SHAKERS & MOVERS
n
PRODUCTIVITY
How to Enter New Markets
By Dr. Rollan Roberts II
Y
ou’ve had some success in a
particular niche or geographic
area. You’re ready to expand
and grow into other geographic
markets, perhaps even internationally. I
want you to hit pause for a moment and
consider the following:
Determining when, how, and where
you should expand will be the most
critical steps of the journey. But get
these “critical few” right, and the
“trivial many” will be significantly
easier and require less decision-
making time and execution (read 90
Day Race for more on the critical few
vs. trivial many).
I primarily reference brick and mortar
businesses, but digital and online
companies can apply the same
principles to different target markets
as opposed to geographical markets.
Most companies just look at what new
markets they can enter to generate
the most revenue, but here are 7
additional considerations as you enter
new markets. because of the people, even though
the products, processes, and layouts
are the same or similar. Every now and
then, I run into a rogue Starbucks – one
where the culture (i.e. people) are not
at all what corporate would want. They
lie, cut corners, are sloppy, lazy, and
everything that Starbucks has tried to
guard against through layout, process,
training, and procedure.
1. How does your corporate culture
mesh in the new market?
If you want your global staff to enjoy
employee lunches every Friday, keep
the stocked beverage and snack break
room, the game room, the values,
the best practices, the same level of
excellence in customer service, or any
other key aspect of your corporate
culture, understand the battle you’re
embarking on and recognize it must
always be defended. Every Starbucks
has a very different vibe and feel 2. How much autonomy does local
management have?
Are your other stores and locations
allowed to have their own Facebook
page, Instagram, and other social
media? Does that serve your brand to
have a bunch of local pages instead
of one page with many followers?
If you just have the one page that
serves everyone, how is the local store
supposed to promote daily specials
or share new employees, and build
relationship with the local community?
If each market has their own social
media, what happens when one has a
crappy DIY graphic artist and your brand
and that local page looks atrocious?
You might say you will approve all social
media, but that is cumbersome and not
scalable. It is also likely to cause you to
lose your best people in those regions
because you need leaders, and there’s
usually a struggle with how much
control a local leader has.
When Uber expanded internationally,
there were numerous challenges
to preserve the independence
and autonomy they were seeking,
while still maintaining control over
their brand and image. They had a
centralized/decentralized business
model that allowed for customization
at the individual country level (and at
the local level depending on certain
international markets).
continued
VOL 4, Issue 1
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IBASuccessMagazine.com
43