge corporations within their home nation, but rarely do companies find a market dominating level of success without opening their trade to overseas companies and customers. In a globalised world there is a huge amount of benefit in engaging in trade with overseas companies and clients whether this trade comes in the form of buying or selling. Reaching a global market to buy or sell is not an easy process, however, and it is vitally important that you make every effort to ensure that your company is prepared for the challenge before you begin. This article considers the unique challenges you will face in trading within a global market and how you can overcome them.

1 - Communication

An obvious first challenge is one of communication. At the crux of this limitation is a language barrier, but this is something that can easily be overcome by employing multi-lingual staff and hiring people originating from the countries you are hoping to trade with. Your marketing strategies will always face a problem when trading globally, however. Censorship, non-participation and low levels of market saturation affect many of the key means of communicating with customers overseas. To overcome this problem you will need to look at specialised systems of global communication and it is wise to engage with marketing companies with an existing stake overseas.

2 - Culture

An arguably bigger obstacle than the communication barrier is that of culture. Business culture varies dramatically between nations and between the businesses within nations too. These differences can be as complex as imbalances in the engagement with international vs national trade law, or they can be as simple as differences in face-to-face communicative practices. Understanding business culture is a challenge, but it is essential to ensure that you have employees capable of engaging in trade with different cultures. Training your staff in diplomacy and business etiquette is a hugely important step before you begin to engage with a global market.

3 - Law

When opening your business to overseas markets you will also have to engage with new arms of legality. Within a single country the law is somewhat clearer than it is when you are trading internationally. International law creates specific regulations on trade, but you will also have to account for the practices of your business under the national law of countries that you trade with. The legal side of business on a global scale is far more complicated than on a national scale, so you will need to be sure to have some very competent international legal advisors under your employ.

4 - Geography

Another huge point to consider with international trade is one simply of geography. Within a single country you can ship goods far more easily and you can utilise systems of connected warehouses to increase the speed of deliveries. On an international scale, however, some shipments may take weeks and this creates definite and significant logistical challenges. Your company will need to be thoroughly prepared and ready to handle the challenges of physical international trade before you can possibly hope to open your borders.

5 - Rising to the Challenge

Trading on a global scale is undoubtedly complicated. There are many challenges that you will face in getting your business ready to trade internationally, but rising to these challenges is worthwhile. Creating a global trading network will enable you to expand your business dramatically and will set you up perfectly for future progress and the growth of your business. Rising to the challenges of reaching a global market will offer your business numerous opportunities to improve and expand. It is also important to recognise that existing connections have been made between nations and that utilising these will greatly aid you in setting your business up to reach a global market.

For more information please visit the IoDB at http://www.diplomacyandbusiness.com