inside FEATURES


Is this what your global customers really want?


By Chui Chui Tan (pictured), founder and director at Beyo Global


Whether you are looking into launching into a new market now or in a few years, it is important to start thinking global at the earliest possible stage of the business.


Regardless of what you sell, it is inevitable that they will be used or consumed by people from different backgrounds, countries and cultural groups. One thing to remember: what


your British customers want might not be what your German customers look for. A great experience for your American consumers might be completely opposite of Chinese consumers’. A brand identity might be communicated perfectly in France could be a disaster in the Middle East. How can you and your team, who are based in the UK, figure out how to create a great experience for your customers in Japan, Mexico or Russia? Regardless of the size of your business and markets, you might be in one or more of these stages:


• In preparation to break into new markets


• To grow your sales in the markets that you are already in


• To unlock the next wave of growth in a specific market or region


Going global is more than just translation (localisation). It is also about making sure you have got your brand identity right in each market, providing the product features and services which match to the needs of the locals or partnering up with the right local providers. You should look beyond cultural differences, but also to look into the overall ecosystem of that


24 insight MARCH/APRIL 2019


country. This could include its economic or political situation, its infrastructure set-up and sometimes you might even need to go way back to the history of that country.


Ultimately, these are the aspects


which influence how people behave and why they behave the way they do, drive their attitudes toward specific aspects and have an impact on what they need, like or expect.


Subsequently, these behaviours


and attitudes will shape how a market evolves. This is why we recommend not


to make your key business decisions solely on market research or some kind of quantitative survey. The danger of only looking into what your customers are doing now and what the market looks like today: you might be following the wrong trend or you are always going to be one step behind your competitors. It is tricky for you to identify the real opportunities for your brand and product to stand out in a crowded market, to be innovative. Instead of conducting their own research to understand their global markets, some businesses rely on their local wholesale or store partners to provide insights into the markets. Undeniably, you would learn some new things about the markets from them. The risk is that, they are likely only to tell you what they see on the transactional side (e.g. What sells better and when) and some generic cultural norms without insights on a deeper level. The information they provide you are also ones they offer to other competitors of yours. They are not unique insights which you could


use to differentiate your products in that market. There are many ways


‘We recommend not to make your key business decisions solely on market research’


that you could learn about your customers in different markets. It depends on the nature of your business, what you know already about the markets, what you are aiming to achieve, as well as your budget and time frame. Sometimes a day workshop with a culturalisation expert is all you need.


Finding the right approach is


key. Choosing the right expert partner to help you with this is even more vital. We have heard stories of how a big airline company spent a lot of money on primary research with their vendors. All they learnt was a high- level hypothesis about their APAC markets. They were then left with the problem of not knowing what this hypothesis really mean and how they could act upon it. If the research was conducted in the right way (e.g. asking the right questions, knowing which areas to focus on, knowing how to analyse the output and so on), with the same amount of money and time they invested, they could have unlocked their APAC customers’


BUSINESS GROWTH


needs and have a clear, actionable plan


to define their business proposition, marketing,


partnership and product


strategy. As David, VP of Product Insights


of Spotify (one of Beyo Global’s clients) said: “I’ve seen it many times in every place I work. Products are developed and then (understanding the local markets) becomes the hindsight point. That is really something you need to consider up front. Yes, it takes additional time and cost at the beginning, but it will just save so many headaches down the road.” In summary, you must understand your customers and markets by combining cultural insights, behavioural insights and market insights. It will provide you with a holistic


view of a market and what a ‘best’ experience means to the locals. Then, use that to define your global and local business proposition and make various business decisions (e.g. product roadmap, business model, marketing and partnership strategy). Invest early, find the right expert to support you and be successful.


Visit: www.beyo.global


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