It doesn’t feel like that long ago that businesses stayed in their local lanes, where big brand chains and international enterprises simply didn’t exist. But, in just a few short years, they’ve become not only preferable but expected across industries.

There are a few reasons for this, including the simple fact that travel and international trade are now much simpler. With many modern shipping and distribution companies offering end-to-end international oversight, modern brands don’t even need to spend much to broach the most distant markets. 

All of this is great news, but it also puts growing brands under a lot of pressure to branch out to the most viable markets. The question is, how do you break the biggest markets in the world when they’re already thriving without you? 

Find Those Markets

Firstly, let’s consider the main question here – what do we mean when we talk about ‘big markets’? In a loose sense, a big market is simply one that’s consistently performing well, which is most easily determined by its performance on the stock market. For instance, the biggest markets in the world right now include countries like China, the US, and Japan. This ranking determines strong financial environments in those countries, as well as growth potential and a positive environment for varied business undertakings. Unfortunately, it only takes a quick Google search to discover this information, meaning that you won’t be alone in considering any of these prospects. 

Choose the ‘Best’ Market for Your Brand

Even high-performing markets won’t invest in unsuitable businesses, so it’s important to choose the ‘best’ market according to your brand. Conducting thorough market, competitor, and demand analysis can help you to identify whether a country requires or could benefit from your services, and whether operating here is financially viable for both your brand and any international clients. 

During this stage of the process, it’s also important to consider the practicalities of setting up shop in a new location and the details of how you’d achieve that. For instance, would you sell products online and ship them long-distance? Or, would you work with wholesale manufacturers or companies like J&J Fulfilment, who are poised to take care of all elements of international distribution for you? Ultimately, the simpler and more affordable your products will be to stock in a new location, the more easily you’ll be able to find a strong audience there. So, make sure you know your options, costs, and which of the world’s best markets you could most easily build a presence within. 

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Do Things Differently

Chinese electric car manufacturer Yangwang has already outstripped Tesla’s sales and is soon set to break the biggest international markets thanks to key differentiating features including floating and dancing vehicles. While you don’t quite need those bells and whistles, you do need a product that offers enough difference to justify international attention. After all, why would a foreign audience give you the time of day if they can stock the same product from a tried and tested local firm? 

They wouldn’t, so you need to give them a reason to choose you with products that provide an edge in some sense. Ideally, you should tailor that differentiating factor towards the market in question, e.g. innovative tech that takes on the best of America’s Silicon Valley, and be sure that no other companies are offering the same in that area. 

New Ways to Appeal to a New Audience

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If your product is good enough and your market choices are strong, then finding international acclaim should be as simple as determining new ways to appeal to a new audience. The good news is that this should be easier than you expect if you’re expanding from, say, a UK market to the US, where popular social media platforms like Facebook are useful tools for business in both cases. However, if you’re broaching a market like China, the most popular social platforms include WeChat (which now includes online stores), and Douyin, a short video social app that’s similar to TikTok. 

Researching the most popular forms of media in any country ensures that you’re always tailoring your content towards these outlets, and putting your brand where people are most likely to see it. Undergoing competitive analysis on the most popular advertising routes for each location can also help you to see the kinds of ads that perform best in each territory (e.g. long vs short, funny vs professional, etc.). 

Protect your business and your future by breaking the world’s biggest markets with these tips to hand.