Growing beyond borders - A glocal and trust-based approach
The last two years, COVID-19 quite notably slowed down cross-border activities due to travel limitations and lockdowns. Despite this, many technology businesses have focused on the silver lining and mined opportunities to expand their businesses internationally; be it well-known players like Zoom who have become a household name, or start-ups like Shopee that has seen strong growth among buyers and sellers. In 2020, technology powerhouses Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook clocked a combined revenue of more than $1.2 trillion, more than 25 per cent higher than before the pandemic. Global deal values in technology have also soared 47.3 per cent in 2020 from pre-pandemic levels.
The pandemic has spurred a massive wave of technology adoption, and the adoption of digital technology and services has become the norm in the pandemic-era as working, or buying or selling from wherever you are became a necessity. This wave has opened up a huge window of opportunity for technology businesses to venture and grow beyond local borders.
Choosing the right internationalisation business strategy
It is a business imperative for companies to choose the right internationalisation strategy for their companies depending on their industry and size, amongst other factors. This is crucial in deciding the direction the business will take to bring its goods and services outside of their domestic market. Technically, an international business strategy can be categorised as export, multi-domestic, global or transnational, wherein each has a unique approach.
Export strategy, as the name suggests, focuses on exporting products and services to foreign markets, while maintaining production headquarters at home. A multi-domestic strategy refers to establishing a presence in a foreign market and tailoring its products to the local market. With a global strategy, businesses treat the world as one market, and leverage economies of scale to boost reach and revenue. A transnational approach to growth combines elements of global and multi-domestic strategies, where the business is still operating from its headquarters in its country of origin, but expands with full-scale operations in foreign markets.
Technology companies, due to their born-global nature, can rapidly engage in international activities even as a start-up. Web-based technology start-ups are able to make use of their flexible distribution methods to reach international markets almost immediately after launching.
Know your market, know your audience
A key determinant in ensuring success when expanding internationally is to engage local industry experts, talent and partners.
Businesses must immerse themselves in the local landscape and observe the reality on the ground, such as the behaviours, needs and habits of the local population. What also works is to hire local talent as the business strives to build a closer bond with the communities or consumers within a particular market. A multicultural team can equip businesses with an arsenal of people that are diverse and filled with different ideas.
It is crucial for businesses to utilise their resources well and develop a native understanding of the local market to ensure they pick the right distribution and marketing channels, and impactful messaging for their goods and services. All of this contributes to helping them integrate their products into the daily lives of the local population.
Going “glocal” for accelerated growth
When branding a global business, businesses are trying to convince people why they should choose their company and how the company can best serve them. One way to do this is by approaching business branding through a “glocal” strategy — “think global, act local”.
A “glocal” strategy in business branding would refer to crafting a consistent and universally appealing messaging through a value that is relatable across the board, and combining that with an understanding of local culture and tastes.
Increasing local sensitivity can create a higher sense of resonation with the target population, which in turn increases acceptance of foreign-based service providers entering the market. Especially now, when people need all kinds of support.
Winning consumer trust across markets
The idea of trust resonates universally with the world’s 4.72 billion internet population due to blurring privacy and lack of transparency leading to an erosion of trust in our digital environment. For any business, it is extremely important to win the trust of its audience. Like in any relationship, trust and values have become customers’ compass towards navigating the buying landscape.
To build trust, I recommend businesses follow a three-point formula: be honest and transparent, act on feedback and be there for the consumers. Honesty and integrity must be embedded in all customer communications. Simple things like “We have experienced a delay in shipment from our logistics partner, your order will take two additional days for delivery and we apologise for the delay” or “Good news, your package will arrive one day early” can go a long way in appeasing customers and making them feel good.
Secondly, take customer feedback seriously and act on it. Businesses could even let them know how much they value what customers have to say. Many times, customer feedback processes get reduced to just a hygiene practice for companies. However, online ratings have a clear utility for consumers and could influence their consumption decisions, be it to reserve a dinner table at a restaurant or buy a pair of headphones. According to a Salesforce report, nearly 90 per cent of buyers said that the experience a company provides matters as much as their products or services. A good experience builds trust and that can have a rub-off on the sales performance. Lastly, be there for your customers in their time of need and show them you care, even after the sale has been completed. The pandemic has shown us that valuing your customers during trying times can have a huge impact. For example, last year, a ride hailing company in Singapore announced free rides to and from vaccination centers for anyone looking to get their jabs done, which was well-received and riders felt supported.
Map your route
The idea of global growth can be daunting yet exciting at the same time. When considering internationalisation for your business, it is very important to ensure you have a clear roadmap of how you want to drive your business.
By selecting an appropriate internationalisation strategy for your business model, you can streamline operations and ensure efficiency of your operations abroad. As internationalisation is a resource-intensive operation, it is crucial to tap on the local talent pool so as to obtain the best resources available and understand the target market, especially with the difficulties of moving manpower abroad within the pandemic environment.
Businesses should ensure that they build the right contacts with partners and influencers, and shell out appropriate investments to support their growth. Most importantly, they have to be in sync with the regulations in the markets they are looking to grow in.
Lastly, have a universally appealing message, yet be immersed locally when entering any market. With the right planning and a growth mindset, the route to internationalisation will be smoother.
About the Author
Karam Malhotra | Partner and Global Vice President | SHAREit Group
Based in Singapore, Karam helms the global sales team and formulates strategy for SHAREit to build a digital ecosystem, especially in the emerging markets. An entrepreneur by passion, Karam has co-founded two businesses: FastFilmz in 2015, which operated in the video on demand market while serving entertainment to smartphone users; and Greatest Common Factor (GCF), an ed-tech company in 2017, which looked to revolutionise how students prepare for competitive exams through a digital-first education approach.
