Business Growth Through Local Influences

Originally Published October 3, 2018

Taking risks is something that allows improvement and achievement. When running a business, taking risks means taking opportunities for success. One of the many risks a business can take is expanding their market. Developing and maintaining a positive reputation in a foreign market can be a lengthy and costly process for businesses as it takes time and money to build their influence. There are many different pieces of advice that entrepreneurs can use when it comes to expanding their businesses internationally. Joel Backaler gives individuals insight on expanding a business globally through the information in his article “To Grow Your Business Abroad, Partner with Local Influencers."

Having local relations is a very important factor in extending a market. How can a business expect to thrive when there is no relationship between the business and the prospective community? There are many types of influences that businesses could use to advertise their business to potential customers. A new type of influencers businesses may refer to are local digital influencers (Backaler, 2018). Due to the rising presence of social media, people may get confused on what a local digital influencer is and how it differs from other influencers. Local digital influencers have an audience that is bigger than those of “Instafamous” influencers. Local digital influencers already have established expertise and strategies to engage audiences and shape their behavior. They use various platforms to communicate to consumers through their content on various entities. These type of influencers develop trust in potential communities and are able to promote products to their viewers. Local influencers help businesses expand their markets to diverse potential consumers.

The use of local influencers is part of a strategy called influencer marketing (Backaler, 2018). The influencer marketing strategy isn’t just the normal celebrity promotion advertising. It’s using diverse individuals with an established reputation to reach the target audience. Both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) firms use the influencer marketing strategy to expand their markets. With the use of local influencers, value to products can be added as they provide third-party content and strengthening existing relationships (Backaler, 2018). Usage of the influencer marketing strategy allows businesses to engage in business over numerous markets.

When it comes to creating and developing the influencer marketing practice, businesses have options for building an effective strategy for influencing. Backaler gives insight on three ways that businesses may develop their influence marketing program:

1. A local strategy with local implementation: Local marketing teams decide how the influencers will work with them in their country and put the plan into action.

2. A global strategy with local implementation: Global marketing teams set the standards for working with the influencers, however, the local teams are able to localize the approach to the target market.

3. A global strategy with global implementation: Global marketing teams set the standards for working with the influencers, which is consistent throughout all influencer programs in various countries.

Out of these three strategies, Backaler recommends the global strategy with local implementation as the best option. This being that the headquarters have more expertise when it comes to knowing global markets, however, the local implementation allows it to be tailored for the target local audience. Basically, the global-local strategy allows for the global vision to be understood by the local audience.

Establishing reputations in foreign markets is built on trust. If people don’t trust the company or brand name, they won’t be interested in their products. The global market will change, there’s no guarantee that it will remain constant. Trust is a key component that helps businesses maintain their relationship with the target audience and helps businesses thrive in global markets. Building relationships local influencers aid businesses in gaining the trust of their potential consumers. Local influencers are great components for expanding a business. Local digital influencers are the new ways for getting the word out to others. The use of social media platforms to reach target audiences around the world are beneficial to the business and its expansion.

Backaler, Joel. (25 September 2018). To Grow Your Business Abroad, Partner With Local Influencers. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2018/09/to-grow-your-business-abroad-partner-with-local-influencers.