Whether you intend to market a global brand and officially launch into other markets one day, or service customers around the world from your home market, starting to think and act like the most successful global brands is a great recipe for success.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS INGREDIENT CARD
Ingredient
Discover Your Market
Question:
How to market a global brand?
Answer:
Whether you intend to market a global brand and officially launch into other markets one day, or service customers around the world from your home market, starting to think and act like the most successful global brands is a great recipe for success.
Always start with thorough research
No matter what size your business is or where you’re operating, you can’t expect customers to automatically embrace what you’re selling. Global brands are successful because of the leg work they do to understand the nuances of new markets before launching into them.
Different cultures have different associations with things like colours and imagery. Brand names and slogans also sound and read differently across languages. By understanding these variations, they present themselves in a way that is relevant and appealing to each audience, while still remaining true to their brand identity.
This approach is relevant regardless of whether you plan to take your business global or not. No matter the market, you have to speak your customers’ visual language. A Gen Z audience is going to have different consumer behaviour than an older audience, and a community of thrill-seeking, extreme sports fans are going to have alternative needs to those seeking a more zen, mindful experience. How your brand looks, sounds and communicates is partially defined by those who you want to reach.
The more you can consider the needs of your customers, the more likely you are to build a relationship with them. This relationship translates quickly into trust, which can mean they not only become repeat customers but recommend you to their friends or via social media too.
Consistency is key
If you’ve ever been overseas and encountered a familiar brand, you’ll quickly notice that its visual identity is easily identifiable, regardless of whether it might have been translated into a different language or even given a localised brand name. There’s a reason UK burger chain Burger King reminds you of Hungry Jacks, and Smith’s chips look suspiciously similar to the Lay’s chips in the US. While they may have different names to accommodate their locations, their iconic brand colours, form, fonts and imagery remain the same.
This consistency in design is one of, if not the most, important considerations when building a brand. It helps an audience recognise and build associations with your brand – wherever they may encounter it. This means all your visual elements, such as logo, colours, form and imagery must maintain a cohesive look and feel across all parts of your brand, from your website and social media to your product packaging.
This also means making sure you are maintaining consistency in your mission and vision as a business too. Be strong and committed to your values, and communicate about them often with your audiences. This is how you build a brand that will stick in a customer’s mind – by showing them that your brand is relatable, reliable and one they can trust.
Deliver a five-star web experience
While customers from different markets might discover you through social media, if their interest in your brand is piqued, their next stop will be your website.
Nothing kills a sale quicker than a poorly designed website. So if you want these customers to stick around, make sure your online store is simple, easy to navigate, up to date and, most importantly, consistent with the rest of your brand identity. Especially for customers visiting from a different county, you want to make the overall experience from the first visit to purchase as smooth as possible, free of distractions and clutter that may confuse or alienate them.
Additionally, if you notice that your brand is resonating with a particular market, and you have the resources to do so, engaging a localisation expert to translate your website and make nuanced adaptations according to local culture and consumer behaviours will go a long way to making that market feel even more welcomed by your brand.
While it’s never been easier to expand your business across borders, it’s still not an easy task. But staying true to your brand and putting your audiences at the heart of your decisions, just as the most successful global brands do, will see you winning the hearts and minds of your customers, wherever they are in the world. (Source: Koshies Business Builders October 13, 2022: Shayne Tilley, Head of Marketing at 99designs).
Method
Businesses can survive for some time with poor record-keeping, insufficient finance,
or a lack of management skills, but they cannot survive without a market.
