During my time as a visiting co-lecturer at DeVry University and its Keller Graduate School of Management, my students would often ask, “Why create a global company?” the answer is twofold: the Internet and the shrinking of the market. A starter company will strategically launch at a global level because selling products online increases customer sales globally and is cheaper than establishing a brick-and-mortar store. Entering the international market is the most the client way to expand business potential.
So why should you take your established business global? Well, with the power of the Internet, your business is already global whether you realize it or not.The difference is how you choose to capitalize on your international customers’ perception. You see, every business has eyes on it thanks to social media, the Internet, the need to increase market share, and the globalization of the entire economy.
Imagine you are a performer on a stage telling a stream of hilarious jokes to the crowd in front of you. As you speak and the audience responds with laughter, you come to realize that there is power in this performance. You know this audience well, and they become like putty in your hands. You know how to play them, and you do it well.
Now, imagine that your sixth sense is picking up something in your peripheral gaze. You turn to see that the curtain that once hung behind you has been lifted, revealing another audience. Some of them are chatting to themselves while others are giving you their rapt attention, demonstrating a strong interest. As a performer, you now have a choice: you have the opportunity to wield this power and duplicate your performance to both audiences, or leave it be and simply hope that the second audience grows to love you as much as the first.
This is a parable of the global economy set on the stage of the Internet. We now engage clients with ease, and sometimes without realizing that we are onstage and performing for customers who don’t even speak our language or share our own culture and traditions.
As business-people, it is our job to turn around and face that new target audience. What I’m saying is that just because you’re not aware of eyes focusing on you doesn’t mean you’re not being noticed. The beauty of it is that the power is all yours. You have the power to maintain brand integrity while tweaking your message to appeal to countries, cultures, and traditions to which you’ve never even been exposed.
Think outside the box and act as a global executive.
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