U.S. Market Expansion: Key Strategies for International Brands and Entrepreneurs
It's not enough to make a great product with a strong brand, get it on the shelf in a U.S. store or website, and hope it will sell itself. If people in the market have never heard of it, then you’ll need to invest in creating awareness with potential buyers and consumers. Otherwise, customers probably won’t notice or consider your product when they arrive at the store or online shopping website. The same is true if you are trying to sell a business product, technology, or service to Americans.
How to enter and establish market presence:
#1 - Tailor Brands For the U.S. Market
Don’t assume the brand used in your home country will be appropriate. There might be negative connotations to the image, name, or brand message. Companies from the U.K. and other English-speaking countries have had to customize their websites and product literature to connect with American audiences. Also, be sure to display prices in U.S. dollars and measurements in feet rather than meters.
#2 - Be Authentic
Americans don’t like imitations; they prefer the real stuff, the originals. In this regard, foreigners have a competitive advantage, as they can introduce authentic products, recipes, and designs from their home country. Americans love to discover and try new things, which they can boast about to their friends—as in, “Hey, I just found this amazing wine from Chile!”
#3 - Be Noteworthy and Memorable
The U.S. is a crowded market with many options for consumers and business buyers. Therefore, you need to enter the competition by being new and interesting: standing out; worth noticing and talking about; exceptional. Seth Godin calls this being remarkable: "It’s a purple cow. Boring stuff is invisible. It’s a brown cow.”
Be a remarkable purple cow
#4 - Research U.S. Markets and Audiences
Consumers look for brands that can fulfill their needs and desires. Market research can uncover these requirements among groups of consumers. Ideally, you’ll conduct market research in the U.S. with a large sample size. At the very least you should conduct informal interviews for qualitative information and insights. Later, refine your marketing activities based on the new research and market performance.
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#5 - Hire Local Experts
It’s wise to engage people living in the U.S. to tailor branding and craft marketing. It’s necessary to demonstrate that you understand consumers’ problems and needs by speaking their language, using their idioms, and respecting their culture. Business-to-business customers want to see a commitment to the U.S. that can be demonstrated with a local presence. Several U.K companies have made the mistake of not creating a U.S.-specific website, assuming instead: “Well, it’s all the same language.” But that attitude misses the many key differences in spelling, idioms, humor, tastes, and other preferences between those countries lying across the ocean from one another.
#6 - Create Integrated Marketing
Marketing activities should include paid, earned, and owned media that can be amplified with shared media generated by consumers, influencers, and others. These should be timed appropriately, so the activities can work together. This is especially true when marketing on a tight budget. That means great advertising and marketing communications pointing to a strong website and social pages, which include images and press articles that can be shared. This is how big ideas can generate big results at little cost.
#7 - Get Warm Introductions
A referral from someone that your target customers and clients trust and whose judgment they respect is all-important. A warm introduction (via email or in person) will often get you a meeting, or at least a phone call, in which you can pitch your story or your ask. For international businesses entering business-to-business and other fields, it’s valuable to find locals who can become part of your team. People with local connections will save you months of calling and follow-up messages on prospective customers.
#8 - Test, Test, Test!
Try multiple marketing strategies and tactics. See which are most promising. No doubt your original ideas will need to be adapted, tweaked, or pivoted when you launch them in the U.S. Entrepreneurs should have a nimble mindset (test, learn, adjust) rather than a fixed mindset (“These people just don’t understand our solution yet”).
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