As new greet this new decade, the world never seemed more global. With e-commerce, it’s now easier to scale your business to the international level. If you are planning to bring your brand to the American market, great news! The possibilities are endless.
If you manage to successfully take your business to the American market, this will open exciting avenues for your business. Wanting to introduce your brand to a new target is one thing. It’s another thing to do it successfully.
No worries, this guide walks you through 6 critical steps of bringing your brand to America:
Step 1: Prepare Your Brand
You may be an established brand in your country, but it’s critical to prepare for your brand’s first impression when expanding to a new market.
It’s likely that your business already has a brand persona established based on the markets you sell in. when entering a new market, you must first identify if the same personas can be used. Do extensive research on the preferences of your target demographic in the new American market.
Preparing how you want your brand to appear in the new market.
Step 2: Product Adaptation
Product adaptation is a common approach followed by brands when entering new markets. It’s the process of altering your product to meet the needs of customers in the new market. To make the product more appealing to the new market, you might have to change its price, size, or packaging. In some cases, you might even have to rebrand, which can be highly expensive and requires a lot of advanced planning.
Apart from making your product appealing to the foreign market, product adoption is also required for complying with foreign laws and regulations.
Step 3: Logistics planning
It is time to prepare how you are going to import products from your home country to America. In this step, you must identify your distributors and suppliers. Your goal should be to deliver the products to the warehouse in America in the most cost-effective manner.
Before contacting a distributors, and do some research. List down a few distributors you would like to work with and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Get all the information you need and create a 90-day plan regarding so that you know what to expect.
Step 4: Set the Price
The most nerve-wracking decision when bringing your brand to a new market, is setting the price. You don’t want it to be too high or too low. Selling in a different market also means staying on top of your taxes.
Depending on the product you are planning to sell, American corporate tax rates can be significant. The best approach is to optimize your taxes before taking the step to expand in the American market.
Analyze the prices of your competition in the American market. Don’t overlook price sensitivity. Typically, a higher price means lower sales volume. But some companies can generate revenue even by selling fewer units. It all depends on how sensitive your target market is to price fluctuations.
Step 5: Define the Channels
Okay, let’s assume you have done all the research and legwork, and you are now ready to bring your product to the new market. What channels will you choose?
You may create your store’s website, but that demands a lot of work, and it’s highly expensive if you are not a giant brand. The best approach is to take things slow and bring a few products initially. in that case, these your options:
· Amazon
The easiest approach is to list your products on amazon. It’s also less expensive to sell via Amazon.
· Trade Shows
Another way to introduce your products to the target market is via trade shows. Let the world know you exist. It’s also an excellent opportunity to interact with customers, let them see and touch your products, and engage with them.
· Digital Showrooms
A digital showroom is the online flagship showroom of a brand. It’s used in place of a physical store. Software is used to create a link between the digital and physical worlds.
With 3D images and dynamic videos, these showrooms allow customers to closely interact with your product and examine all the best features. A single showroom can accommodate thousands of buyers. Plus, technology allows you to showcase your collection within hours.
· Dropshipping
This is a perfect way to test the waters. Become a dropshipping buyer or supplier. Bring exclusive products for sale in the American market. The best thing about dropshipping is there is no need for inventory and the manufacturer handles everything from packaging to shipping. This could save you so much cost!
Step 6: Prepare a Sales Force
This is the last step of launching your brand to the American market. You must decide whom to partner with, where your warehouse should be, and who will be your sales representative. It’s pertinent to develop a professional sales force. Your sales team will come in direct contact with the customers. They must know all the ethics of customer sales and support in the United States.
In any case, the customer is the king. Give them what they need, as they need it, and they will come back to shop again.
Bottom Line
Expanding in a new market is never easy. But one thing is clear: if you can follow all the steps and do everything right, you should be able to win the heart of the new customers. Success never comes easy. A lot of hard work will be required.
Once your brand lands in America, the next step is to focus on marketing, because how would customers know you have something valuable to offer. In the United States, the most powerful way of getting users’ attention is via social media marketing. Americans love Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, so come up with a plan to leverage these platforms to market your business.
You can’t do all of this alone. Don’t mind working with a marketing expert or an agency to help you bring new products to an international market and drive sales as well.
ShopCoutureCo. is an ecosystem with all the solutions for your brand to internationalize professionally in the American market.