Are you planning to take your business global?
It’s every entrepreneur’s dream to build an international business. And many are actively pursuing that dream.
In one survey, 98 percent of small business owners that responded said they were confident about doing business overseas. 58 percent of companies were already selling their products to international customers.
While expanding your business globally comes with many challenges, technology makes things easier. But how exactly can you use technology to build a global company?
Continue reading for expert insight.
Use Your Business Website to Reach a Global Audience
Once, building an international business meant setting up physical stores in other countries. Of course, that’s still a defining feature of global companies today. But you don’t necessarily have to take the same path.
With significant advancements in internet technology, all you need to do is set up an eCommerce website and open it up to the world. Anybody with an internet-connected device can access it, view your products, and make a purchase. The only limitation will be your ability to ship the product to where they are.
Even shipping is no longer a significant issue. Giant eCommerce platforms like Amazon handle shipping logistics for sellers.
Use Collaboration Tools to Manage a Global Workforce
Running an international company effectively means managing a global workforce. Supervising employees spread over multiple offices across the world is challenging.
You can hire a global PEO to oversee most of your workforce management functions. However, technology can make the job more manageable if you wish to handle it yourself.
Collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams help organizations to bring their employees onto the same platform. You can share information, build teams, and collaborate regardless of user location. With these tools, building a tight-knit team is more manageable, just like a small business.
Do you want to complement your office collaboration tech? Use dedicated video conference tools like Zoom and document-sharing applications like Google Docs.
Use Digital Payments Technology
Payment is the language of business. You have a product or service on sale, but a customer must pay your business to make money.
With a local business, customers can pay in cash or swipe their cards. But how does a U.S.-based company doing business internationally receive payment from a customer in Indonesia?
With web-based payment technology, you don’t have to worry about that. Choose the right digital payment service provider. Then, integrate their technology it your eCommerce website.
Global payments will start hitting your merchant account in no time!
Payments technology isn’t just for receiving money from customers. It’s also necessary when paying salaries to a global workforce. Or when paying suppliers and other service providers around the world.
Build an International Business Using the Right Technology
Expanding your business globally is an ideal way to increase your customer base and achieve massive growth. It’s not an easy task, but you can build an international business with the right technology without breaking too much sweat.
There’s much more to running a successful company, so check out our blog for more advice.