4 Questions to Ask Before Expanding a Business Internationally in Today's Borderless Work World

By Aimee Schuster

I recently consulted for a successful professional services startup where one of the original employees (head of sales), a huge asset to the organization, approached the CEO about a move abroad. The employee wanted to capitalize on the post-pandemic “work anywhere” philosophy, and felt she could be effective by scheduling her European life on the U.S. time zone while also building the business overseas.

The CEO, wary of the overall hiring realities (see: great resignation) immediately said yes—why not consider expanding the business internationally while maintaining a highly valued employee? But as the realities of the borderless work world came into focus, there were some very real hurdles to arrange.

Having previously led a global marketing organization, I was able to help the CEO ask the right questions in deciding if now was the right time for international expansion.

Key questions to ask before expanding a business internationally

1. Does your organization’s image/message translate across the country or across the globe?

In a famous blunder from the 1980s, Braniff Airlines advertised for travelers to fly “in leather-seated luxury” but when the ad was translated to Spanish, it said travelers should ″fly naked!” This hilarious foible is a very real example of how companies can look at best silly, and at worst tone deaf, when they go across continents.

For startups to consider how their offerings, services, and overall brand will resonate across the globe, they will often take a very “startup” approach: “Let's send someone there and see what happens.” Before a company sets foot overseas, it needs to understand how it will be perceived, especially if it is a professional services company or sells B2B.

The road of successful global professional services companies is lined with mergers and acquisitions for a reason: it's a lot easier to merge with organizations that have people on the ground. These people know the language, both spoken and unspoken, to successfully shepherd a brand into a new market. Understanding the ebbs and flows of sales in those markets is key for revenue and for overall marketing.

Key takeaway: Do as much research as possible before expanding a business internationally, and consult with local experts to augment your knowledge before you put your boots on the ground.

2. Do you understand the cultural and product expectations of the customers in the new markets you are targeting?

While Walmart rarely fails, it did so spectacularly in the early 2000s by ignoring the cultural differences and societal needs of a new audience in Germany. The overly friendly low-price store signified inauthenticity and poor quality to the Germans, who rejected the Walmart brand promise, and forced the company to pull out of the country altogether as Walmart's tried-and-true business model did not translate to German (and other) markets.

Whether it be a major retailer or a SaaS business, the stewards of your brand (sales and marketing departments) need to work with local champions who can provide you with expert opinions on things like what messages will and won’t resonate locally, how to navigate GDPR regulations in Europe or negotiation tactics in India, and why WhatsApp might be the channel of choice in Brazil.

Your brand will be judged, not only by the words in your ads and the copy on your website, but in your nuanced understanding of the local culture.

Key takeaway: When expanding a business internationally, your brand needs to swiftly adapt in each new market to be culturally relevant.

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3. Can you launch an international digital strategy efficiently?

The digital universe has made nearly every company an international organization. If you have a website, you can access anyone in the world who uses the internet. But access to markets and success within them are two very different things.

I once led the launch of a global website that brought together a dozen previously disparate country-specific websites across North America, EMEA, and APAC. The new website needed to have a lead-focused, mobile-first design; be internationally compliant for SEO best practices; and—here is the kicker—be in six languages to support 43 countries. We succeeded in launching the site, but that effort was not without lots of speed bumps:

• Should the English be in British English, U.S. English, or both?
• Who will review the German site to make sure the outside translators’ efforts correctly captures the product specifications?
• What URL structure works best in China?
• How do you handle SEO when terms differentiate across languages?
• How do we choose photography that resonates with every market?

Additionally, as marketers and content creators tend to think locally (“Can we do a July 4th Independence Day push?” “How do we tie in Thanksgiving?”), obviously none of this content is usable outside the United States. So, do you only create generic content to resonate across the globe? Or does each market run its own programming?

One of the biggest issues we encountered was requests to translate the company's product/service. Salespeople in local markets felt (rightly) that while the marketing efforts could be more easily localized, it would not be successful if the actual product was not available in the local language.

Both hyper-local content and translated products and services are high-effort, high-cost endeavors. When discussing an efficient global approach, know that there will be difficult conversations and many trade-offs.

Key takeaways: Know that you can't do it all when it comes to a global digital strategy, you can't please everyone, and be ready to prioritize efficiently and effectively.

4. How do you maintain communication across continents?

When you operate a global sales and marketing team, half the battle is a finding time to talk. If, for example, you're based in Chicago, it may mean getting on calls/Zooms/chats at 7 a.m. Central time, as this is when it's 1 p.m. in London and 10 p.m. in Sydney; the Los Angeles folks, however, have a brutal 5 a.m. wake-up call. These are the things that people rarely think about when they decide to go global.

And then there’s the rest of your day. If you host a noon Central time webinar with a guest speaker who is based in Chicago, the webinar will be at 3 a.m. in Sydney. Do you ask the guest speaker to do the webinar twice? Of course, you can record it, but know that attendance will be lower.

Yes, you can connect via email, chat, and voice notes, but trying to find opportunities for teams to collaborate in real time is crucial, and doing that across time zones can become one your biggest stresses.

Key takeaway: When expanding a business internationally, be ready for some sleepless nights and be flexible with your schedule.

Succeeding in a borderless world

For the company that I consulted, embracing a true borderless work world meant too many proverbial potholes and challenges. For the particular individual who wanted to go abroad, we decided that the time was right for a move—just one within the United States. In this decision, we ultimately satisfied the employee’s need for growth while creating a more attainable success story for the business.

Taking your U.S.-based products or services to an international audience can be compared to launching a business in another world. Without a well-informed, methodical approach, as well as a deep understanding of the global market, the potential negative impact to your business can be high. In many cases, the best answer on whether now is the right time international expansion is "we're not ready yet."

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