Overcoming the barriers of business beyond borders

Overcoming the barriers of business beyond borders

Our history has come a long way from silk roads to spice routes, leaving a strong trail of diverse commodities being sent and brought over across various borders, thereby establishing strong trading alliances. Before the global supply chain was introduced, the trading sector was laxed about procuring raw materials and producing mass goods for profit and convenience. In order to protect local producers, consumer rights and keeping in check the quality concerns, the rules for foreign trade policy became stringent.

Although globalization signifies the interconnectivity of the world and economy of today, it has brought the world closer so that business has moved beyond local borders. In fact, they are famously called glocalization. To provide the exposure of foreign airs with a touch of local affairs.

While the movement of goods and services across the borders is just a click away, it is not without its due share of barriers and irrational decision measures. One such effort is:

Communication and Cultural barriers

Remember how Mcdonalds' suffered the wrath of vegetarians in India when there were no ‘aloo tikkis’ on their menu? This brought in the strong rejection from the significant Indian population due to cultural barriers. Similarly, if two countries have different language sentences, "we can try that" in America means the idea is approved. At the same time, it means it is rejected in Japan, and in Germany, it means an endorsement of the idea! Therefore, to avert such a crisis, it is essential to scale your offerings along with a go-to-market strategy and adapt to the change. Do not forget the strongest of species always survives, and learning the subtleties of culture and communication style can always make a world of difference.

Local competition

Although you have an out of the world strategy to offer for your consumers in the international market, they already must have similar offerings at maybe a better price or so. So, it isn't easy to outlive a local competitor in some foreign with your enterprise monopoly status. To avoid the impertinence and conflicts with local competition, you need to build a strong relationship with local businesses by finding the right partner. To expand into new territories is not an easy catch. Still, the proper knowledge and expertise from their patrons - shipping, storage, logistics, what have you, makes a transition of trading much more accessible.

B2B selling

Tax, tariff and other troubles

Gaining a fresh perspective about taxes of different countries could be taxing, and higher tariffs is the trump card that many countries often levy to avoid international players dominating the said market and enjoying power utilities. This could be a major hindrance, and before your expansion plans are rolled out, you may take a long U-turn- especially for small companies. Do the due diligence and sort out the legal battles before resuming the tariff threatened path.

Hiring the right talent and staff

Employees are essential to establish your stance in the foreign land. However, to sieve the right talent from the diverse talent pool, you need people who can comply with your strategies and similarly know their area of expertise and market map very well. (People you have never met face to face but just virtual meetings). Hiring staff from their country is a risk that may pile on your overheads, but it could be like playing with fire. Either burn your hands or come out like a phoenix rising from ashes. Unleashing the potential of people and leveraging their expertise, skills and strength to achieve your goals and objectives is a challenging but possible task with the proper measures.

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Takeaway

Times when businesses are constantly changing, new products and technologies are innovating, and market trends change quicker in a blink of an eye. You need to be dynamic in your approach. To run your expansion plans smoothly, take a carefully considered approach to new ideas, implementing only those that fit with your business goals and discarding those that won't.

Global business poses challenges but can be an opportunity for enormous organizational growth inside out.

Prepare yourself by closely following foreign policy, making connections in countries where you hope to do business, investing in employees and considering taking support for a nuanced interconnected business world to overcome barriers. So are you ready to test your business on international waters and make a journey from ‘Micro to multinational’ is an enjoyable ride!

  • Written by Admin, 22 August 2022.

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