In addition to the challenges that come with expanding into a new target market, marketers also face challenges when their organization expands services into new geographic regions, domestically or internationally. As a marketer, are you prepared to broaden your horizons to effectively serve these new audiences?
If your organization is considering expanding its services, take a look at these best practices before you build your marketing strategy:
To paraphrase a recent MarketingProfs article, the world is not an extension of your home market. Before launching any new slogan or marketing campaign, your team needs to invest in rigorous cultural research. Don’t assume that you can simply translate your existing marketing messages or replace an image here or there. Assume that your expanded marketing may need to start from scratch. Go back to the beginning, even reconsidering why people and organizations will buy your product and in what context they will use it.
Pay attention also to the types of traditional and digital media platforms where your marketing can make an impact in the areas into which you intend to expand. Work with a legal team to make sure that you are well-informed regarding any legal barriers to particular types of marketing messages in your new market.
Armed with this research, your organization can get to work creating content to engage your prospects in every market. Need more ideas? Check out Hubspot’s coverage of companies doing just that, including Pearse Trust, an authority on corporate and trust structures for banks, accounting firms and legal firms.
Your preparation should, of course, include making sure that your marketing team includes people fluent in whatever languages you will need for communication in your new market. Don’t rely on translation software for this one: there’s a long history of marketing fails based on sloppy translations, not to mention campaigns accidentally built around culturally offensive slogans. Make sure that you also account for regional differences in slang and language usage.
If you can’t staff your own marketing department with the necessary language and culture proficiency, consider working with a partner firm that can, perhaps one based in your new market.
Whether you’re considering an expansion or simply want to activate sales in your existing market, learn how Movéo can help.
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