Why do companies go international?
In our global economy nowadays, companies of all sizes establish operations in foreign markets. There are various reasons for a company to go international, but the typical subordinate target is company growth or expansion. The success of international expansion can be influenced by several factors and typically requires a lot of time and planning to steer the strategy´s success into a positive outcome. However, if done efficiently, entering international markets can lead to crucial benefits for organizations.

Improving profit margins is one of the major reasons for expanding to international markets. When the national market has reached a state of saturation and growth strategies are used up just like it is the case for OCHO, the logical next step is to seek growth internationally. This will give us the chance to conquer new markets and to grow our customer base, thus increasing overall sales. Not only does this step offer opportunities to strengthen revenue, but also leads to cost savings per product due to economies of scale, which evidently result in improved profits.
We may even manage to build strong customer loyalty across international markets by using a compelling marketing mix.

International expansion will also help diversify our assets. This will protect our company´s bottom line against unpredictable events, by spreading risk among more than just one market. We may even look into utilizing a new market to introduce a new unique product or additional services that we do not offer on our domestic market yet. This diversification might help our company to maintain a positive revenue stream.

Another benefit to be gained through going international is the opportunity to access new talent pools. Recruiting international talent with diverse educational backgrounds can improve our internal marketing, as it would bring innovative ideas into our company and eventually help increase productivity or create innovative ideas. This might lead to the development of crucial strategies that go beyond our perspective from our domestic market. Through recruitment of foreign talents, our employees would learn to co-create with people bringing along different experiences and cultural backgrounds. This would eventually help them expand their views beyond their own country´s borders and stir their work´s point of view into a global direction. Creating these kind of synergies will create sustainable value for the company and pave way to building a global brand.

One of the most important benefits of international expansion is the gain of competitive advantage over rival companies. As an example, expanding into a market where our competitors do not operate yet can give OCHO a first-mover advantage, which allows developping a strong brand awareness with the local consumers before their rivals even have the chance to step foot into the market.
Going international will also increase OCHO´s perceived image based on increased brand recognition in the new markets. This can support our cause in future business scenarios and will prove to be beneficial when it comes to contract negotiations, new marketing campaigns and even further expansion into bigger markets.

Last but not least, we should not forget about the additional investment opportunities that international expansion can open ways to. OCHO might be able to develop new resources and build important relationships by operating on a foreign market. This is exactly what we are going to investigate in Dar Es Salaam, the possibilities and likeliness of these opportunities by doing first-hand research. Who knows, we may persuade one or two investors who truly believe in our brand and what we stand for!

As you might have noticed by the context already, going international will require adequate coordination of the internal marketing. Our employees should be viewed as ´internal customers´ who require convincing for changes in our company´s vision and operations and should be made belief that it is going to create increased value for them. This will require us to communicate the possible benefits of our international expansion plan to them and prepare them for what is to come and what is going to change. We need to promote a transparent work culture where we share OCHO´s future goals and strategies on the targeted foreign market way before actually doing so. Being prepared and believing in the success will increase our employees´ emphasis and motivation and will make them see OCHO in a positive light, which they will carry outside of the company, thus directly affecting (potential) customers on the local market.

Besides the attainable benefits that have been highlighted, marketing outside national boundaries can also pose challenges for OCHO, such as dealing with multiple environments, coordinating operations in distant markets and dealing with foreign businesses. These challenges will evidently affect our domestic market. We are going to have to make important decisions on how to spread our resources across both markets and whether or not to change elements of our product overall to make it match the requirements of the new market environment. Fundamental changes in our operations may also influence domestic price and supply. An additional aspect to consider is that we may draw attention to New Zealand and build a reputation for our country in the foreign market by spreading our high-qualitative products with New Zealand origin. This might attract new investors or businesses into the country and may benefit our national market on a long-term perspective. Other New Zealand companies looking to enter Tanzania may also benefit from this established perception.
However, attaining a good understanding of a foreign market will also enable us to develop a more profitable marketing mix. In return, these attained experiences and tools will help to consolidate our domestic market position and ideally enable us to take on the risk of trying new marketing strategies within our domestic territory.