The businesses able to make essential choices are always the ones that change the market: companies able to choose the path of internationalization, to choose a new way for the evolution or commercialization of their products. As a matter of fact, a company willing to grow cannot always reach its objectives by being only present in the internal market. Therefore an internationalization path is an answer for all those companies that focus their actions on increasing revenue and marginality.

 

Revenue growth: the path of internationalization

To choose the path of internationalization means to start with four questions:

  1. Why choose the path of internationalization?
  2. In what countries should I internationalize?
  3. How to internationalize?
  4. Who can help me in my internationalization process?

Let’s now try to answer these questions.

 

1 – Why choose the path of internationalization?

The first answer to this question is clearly revenue growth, especially when, in some cases, the internal market demand is not sufficient to allow a relevant increase in sales. Internationalization can indeed generate new market opportunities: obviously, it will enable the company to find new customers, but, for example, it is also helpful to use a different pricing strategy and consequently improve margins. There are many possible answers: every company can choose its own path based on its objectives and business.

 

2 – In what countries should I internationalize?

This question is certainly more complex than the previous one. First of all, it is necessary to define the choice criteria. A simple answer may be to choose the countries with the most significant number of potential clients for your product. Another solution may be, on the contrary, to sub-segment the possibilities in terms of distance. This distance could be geographical, so a physical distance; it could be cultural, intended as language and approach to the business; it could be an administrative distance, therefore related to laws and regulations; in the end, it could be economical, intended as purchasing power or productive, logistical or technological capabilities. Usually, countries characterized by a higher similarity and less distance are more likely to close deals quickly. About this subject, there is a very engaging book entitled “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands (The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More than 60 Countries)” written by Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway.

 

 

Visionsphere

 

 

3 – What is the best strategy to internationalize?

In academic terms, two different styles answer this question. The first approach is to treat each country or region differently, therefore trying to meet the needs expressed by the target in a particular way. In other words, differentiation becomes part of the offer made to the client, even though, in terms of R&D and production, it is clearly an expensive approach. The second style that can be undertaken in terms of internationalization is basically the opposite of the previous one. This approach considers the market as a single unit to convey the same message and the same product globally. Naturally, this approach can lead to some lost opportunities and some niches in terms of location or different cultures, but it is undoubtedly less expensive than the first style.

 

4 – Who can help me in my internationalization process?

If a company does not have all the available resources, it should open its doors to a commercial consultant or an active customer acquisition company. To understand the differences between these two entities, click here to read an article about this subject. As Vehnta, we propose our digital active customer-acquisition process to support our customers’ internationalization objectives. The key points of the Vehnta process for active customer acquisition are Presence, Positioning, and Engage. By Presence, we mean the creation of an image of the company on the web, of the company brand as B2B on different digital channels, whereas, by Positioning, we mean the result of being present in the mental short-list of the potential customer when they think about the sector of the company. This result can be obtained with branding activity and ADV. The last step of Engage focuses on creating the first relation with potential prospects that, then, becomes scouting and first contact with marketing automation systems. The output of the process is semi-processed contacts that will be passed to the sales department of the customer. For further information, fill in the form in the Contacts section.

Internationalization is, therefore, the only choice for a company willing to grow – to grow quickly. Now it’s time to choose because, as James Joyce used to say, “I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today.

 

For further information, contact us by filling in the following form.