Ways to Make Your Business Future-Proof for International Expansion

August 2, 2021

International Expansion: Small businesses in the United States continue to struggle to receive the essential support from traditional banks, juggling as many as six to eight distinct solutions to meet their financial management demands. Furthermore, exporting can assist small businesses – which account for 98 percent of all exporters – ...

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International Expansion: Small businesses in the United States continue to struggle to receive the essential support from traditional banks, juggling as many as six to eight distinct solutions to meet their financial management demands. Furthermore, exporting can assist small businesses – which account for 98 percent of all exporters – in increasing earnings, reducing market dependency, and stabilizing seasonal sales throughout the year, emphasizing the need for having a sound financial infrastructure.

Banks and other payment providers are typically local, which means they move money worldwide through a patchwork of networks. This makes managing money for anyone who needs to conduct an international transaction slow and expensive. This is a problem that disproportionately affects those who can least afford it, such as small enterprises that lack the resources or influence to negotiate fairer pricing.

This situation can squander valuable time and money, which small firms cannot afford to lose, especially in a highly competitive market that is only now reopening on a worldwide basis. As a result, small businesses that wish to or are already developing their business worldwide should do so without the expensive costs, huge administrative burden, and headaches that come with dealing with a local bank. There are, fortunately, workarounds.

If growing outside your local market has long been a desire, there are important financial steps to take in order to achieve and sustain success, most notably in your ability to comprehend and plan for currency rates. When growing globally, there are three actions that every small firm may take to boost revenues and reduce costs:

Create a website that is accessible to people all around the world

Consumers desire and expect a smooth experience while surfing a website, regardless of where they are shopping from around the world, as eCommerce continues to grow globally. Everything from the search bar to product pages — and especially the checkout process – should be simple and consistent with the brand. Consumer retention can be made or broken by a simple payment process. Small businesses should always remember that their online presence is a natural extension of their brand and that it should be treated with the same care as a long-lasting product.

Make a financial investment in a formal business account

If you own a small business, you understand how valuable time and money are. With that in mind, it’s important to evaluate where the money will end up once it’s passed through the payment gateway, especially if you’re running an international company. You may save your small business up to 19x on overseas payments by using choices like a Wise Business account, which has a significant impact on your bottom line. This enables you to receive numerous currencies without incurring hefty recipient or conversion costs, as well as convert or shift funds within your Wise Business account or withdraw to other accounts. Similarly, you can pay invoices in 70+ countries using the real exchange rate from your phone or app, with 50% of payments coming instantly or within an hour.

Go Global by Keeping It Local

Understanding the financial situation in your area is a good place to start. Small business owners should conduct thorough research into any new market they intend to sell in, as well as stay up to date on banking legislation, payment methods, and preferred currencies. This will make your small business appear more welcoming and approachable to potential overseas customers. It will also lead to customer retention and, ideally, a loyal customer base. Additionally, small enterprises must consider payment channels more than ever before when selling goods online to an international expansion for a global audience A payment gateway is a system that sends information from the customer’s end to you, the business owner. A payment gateway is a system that sends information from the customer’s end to you, the business owner. The payment is subsequently processed by your payment platform. Small businesses will require this in addition to a merchant account to process payments, and there are various options to consider, including Stripe, PayPal, Payoneer, and Square.

Final Thought:

Doing business globally might be challenging, but as the global economy continues to open and we embrace the idea of international expansion once more, small businesses should be ready to meet customers where they are: online. And do so with the most advanced financial tools at your disposal.