Author: Pamela Swift

Figuring out a market go-to strategy can be a challenging task. Add to this the complexity of culture and economics from across the world and it is clear why few businesses successfully make the transition from being a domestic player to an international corporation. Take McDonald’s for example. The extremely successful quick service chain is positioned as a cheap fast food option for customers in countries like the US. At the same time, the company markets itself as an urban fast food joint for customers in developing economies.

As an entrepreneur, it is important to understand how your product fits each of the demographics that you target. This is true not only while working on the positioning of your product in a specific geography, but also in deciding whether or not you must enter a specific market or not. Here are a few factors you will need to take care of while marketing your product in different countries across the world.

Understand your market 

Your go-to strategy and positioning depend a great deal on the level of saturation and competitor profile in the market. Take dishwashers, for example. The product is quite ubiquitous in countries like the United States where the market is saturated and is dominated by the likes of Bosch, Samsung, GE, Frigidaire and Whirlpool. At the same time, dishwashers are not really a thing in a number of emerging markets including the likes of China and India. A brand entering countries such as these would not only be required to position themselves as the best in business, but also educate the customer on the need for such a product.

Chart your competitor profile 

How your customers view your product vary across markets and a major contributor to this is the prevailing competitor profile. ECommerce is a terrific example of this. In many countries in the developed world, eCommerce is a mainstream reality and your market positioning should be based on creating a streamlined process and differentiating yourself from existing players in the market. On the other hand, eCommerce in smaller and poorer countries could still be in its infancy. As a result, a lot of your marketing should be about establishing credibility and trust in the market. Customers who are not exposed to eCommerce may not really prefer purchasing a product without the ‘touch and feel’ that they are used to with conventional retail.

Acknowledge cultural and linguistic differences 

Marketers routinely make the mistake of crafting a universal positioning statement that is then translated into the various native languages that the product is marketed in. This is not only ineffective, but also extremely risky. KFC, for instance, launched their “finger-lickin’ good” campaign in China with a Mandarin translation that literally meant “we’ll eat your fingers off”. Such campaigns can cast a negative light on your brand and can potentially be viewed as culturally insensitive, ultimately hurting your customer acquisition efforts.

Prepare a pricing strategy 

Pricing plays a major role in determining the success or failure of your product in a market. Startup businesses seldom have local manufacturing or assembly plants and instead rely on global distribution from their warehouse or supplier. This can affect your success in a number of ways. Competitors who source and manufacture locally in emerging economies will often have a price advantage over your product. This is especially true if it is exported to the market, as the international shipping costs can add as much as $10-$20 per product for even small scale shipments. Your marketing strategy should identify a price point and this should help you work out the strategies for procurement, manufacturing, assembly and distribution.

Catering to a global customer base can be quite challenging. But we are living in an extremely globalized world that has made such transactions simpler and seamless. By understanding your market and your customers, you can pave the way to building a solid go-to strategy that is the first step towards succeeding at a global scale.

Article Contributed by Kumar Venkatesiah

Launching a business in a saturated market can be an overwhelming experience. Depending on the industry you are in, you may have competitors that have high brand equity and those who have existed in the business for several decades. Establishing credibility and trustworthiness in a market overrun by such competitors is no easy task. But it can be done. Here are a few ways a startup entrepreneur can take on competitors with high reputation in a saturated market.

Carve a niche 

Why do customers go to Toys “R” Us stores when you can buy toys at a Walmart or Target store? The answer lies in the fact that Toys “R” Us has managed to carve a niche for itself in this category. A customer looking to buy toys would prefer a niche store over a generic one for two reasons – one, a specialized store is more likely to have a larger depth of products to pick and choose from, and two, positioning your business as a specialist in a category helps with a higher ‘top of the mind’ recall.

Entrepreneurs should look at carving a niche in their industry of choice. For instance, someone looking at launching an apparel business could focus on something really niche – like formal wear for women, or cotton shirts for men. This brings down the number of direct competitors quite significantly and helps you gain a foothold in the market that you may expand at a later stage when you have a loyal clientele.

Personalize/Customize 

Personalization of products is an industry that is often under-served in many product categories. If your industry does not yet have a popular provider of personalized products, it could probably be an opportunity for you to jump in. You could personalize anything from beer, cigar, t-shirts, water bottles to even placemats and candy labels.

Personalization may not suit all product categories though. In such cases, entrepreneurs could look at customization. Market leaders in most product categories sustain their leadership through economies of scale. This is only possible through the manufacture and distribution of high volumes of a limited number of SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). With customization, entrepreneurs could serve business requirements that are not fulfilled by a ‘one size fits all’ product that market leaders offer. Such a strategy works through a ‘high margin, low volume’ that helps startup entrepreneurs quickly get a foothold in the market.

Create a unique experience 

Carving a niche or personalizing the product cannot always work across industries. In other segments, the most effective and sustainable way to gain market share in a saturated market is by creating an experience that existing providers do not offer. For instance, Uber penetrated the monopolistic taxi market by offering a pickup and drop service that traditional taxis could not offer. Smartphone maker OnePlus penetrated the Android phone market by providing high-end features to mid-range customers. Creating an experience that does not exist today is a fantastic way to penetrate the market and gain market share.

Listening to the customer helps entrepreneurs identify such differentiating factors in business. You could, for instance, check out the publicly accessible customer support forums and product message boards online to identify the common pain points that customers face with the current products in the market. Alternately, entrepreneurs could conduct targeted surveys of people in your demographic to understand what they like and do not like with the current offerings. These strategies help entrepreneurs identify factors that could help you differentiate and thus create a unique experience for the customer.

Starting a business is never easy and launching in an industry that is saturated is extremely tough. But if history is anything to go by, it has been done time and again and it is up to the persevering entrepreneur to devise a strategy that can help them penetrate the market and beat the competition in their industry.