going-global-top-tools-for-identifying-foreign-expansion-opportunities

Going Global: Top Tools for Identifying Expansion Opportunities

Foreign expansion is a serious undertaking. Running a UK business is tough enough, so it’s little wonder many business owners are hesitant to sell their products and services overseas. The cost, complexity and even a little fear can make businesses reluctant to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. You probably have very little weekend left as it is, so the thought of adding to your worries and your workload will not be the most appealing.

But the fact is, if you don’t expand into foreign markets, your competitors will. Do you want to sit back and watch the competition capitalise on an opportunity you identified? Probably not, right? In which case, it’s time to go global.

When building a case for expanding overseas, the most important thing is to make sure there’s a market for your products or services in the first place. The last thing you want is to pour you resources into a highly competitive market that could take years to crack, or a market with limited demand for the products you sell. So how do you assess the size of foreign markets before you take the plunge ?

These are just the tools for the job…

1. Google Global Market Finder

This is a really handy tool, and not only because it’s free. This AdWords extension helps you understand the performance of particular keywords around the world and gives you insight into the searchers’ intent. The tool itself is very simple. It translates your keywords into 56 languages and lets you see how many searches are made a month in each language along with the level of competition for each.

If you find that a certain keyword that generates a lot of searches in a particular country, but the competition for that keyword is actually very low, you might have struck gold.

 

2. Global Web Index

The Global Web Index combines the world’s largest digital consumer study with cutting-edge analytics to provide genuine insights that can improve your foreign expansion decisions. It offers a free 14-day trial so you can try before you buy, and you might find the trial provides all the insights you need.

Using this tool, you can identify your audience based on thousands of digital consumer data points, and use that information to get a better understanding of their online behaviour and lifestyle. That includes information such as their wealth profile, the devices they own and their media and social media habits. This allows you to not only identify a market in the first place, but also to segment your audience and allocate a marketing spend to reach and engage them based on their preferences and behaviour.

3. SEM Rush

This tool can provide you with a comprehensive range of information to help you crack a new market online. You can compare domain names and estimate the difficulty you’ll have ranking for your keywords, and gain insights into paid search advertising and SEO in your industry. You can also scope out the competition, identify the keywords they are targeting and take a closer look at their activity in terms of paid search and digital advertising.

4. Santander’s Trade Hub

If you’re a Santander customer then you can access the Trade Hub for free. If you’re not, creating a free trial account will give you restricted access to the features on offer. This includes functionality to help you identify where to trade, who to trade with and how to establish yourself overseas. It will also identify the top markets for your products and services to help you understand where the demand is.

Need help with your foreign expansion plans?

Once you’ve decided to expand your business overseas, we can provide the essential assistance you need to put your best foot forward in foreign markets. For more information about our translation, transcreation and copywriting services, please email: info@linguistica-international.com or call: 02392 987 765 to speak to our team.