3 Ways European Companies are Expanding Geographical Horizons

Of course, servicing a broader market will always lead to an increase in brand awareness, so it's not surprising that most successful entrepreneurs eventually opt to give their company an international presence. In fact, a significant percentage of European companies are using the following three universally applicable techniques to quickly expand geographical horizons.

1. Opening Physical Locations in Other European Countries

Opening an office location in another country is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to quickly expand your brand's presence in Europe. However, this is also one of the most challenging methods of expanding because you'll need to become familiar with all of the country's rules and regulations that govern the operation of your business. Thus, it's best to obtain professional assistance by using a consulting house to streamline the due diligence process. This approach will let you open a new location in any European with relative ease. For example, you could use a consulting house to guide you through the process of facilitating a business expansion to Germany.

2. Translating Marketing Campaigns

Europe has 24 official languages and many more unofficial dialects. If you were to translate your marketing materials and advertising campaigns into all of the major European languages, that would instantly give your brand exposure in markets where the native speakers normally never encounter or understand your ads. Many times, simply crossing that language barrier is enough to create substantial returns without performing any other expansion-related efforts. While you might be tempted to use Google Translator or another fallible online tool to automate the process, it would be best to hire a qualified translator to make sure your brand isn't poorly represented by mistranslated text. Translation is one of the key components in every well-rounded global marketing campaign and is, therefore, a worthwhile investment for any European company that wants to expand its geographical reach.

3. Partnering with Established Foreign Brands

It's always wise to partner with another company that already has a significant customer base or presence in the country that you're trying to expand into. That way, you'll have an instant way to make your brand known to the local population without an extensive amount of groundwork. This can be done by leaving your business cards, brochures, or flyers with stores and offices in the area of town where your new office location exists. You may also want to look into becoming a supplier for a foreign brand or search for co-branding opportunities.

Targeting Non-Competitive Demographics

Finally, another tactic that works in conjunction with all of the methods listed above is marketing your brand to local demographics in counties where your industry or niche does to have a lot of competition. You'd be surprised at how many virtually untapped markets there are in Europe just waiting to be discovered.