Asian expansion: How to grow your business abroad

Asia is one of the most profitable markets to establish a foothold in. For brands hoping to embrace international trade, breaking into Asia should be a priority.

However, there are a variety of challenges that need to be addressed and tackled before you can make growth a success. With a variety of regions and business environments to get used to, there is no guarantee of success for businesses that hope to expand into Asia.

Market research is going to be critical, as is being more aware of the complex differences between business in your home country and how business works in Asia. If you have your company targeted firmly on Asia, here are some key factors to consider.

Market Variety

Economies and cultures vary significantly from country to country, and Asia is comprised of many wildly different countries. For every opportunity that arises in one country or municipality of Asia, a fully developed growth strategy needs to be researched and planned. For faster-growing regions such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, your strategy will need to be very different from growth in less developed countries, and you will need to adjust your approach.

Local Talent Sourcing

One of the reasons why expansion into Asia is so popular is due to the wealth of available talent on offer. Making use of local talent to grow your brand in a new foothold can be vital, especially when you consider the costs of bringing your existing team into a new country where they will be held back by lack of language skills and local knowledge. There will be a stark difference between finding valuable talent in Vietnam and recruitment in China, so choose your market wisely and use companies like INS Global to make it easier to get your hiring strategy right.

Competitor Research

Business expansion into Asia will mean having a clear awareness of your competitors that are already in place. You need to make sure that you not only have a USPbut that there is a demand for that unique selling point. Localization of your product is going to be an essential step, and that means adjusting your costing in terms of shipping and customer service.

Your marketing will also need to be retargeted to your new demographic, with even big brands making cultural mistakes that have damaged their expansion plans and had a negative impact on brand perception.

Business Infrastructure

While countries like China and Singapore already have tight ecosystems for businesses, other countries may be less formulated. With destinations like South Korea and Vietnam seeing rapid growth, especially for tech startups, you need to make sure that you have the flexibility to adapt to changes in infrastructure requirements.

You need to research the business environment and make certain that you have all of the core legal requirements for each country that you want to establish a base in. This can only protect your business and makeit easier to build a firmer grasp on your new markets.

Don’t forget that expanding into Asia will also mean that you need to tackle both cultural and language differences. Your business will have a much better chance of breaking ground in a new territory if you take the time to develop a growth strategy that is designed specifically around each new geographical location that you hope to break into.

Fail to do your research and your dreams of international expansion could falter before they even begin.