Navigating in the international marketplace is complicated. You simultaneously need to customize your approach, products, and services to meet the unique customs and preferences of each country where you do business while at the same time working toward brand consistency across all locations. 

The following strategies will enable you to facilitate cultural identification for your brand while maintaining the uniformity that is so essential.

What is global branding?

This term involves establishing and managing your company identity and voice across all markets. 

For this to happen, some policies and strategies will need to remain the same throughout the entire footprint without losing sight of the unique needs and characteristics of each region.

Foster a combination of consistency and flexibility.

Your initial step is to be absolutely clear about the image and voice you want the world to see and hear. In order for that to happen, you must first know your audience. 

Use both analytics tools and old-fashioned research to gauge who they are, what is important to them, who your competition is, any unique customs or preferences they may have, and how they like to communicate with you and each other.

Next, be clear about your mission. Who are you, and what do you want to provide to your customers? 

Moreover, why should people in international markets seek you out over your many competitors, some of whom are based in their own country?

Another priority is to come up with your brand personality. Sit down and determine what traits it would have if it were an actual person. Using the data you have gathered about your audience and its unique preferences, be sure that you know how to make your company persona compatible with the customs, language, and needs of the people you want to serve.

Finally, it’s time to pull everything together by creating a brand stylebook. This document should contain all aspects of how you present your company: logo, colors, textual messaging, and language use guidelines. 

It is vital that you pay careful attention to every word you say about your business, the products you sell, your services, and your staff with an eye to the customs and cultures of your audiences.

Don’t lose sight of your brand personality, making sure that the tone in everything you disseminate is in line with it. 

This should also apply to any social media hashtags you use as well as all emails and invoices that go out to your various international customers.

Conduct market research and localization.

When seeking to successfully come to an understanding of the behaviors, expectations, and needs of each segment of your consumer base, market research is the optimal tool to use. 

After you obtain tangible data and insights, you can use localization to adapt your products and services to be in line with each demographic’s unique preferences.

Localization involves adapting your messaging, content, and products to be compatible with the language, culture, behaviors, and social norms of each country where you market your products and services. 

When localization works well, it enables you to get your message across to all audiences in a way that is consistent both with your brand identity and buyer needs and preferences.

Success in this complex undertaking involves direct action on your part. Hire local experts so that you can benefit from their familiarity and direct experience with the customers. 

If necessary, enlist their help in hiring the best translators, enabling you to optimize your media and website in a language and style that will appeal to potential buyers. Doing so is at least as important as going through the steps necessary to set up international payment processing.

Furthermore, work hard to understand the nature of your competitors, particularly the culturally relevant subtleties of their marketing and merchandise selections. Remember that many of these businesses will be based in your shoppers’ local regions, giving them an automatic advantage over you out of the gate. 

Ask what they are doing right and where the areas of unmet need, i.e., customer pain points, lie so that you can come up with innovative strategies to set your business apart. Again, local experts can be a gold mine in this regard. 

Throughout, keep your focus on maintaining and presenting your authentic brand identity, catering to each market’s specialized requirements.

Focus on social responsibility.

If you want to gain favor with an eclectic group of international customers, one of the best ways to make it happen is to help your customers coalesce around principles and priorities that everyone can embrace. 

Shoppers from all demographics but particularly Gen Z consumers tend to be loyal to companies who demonstrate their commitment to causes such as diversity, fair trade, environmental sustainability, etc.

Of course, your efforts need to be authentic and heartfelt, in keeping with the brand voice and choices you have worked so hard to develop and convey. Your commitment to these causes should take the form of tangible actions. 

For example, if you want to toot your own horn regarding caring for the planet, showcase your recyclable packaging, eco-friendly labor and shipping practices, and any charitable donations you may make to earth-centered causes.

Ideally, you should work to show how your commitment to your preferred cause is making a positive impact on the home country where your customers live. 

In spite of the geographic distance that may exist between your headquarters and your clients, your extended reach and direct efforts on the ground in their country will help to cement that all-important personal relationship between each buyer, your brand and your business as a whole.

Succeeding at selling abroad involves more than just hanging out your virtual shingle, setting up your foreign payments infrastructure and waiting for the profits to roll in. 

But with a carefully created and consistent brand that embraces local differences while never losing sight of your company’s unique voice and mission, you can forge a new path and provide your special set of products to a diverse, passionate international customer base.