Mastering Global Expansion: Your 5-Step Plan to Go International

Step 1: Research Your Target Market Before You Go International

Many companies skip this crucial step, totally or partially, opening an office in their target market and hiring a local salesperson, hoping that their understanding of the new market will improve in the process. But if you ask us, we suggest you develop a deep understanding of the target market before jumping into market penetration. Comprehensive research and analysis to identify the local market needs, trends, competitors, and ways the solution can be customized to meet demand ensures your solution can be viable and competitive there through an adjusted localized positioning strategy. The positioning strategy enables you to refine your marketing messaging and tailor it to your new market segments.

Here’s what this step may include (depending on whether the business offers a service(s) or product(s) and the maturity stage of the business):

1. 1. 1. Market Analysis:

         Determine the market size, growth potential, trends, demand cycles, and target segments. For example, for a company that is entering a health-tech market in a certain geographic region, it would be extremely valuable for them to know that, say, the region has an aging population, as well as government incentives for digital health deployment. Based on this information, the business can act upon and leverage the business opportunities.
         
         

      2. Competitive Analysis:

         Identify key competitors (direct and indirect) and compare their offerings to your solutions. Analyze their pricing, distribution, branding, and customer feedback to uncover gaps your solution can fill.
         
         

      3. SWOT Analysis:

         Evaluate your internal Strengths and Weaknesses, along with external Opportunities and Threats, tailored to the market you would like to enter. When planning to go international, you need to consider cultural preferences, brand perception, and digital adoption rates.
         
         

      4. Technical Feasibility:

         What adjustments does your product/service need to meet local expectations or infrastructure? Does your platform support the language, certifications, or integration with local tools?
         
         

      5. Regulatory & Legal Review:

         Prepare a list of all potential local entry barriers (e.g., GDPR compliance, CE certification, trade agreements), Intellectual Property protections, licensing, and legal obligations.
         
         

      6. Operational & Financial Assessment:

         Assess labour market regulations, talent availability, and potential partners or distribution agents. Define a pricing strategy based on purchasing power and local expectations.
         
         

Step 2: Create an Actionable Go-to-Market Plan

Unfortunately, most SMEs choose to respond to random opportunities. For example, a potential reseller contacts them, and they decide to bring them on board. After two years, they find out the reseller is not delivering the results they expected. By this point, the company has invested a lot of resources in training this reseller without seeing a return on that investment.

To avoid such scenarios, we suggest building an actionable Go-to-Market Plan based on the initial research (Step 1) and the available budget to enter your targeted international market. The go-to-market plan usually includes the following components:

1. 1. 1. Your Ideal Client Profile (ICP):

         ICP is usually developed by gathering and analyzing qualitative, quantitative and predictive data through close interaction with stakeholders. The goal is to identify the accounts most likely to become high-value customers. Set objective measures of value, such as lifetime values (LTV), ultimate segmentation of target markets, and persona characteristics that will allow you to focus on the most profitable sector.
         
         

      2. Adjusted Positioning & Messaging:

         Your value proposition and messaging need to be adjusted to the local culture and competitive landscape. The goal is to create an easily recognizable point of differentiation and an alignment with the local environment, such as language, tone, culture and competitors. For example, in certain international markets, a formal tone may be expected, and an emphasis on security and data privacy may resonate more than in other markets.
         
         

      3. Product/Service Localization:

         When going international, adapting to the language won’t be enough. You also need to adjust to local standards, units, formats, and compliance protocols, which means some level of localization is usually needed for products.
         
         

      4. Market-Entry Strategy:

         Should you enter via direct sales, partnerships, or franchising? The market entry growth strategy includes the way you will access potential clients, as well as considerations on partners, pricing, operational setup, sales & distribution channels, customer support, and supply chain infrastructure in the target market.
         
         

      5. Marketing Action Plan:

         To succeed with your international expansion, you need an integrated plan to overcome the challenges and achieve your goals. This usually includes content creation, events, digital media coverage, campaigns, and partnerships, designed to overcome local barriers and drive product/service adoption.
         
         

      6. KPIs & Success Analytics:

         Without defining the proper analytics, you can’t track your progress. Market penetration rate, revenue increment, client acquisition growth rate, Marketing ROI, partner performance, Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) growth for SaaS organizations, and lead conversion rates are among the marketing analytics metrics you can begin monitoring.

Step 3: Use a Tailored Branding & Messaging Strategy

International marketing adjustment isn’t just about translation; it’s a transformation of your messaging. To establish credibility and relevance in a specific market, you must apply a localized positioning strategy across various touchpoints.

• • • Adjust marketing and sales messaging to highlight your unique selling points
    • Update a mini-site, landing pages, and blog content tailored for the target market.
    • Adapt visuals, brand colours (if culturally relevant), and tone.
    • Align your social media strategy, paid ads, webinars, and trade show messaging to reflect the new positioning.
    • Revisit packaging, onboarding, and customer service scripts to reflect your brand promise consistently.
      
      

Step 4: Execute Along the Customer Journey

Once the planning phase is complete, execution is where success is made or lost. It is estimated that between 40% to 70% of international business expansions do not meet their intended objectives or are considered international expansion failures. The economic landscape has become increasingly fast-paced and competitive, making sustainable growth more challenging. 

Based on our experience, failures can be attributed to various aspects. For example:

• • • Budget:

      The market entry setup budget is usually under-budgeted.
      
      

    • Execution not aligned with strategy:

      While there is a clear plan, the execution is not always in sync with the company’s goals and it drifts based on the market conditions. 
      
      

    • Planning of timing:

      It takes longer than anticipated and organizations do not have the capacity to endure market delays.
      
      

    • Correct analytics not available:

      Sometimes businesses rely on insufficient data or lack the ability to analyze the huge amounts of data that they collect.
      
      

    • Not enough investment in engagement:

      Companies usually focus on operations (selling a product or a service), not on client engagement.
      
      

    • Lack of in-house skills:

      And in many cases, they require skills and resources that are not regularly available in-house.

To succeed in a dynamic environment, businesses need a holistic, forward-thinking framework, like the Continuous THRIVE Model, to help drive seamless execution and a better alignment with the client journey. This will result in constant growth in the long run, and not just for a short period!

Step 5: Monitor, Measure, and Optimize

The last step would be to track meaningful KPIs aligned with your goals and market realities to ensure that you are on the right track continuously. Here are some of the primary KPIs you want to keep an eye on to pivot your campaigns, scale smartly, and drive your company towards success:

• • • Market Share:

      Is your brand gaining traction vs. local competitors?
      
      

    • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC):

      What’s your cost of acquiring new clients? Does this cost decrease over time?
      
      

    • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV):

      Which international clients are loyal buyers and committed long term? What is their total value for your company?
      
      

    • Profit Margins:

      While clients can be loyal, does your business receive a reasonable profit margin from them?
      
      

    • Customer Retention & Repeat Purchase Rate:

      Are your clients satisfied and loyal? How often do they conduct repeat purchases or order one of your other complementary solutions/services? 
      
      

    • Engagement & Satisfaction:

      Measure through surveys, NPS scores, and content interaction. This measure is critical for every business decision.

Ready to Go International?

Going international is an important growth opportunity, only if done right. With thorough research, tailored strategy, methodic execution, and strong measurement, your expansion can be a long-term success. Make sure to deploy both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the marketing plan.

If you’re considering international expansion, our experts can help you navigate every step with confidence and measurable results. Book your free consultation now!