In today’s world, branding is one of the most powerful tools that a company can utilize. With current global estimates citing Earth’s current population at nearly 8 billion people, brands can explore more markets than ever before. These new markets can open doors for brands, but they can also lead to unexpected setbacks.

Finding the right identity and global brand strategy can be hard enough. Globalizing that brand can be even harder, but those up for the challenge can reap the rewards.

There is no cookie-cutter, one size fits all strategy for global branding – every scenario is different and every company is unique.

Now let’s explore some of the more common challenges faced by business leaders, brand managers, and marketers.

Crossing More Than Language Barriers

Taking a brand to the global stage, means navigating not only language barriers but also cultural differences.

First, brands must tackle the language barrier and find a name that crosses more than one language. Then companies should understand the markets that they are trying to break into. This requires a strategic commitment to prevent any unintended offense towards potential customers. The effort put forward by the team to truly learn about these new demographics will make a difference in the long run.

Tackling Technology

Though this is the 21st century, countries are adopting, and adapting, to the age of technology at their own pace. This means companies need to be aware of the different ways that their consumers prefer to use their technology and receive communication from brands. Taking the time to understand how various demographics utilize their technology will reap major benefits in the long run.

Navigating More Regulatory Bodies

When expanding into global markets, it is essential that brands pay attention to any additional red tape. Different legal or political landscapes require brands to take all legal implications into consideration. Not doing so could seriously hinder a company’s entry into new markets, cause delays to a launch date, or tarnish a brand’s reputation. Staying on-top and ahead of these issues will keep a brand on time for expansion and ensure success in this new realm.

Keeping Disparate Teams Together

Nothing can ruin a product launch or a company-wide roll out faster than a disordered team. Coordinating across regions, time-zones, and possibly even continents, requires commitment from all parties involved. Attention to detail, careful planning and clear communication are all essential parts of a successful internal communications strategy. Holding team members accountable will help brands streamline the process, reach objectives on time, and avoid possibly costly delays.

Having a global brand has many advantages. Two of the biggest are the potential for a company’s increased market value, as well as the ability to build a global brand image. Delays and missteps happen when companies fail to make these challenges a priority in their branding strategy. Understanding the following challenges of global branding can help ease some stresses of the process. Implementing technologies, communication, and tools early in the strategy planning phase will aide brands in capturing the eye of their global audience and prevent any damage to their image.

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