6 Building Blocks for Successful Crossborder Branding

— Billy Colston, Co-Manager, The StartUp Suite

Entering a new international market can be a daunting task with many factors to consider. Here we share some building blocks that make the cross-border marketing and branding part a little easier and your business’s global positioning stronger.   

Benefits of Being Crossborder Brand Ready: 

• Sixty-seven percent of apparel shoppers have made a crossborder purchase over the last year.

• Ecommerce platforms provide opportunities for retail companies to extend their brands with pre-set pricing structures

• Market entry is determined by your business, not a third party

• By addressing your global branding ahead of time, you may lower marketing costs later

6 Building Blocks for Crossborder Branding:

1. Take stock of your company and its intentions for crossborder sales/engagement.  Are you ready and do you know why you’ve chosen specific markets?  Consider working with an agency that specializes in market entry and crossborder distribution in the countries you’ve identified.

2. Focus on localized trends or build a more universal brand.  Depending on the timeliness of your product or service, you will either hyperfocus on localized trends and build your brand relevant to specific regions within countries, or focus on universal trends across regions, such as North America, South America, Latin America, Southeast Asia

3. Build a brand partnership with local or regional businesses. if done right, this can be mutually beneficial and, ultimately, a very successful strategy to gain awareness and sales overseas.  It can result in greater access to local market opportunities and greater brand penetration.  While business structure and brand alignment needs to be thought out, it can be ideal for companies that share brand synergy.

4. Similarly to how you would market domestically, it’s incredibly important to understand your international customers’ motivations and purchasing behaviors.  The local conditions, cultural considerations and technical capabilities are essential ingredients in deciding how best to reach your international customers.  

5. Make sure your online presence is optimized.  If you’re relying primarily on eCommerce as a cross-border sales channel, your website should accommodate different languages and currencies.  Your content should reflect that you are targeting international audiences.  You may even want to consider offering specific products for specific international markets.  If you’re a California company and you want to optimize your eCommerce presence, check out the California International Trade Center’s Global eCommerce Accelerator (free).  

6. Adapt your customer acquisition channels to your market. For example, online sales may be more successful in regions where Internet access and speed is greater, but brick and mortar or small shop channels are better where technology is not as reliable.  Further, consider mobile and SMS marketing in less developed countries where customers rely consistently on affordable cell phones.  Additionally, make sure content and messaging will be adapted as needed to create community, greater engagement and ultimately, conversions.

As you can see, there is much to consider when entering an international market, especially in how to position your business and stand out in the local culture. If you would like to know how your company’s branding and positioning can be stronger or if you want to launch internationally, check out the StartUp Suite - a customized solution that combines industry and market insights.  If you have questions, feel free to contact us.