The Seven Questions Every Business Must Answer for Global Success

  • Expanding your business through international growth can be a transformational opportunity but
  • also a daunting challenge. Many who try fall short of meeting their goals, often failing completely
  • and withdrawing.
  • It’s not a surprise given any entry into new international markets requires winning against
  • established businesses (either direct competitors or players serving the same need in different
  • ways) and in an environment where you typically lack the wider contextual understanding that
  • helps make smart choices in your home market.
  • While no silver bullet solutions exist, having clear answers to these 7 key questions can
  • help you win:
  • What is your real competitive differentiation and what unique aspects of your proposition will enable you to win as a new entrant to the market?
  • When entering a new market, you often lack many of the advantages you benefit from as an incumbent at home. This makes it essential to identify what is truly distinctive about your proposition, whether it’s cost, product or service design, or quality.
  • Often, it’s best to start with a narrower offering, centred on these strengths and build out once you’re established.
  • Where is the best opportunity for you to deploy your unique proposition?
  • Success depends on identifying a market opportunity that is not only large enough to justify the investment but also one where you have a clear right to win over local players. While the largest market might seem appealing, it’s not always the best starting point if you lack the resources to compete effectively.
  • Testing the waters in a smaller market can provide valuable insights and an opportunity to fine-tune your approach with lower risk and investment, before going big.
  • Do you understand how customer needs in new markets differ from your own, and how you can adapt your proposition while preserving its unique strengths?
  • Understanding local customer behaviour and preferences is crucial. Customers may use
  • your product or service differently than in your home markets, and they may have
  • alternative solutions that meet their needs. You may therefore need to carefully adapt
  • your offering.
  • Balancing between differentiation and alignment with established market norms is essential to ensure your offering is both understood and relevant whilst retaining its distinctiveness, the competitive advantages that set you apart and importantly, your right to win.
  • What’s the right route to market to reach those customers?
  • Determining the right route to market is crucial for reaching your target customers effectively. While having a compelling proposition is essential, success also hinges on how you deliver it. You may be able to sell directly using your existing sales resources and channels, such as online platforms. Alternatively, reaching fragmented customer bases may require engaging local distributors or wholesalers. Whichever approach you choose, it’s critical to evaluate and build the commercial capabilities necessary to manage these channels effectively.
  • Do the economics stack up to serve the new market in the long term?
  • Businesses need to consider whether price points, tariffs, and distributor margins allow for sufficient margin to sustain the business and generate a profit. In some cases, establishing local production or transitioning to a direct-to-customer model may be necessary to achieve economic viability once at scale.
  • What will it take to start driving traction?
  • To gain momentum, customers need to understand the benefits of your offering. Communicating through relevant channels—such as social media, influencers, anchor reference clients, or prominent store displays—can all make an impact. Initial price promotions, whether aimed at end customers or trade channels, may also accelerate initial adoption and help establish your presence in the market.
  • Do you have the financial and human capital needed to support the growth?
  • You need to assess whether you have the finances, expertise and capabilities needed to fuel growth until the business becomes self-sustaining.
  • If you can’t go it alone, partnering with an organisation that can help navigate the complexities of establishing a presence in uncharted markets could be a winning move.
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  • Partnering for Global Success
  • A good plan will have robust answers to these questions and greatly improve your chances of success, but even then some trial and error will likely be needed. Understanding how to build in the ability to make mistakes and adapt without undermining the whole plan is also a critical part of unlocking international growth.
  • As a global strategy consultancy we are uniquely placed to help clients build strong actionable plans to drive their international growth, working as one team around the world to bring local understanding of new markets as well as a deep understanding of business fundamentals and what it takes to win.
  • For decades, we have helped our clients successfully navigate the complexities of global expansion and over the past 10 years, we have also applied these principles to our own business, transforming from a UK-focused firm into a truly global organisation, now spanning the US, Europe, China, and Australia. This dual perspective has sharpened our ability to deliver high-quality, bespoke strategic advice, which is our hallmark.
  • Fuelled by our expert Partners working closely with teams and clients, we blend deep experience with tailored analytical firepower to craft strategies that are both actionable and impactful.
  • “At OC&C, we know international growth is both an opportunity and a challenge—we’ve helped clients achieve it for decades and have lived it ourselves.”