Communication Is Key When Expanding Your Business

One of the most important things to remember when expanding a business is communication.

Being able to expand your business into new markets overseas is an important milestone, and a sure sign of success. As such, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all without considering the practical issues you might face. However, international expansion can be difficult, and there are several things you will have to bear in mind.

Perhaps the most important of these is communication. You will have to be in touch with a wide variety of people on a regular basis, from regional supply-chain managers to experts on local culture to assist with your marketing, and even the people that will be cleaning and maintaining your new premises overseas.

If this communication breaks down, it can have a knock-on effect that can severely hamper your international expansion. If you cannot get in touch with a local legal advisor, for example, you might end up falling victim to regional business regulation that you were unaware of. This can potentially hamper your production line, and leave you with no product to sell.

One of the most common issues with communicating when moving overseas is dealing with the cost and hassle. Often, businesses must choose between talking via email, which can be time-consuming if one person in the loop doesn’t check their inbox regularly, or via telephone, which can end up being very expensive.

One option available is to use a communications system such as VoIP. If you can get this set up with your business partners – and it is worth checking, as many companies are using the technology – it can end up saving you a lot of time and money.

VoIP uses the internet to make calls, therefore much like sending an email, it does not cost any money to do so once you are signed up to the service. This can cut the cost of moving by a large amount, enabling you to invest in other areas. For example, you could hire an extra local advisor with the money you save, facilitating your smooth expansion.

Quick, easy calls to people around the globe can enable you to communicate much more efficiently with international business partners that use VoIP, leaving you with time to dedicate to talking with those that don’t. If you end up having to stick to email in order to save money, you might find the period of moving is extremely stressful.

One of the biggest benefits of good communication when expanding internationally is the relaxation it brings to the whole process. You will not have to worry unduly about the rapidly approaching move if you have already sorted everything out, thanks to your effective communications.

A happy move is usually a successful move. If you are stressed-out thanks to struggles with communication, you are more likely to miss something vital and end up causing more problems for yourself down the line. Investing in a service like VoIP can end up facilitating your overseas expansion more than you would expect.

Communication when expanding internationally can be tricky. If you’d like to know more, VoIPstudio has produced a white paper on the subject that can be found here.