Testing International Digital Markets
International business growth is a natural stage of progression for many businesses once they have reached their potential in their domestic market. At first, it may seem natural to begin growth into other English-speaking countries, such as the USA and Australia, and if they’re available to you, we’d totally support that. But often the truth is that there may not be demand for your product there, or that competition conditions in these countries are unrealistic. For example, the US digital market is simply oversaturated, and there are a number of logistical challenges associated with the Australian market. Because of these potential issues, it is of vital importance that you test your desired international market before you invest any time or money trying to break it. There is a lot to think about in your choice of overseas markets including, but not limited to, the strength of competition, the similarities in buying and usage of your product compared to your domestic market, the country’s economic viability and potential GDP growth.
When choosing markets there are a number of factor to consider, but here are 2 key steps that Integro can guide you through to understand if a market is really for you or not:
Assessing depth of digital competition
Nowadays, thanks to search engines, it is easier to estimate your competition in a market. With keyword research, it is possible to see who are your main competitors for your products and services in a particular market. The most vital part of this is that you completely understand the search terms you use currently, in your domestic market. You should know terms what your site is already organically ranking for. If you don’t, then ask us and we can help you find out. After this, Integro can help you to understand the similar and relevant search terms used in your target language, producing a report on the strength of competition for these terms in your target market. This process alone can tell you a huge amount about how to market to a particular territory.
This report itself can help you to spot market gaps, and to see how the different competitors already in the market might match up to you. For example you could spot that market has a clear gap for a premium player, or that the digital market for your product is saturated with Amazon resellers- which would at least advise your strategic decisions. You may also see that the market is already well served by a range of successful, well-branded and respected sellers, suggesting that your time and money would be better spent in another market. You can then act appropriately, depending on what you learn from the report.
Testing business strategies
At this point, Integro can help you experiment with some low-risk strategies in your chosen target market to test your viability in that market. Usually, we recommend beginning with content marketing- for which keyword research is usually the best option. We will help you choose a small range of relevant keywords- the more specific the bigger the impact- to attract internet traffic. One approach at this point is to create a Google Ad in your target language, supported by website content to promote the product you are advertising. After this, you can run a search engine advertising campaign (don’t just think Google!), with a fixed budget at this point, to measure how well customers in your target audience respond to your product- be it through lead generation, newsletter signups, downloading a digital product or actually making sales.
At this point, we’re not out to sell. Any sales that are made or leads that are created are a bonus (and do happen), but you are doing at this point is simply testing the viability of your product, USP and message in that market. That means that gaining as much customer feedback and measuring how they respond to certain elements is the most important aim. This testing can be done reasonably quickly and easily, and at a low cost, which means you needn’t worry about wasting time testing a market that isn’t actually suitable.
At Integro, we want to see our customers achieve their international growth goals, which means we will provide you with the best service and advice possible. We want customers to be successful in their international growth journey, and will work as closely as possible with them in order for this to be possible.