Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Should You Pursue Foreign Markets

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Should You Pursue Foreign Markets Operating a business outside your home countrysounds appealing, and can in fact be an excellent way to take your organization to the next level. But, in addition to ensuring that youve perfected current processes first,expanding to foreign marketsrequires substantial time and resources and carefulconsideration of several factors. Haithem Elembaby is a startup founder with multiple exits, and is now an SVP atHarbinger,a firm that helps foreign startups gain sales traction in the U.S. market. “An initial step is understanding where your value proposition will be most compelling. Sometimes, carving a niche that your competition has avoided is a much easier strategy than going head to head, he says. But before you embark on that strategy, consider the following advice to help lay the groundwork for success abroad. 1. Join forces with the locals. Certain markets may require collaboration with a local partner. “Make sure you assess local regulations and expectations from new market entrants when determining which foreign markets to pursue, suggests Elembaby. Tim McHugh, CEO of global book publisherSaddleback Educational Publishingagrees, citing the example of Starbucks. “For years, Starbucks didnt know how to enter India as coffee is not as big as tea in India, McHugh says, but recently [they] partnered with a local company,Tata Beveragesto have a better chance of success. When considering foreign markets, it helps to learn the nuances of how your new audience makes purchases. “Map the key stakeholders and understand how to interact with them, says Elembaby. “For example, does the culture value directness or is relationship building more important? What works in New York will not necessarily work in London, let alone Beijing. You should also think through the economic and political stability of the region youre targeting. For the rest of the piece, head on over to the AMEX OPENForum.