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How to Expand your Business Globally with the Help of Coaching

EZRA
Oct 10 2024 | Observaciones
Una mujer dirigiendo una reunión.

A Leader's Guide to International Business Expansion

Research your market properly 

There’s no point expanding into new markets where demand isn’t sufficient for your business’s products or services. Without demand, achieving success is unlikely. If the economy is already unstable, sustainable growth will be just as challenging. So, understanding economic health is a key factor when considering your business's expansion into new markets. Undertaking market research is key to grasping how to expand your business internationally. 

Market research should include a full competitor analysis. Identify your new local competitors, what they’re doing and how successfully they’re doing it, and use this to determine how you can compete and excel within this new market. 

Think about consumer differences 

Consumer research is just as important as market research. Will your services or products be a cultural fit for these new consumers? Should adaptations be made to make sure this is the case? How are consumers in this market behaving? All these questions are vital to developing a sustainable plan if you’re thinking about how to expand a business globally. 

Are there any legal or regulatory considerations?

Legal regulations vary drastically in different markets, so fully understanding them is key before any moves are made to expand into new markets – this reduces the risk of blockers and barriers preventing your business from thriving.  

Consider your finances

Calculate the cost of expansion - the investment needed to do so and any financial risks relating to entering new markets and dealing with different currencies. Research the tax structures in these new markets. Is expansion currently financially viable for you? 

Think about local talent 

Being confident that you have the talent on the ground in these new markets, who are experts in their region and can drive growth for your business, is key. This includes talented leadership, who can be a driving force in integrating existing and new teams, developing local strategies that align with business goals and managing multiple regions if needed. 

Implement a risk management strategy 

We’ve already nodded to just a few risks that are involved in expanding a business globally. From dealing with economic instability to legal risks, a risk management strategy should be thought out and implemented before any expansion even begins. Without it, the risk of your business being burned by challenges and barriers is far higher, and could stretch far wider than the local market you’re entering. 

Long-term sustainability 

Can your organisation manage and sustain a long-term growth strategy? Is your strategy really sustainable in the long-run? Being realistic when it comes to global expansion is vital. And being realistic that you can do so while keeping up sustainable responsibility as a company is also key. 

How to expand your businesses globally with the help of coaching 

Coaching can play a vital role in helping your business expand globally. There are a lot of factors to think about, and coaching can support each of these - for example, developing new leadership, improving communication, fostering that cultural adaptability needed to appeal to a whole new market and aligning new teams with the overall strategic goals of the organisation. 

How can coaching contribute to your global expansion plans? 

Helping with leadership development 

With global expansion, your leadership team needs to have the skills to manage global operations, global workstreams and global teams. With different time zones, cultural expectations and consumer behaviour, this is a significant task. Supporting your leadership teams’ development to enable them to undertake these tasks is key if you’re looking for long-term success through international expansion. 

Leaders might also need to make decisions in unfamiliar markets, which can be a challenging position to be in, especially if they’ve not had experience in it before. Having a coach who can provide support with accredited knowledge and experience can be beneficial for success. 

Fostering cross-cultural abilities

Coaching can help leaders understand and respect cultural differences and business norms, as well as supporting them when integrating a business into a new market. Diversity and inclusion coaching can also help leaders manage a culturally diverse workforce that often comes with international expansion. 

Helping leaders deal with change management 

Change and transformation are inevitable when undertaking a project like global business expansion. Navigating significant organisational changes can be overwhelming, which is why coaching helps support leaders in this process, ensuring smoother transitions and helping to relieve resistance. 

Coaches can also help leaders communicate changes effectively and transparently, to keep employees motivated, engaged and aligned with the global vision. 

Improving communication and collaboration 

Business communication is key, especially across a multi-market operation. Investing in coaching to improve leaders’ communication can help markets work productively in unison, with a shared vision and goal. Coaching can also play a part in helping to manage virtual teams and overcome any language barriers that might exist when moving into new markets. 

Helping to foster innovation and creativity 

Within any big business change, innovative approaches are required. Coaches can encourage creativity when facing problems or developing strategies, helping leaders overcome obstacles, stay agile in an ever-changing business environment and take risks where necessary. 

Helping to align overall strategy with local execution 

Coaching can help bridge the gap between the global strategy and vision, and local execution. Because of the variation between markets, there is a real risk of losing the global vision during expansion, so ensuring that there are plans and proposals in place to guarantee the wider business goal is pursued, even at a local level, is key. Coaches can keep local teams working towards this shared vision.

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