The key to successful global export management: A strong line of communication
Today, internationalisation is crucial for sustainability and long-term growth. Companies that want to stay competitive have to access new foreign markets to boost exports and international sales. They have to compete with domestic companies to win over international consumers. Of course, it sounds easy, but for companies that have previously only ever supplied to one market and have no knowledge or skills when it comes to multinational sales in foreign markets, they’re like fish out of water. Consider how these tips on ensuring effective communication across your supply chain can help kickstart your global expansion journey.
Foreign distributors
Finding and selecting the right foreign distributors is a very important step in the internationalisation process. One thing to remember, every market destination acts differently — each foreign market has distinct market regulations regarding international trade so do your research beforehand! Business standards and customs differ between each foreign market too.
The way in which a company communicates with their foreign distributors affects their closing rate of sales abroad. Companies contract foreign distributors not because they hope they’ll drive international sales but because they KNOW they have the ability to do so. Their knowledge of the market destination gives them more power than the company will ever have. Say for example, a UK company wishes to launch their product into France, it would be worthwhile for them to translate brand material and translate documents from English to French so that the foreign distributors can fully comprehend all the information you send them. Just like international sales teams, foreign distributors have to feel confident and believe in a foreign product, so translating material into their native language is the only way to transfer product knowledge and enable them to close more sales abroad.
Foreign suppliers
Establishing a trustworthy relationship between you and foreign suppliers makes the foreign export process a lot easier, trust is a must! This relationship ultimately revolves around fluid communication. Our startup understands that language is a huge barrier for internationalisation and global export management and we’ve learnt first hand that it can seriously delay the onboarding time of new products into foreign markets. Let’s say for example, a US company wanted to boost exports to the Spanish market and have hired new foreign suppliers they have never done business with before. Before a business relationship with these new foreign suppliers can commence, it is advisable that a well written contract is drawn up. It is crucial that both the US company and their foreign suppliers understand fully and are in 100% agreement as to which party is responsible provided something does not go to plan. This agreement should cover all aspects from insurance costs, trading/shipping terms to payment methods and liability. As expected with foreign suppliers, language can be a huge drawback in establishing a strong commercial relationship. Whilst foreign suppliers may speak some English, communicating solely in English simply is not an option — especially when there is a lot at stake. To avoid any miscommunication, the US company would benefit from translating contracts from English to Spanish so that both parties know exactly what is expected of each other.
Alternatively, the US company has the option of finding a local partner in Spain, someone who can act as an English to Spanish translator and vice versa. Meeting face-to-face with the foreign suppliers to go through all the clauses in the contract in their native language prevents any miscommunication that could arise with language differences. Having a local partner that can translate from English to Spanish comes in handy, especially if there is a problem down the line that requires communication over the telephone.
All in all, maintaining in regular contact with foreign suppliers by translating material into the native language of the foreign market helps to ensure products reach its market destination in a timely fashion.
International consumers
Establishing an efficient global supply chain is important, but ultimately, it is the international consumers that determine your level of sales abroad. If a company wants to boost exports into foreign markets it means they are confident that their product will sell abroad. They’ve thoroughly researched their market destination, it’s culture and the behaviour of their international consumers and have identified a need for their product in that foreign market. In order to encourage sales abroad, companies have to ensure that their brand message is translated to its international consumers in a way that helps them identify with both the product and the company itself. A company’s international consumers want multiple touchpoints so they can interact with the values of the brand. This means that generating content through multilingual social media platforms and multilingual online marketing campaigns. Keeping the foreign market engaged through online content is key for leveraging sales abroad and building a strong community of loyal international consumers. Developing multilingual marketing campaigns during global expansion is what separates successful internationalisation from failure.
If you’re unsure on where to start with this, entering into a joint venture with a local partner is always an option and it could really help the success of your company, especially when kick starting global expansion. Their expertise and experience of the foreign market means they can help tailor the product to fit the international consumers’ needs perfectly.
So, get down to it and prepare your company to hit new markets. Get ready to work on multilingual contracts and multilingual marketing content and you will have half of the work done!
GearTranslations offers professional translations and multilingual content creation for technical sectors such as IT, Finance, Health, Safety, Legal, Pharma, and Manufacturing. Accurate, professional translations and creative content are a vital component in the internationalisation of your business to break down the language barriers that prevent fluid communication with international consumers, foreign distributors, and foreign suppliers in any market overseas.
We offer 24/7 access to our online platform, speedy delivery of up to 5 hours, a cloud-based back-up copy for all previous translations. Our personalised translation library means you can save costs in the long run and our unique algorithm lets you capitalise on each translation, transforming your multilingual content into valuable assets for your company.
We’re a startup that values expansion at a global level. We understand that internationalisation entails many challenges because we ourselves have been there too when we expanded into new foreign markets. So, are you ready to embark on the internalisation journey, launch into new market destinations, and drive sales abroad? Contact us. Our translation service and multilingual content copywriting is the door to expand your business! We have a team of talented linguists, software developers, and creative millennials ready to help you improve your multilingual communications.
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