Localization Is A Door To Innovation

I am always amazed at stories of product innovations when companies develop their international markets. These stories are inspiring. And when they are stories in countries I’m not familiar with they often completely take me off guard.

In his book “Redefining Global Strategy”, Copyright 2007, from Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, Pankaj Ghemawat, gives a few examples of how everyday products were changed to adapt to local market demands in India:

• Detergent bars for people to wash their clothes by hand.
• Toothpaste made to be used with fingers instead of toothbrushes
• A bar of soap with one side coated in plastic so it would take longer to wear down
• A special shampoo and hair oil product

Hearing about such stories gives us all valuable insights into the cultural differences in our foreign markets. It makes us realize that other cultures have basic needs and desires different to our own. Other people live very differently than we do.

How can we use the inspiration from these stories in our own business?

Continue Localizing Your Online Businesses

Businesses targeting international markets mainly through online sales and marketing activities should be inspired to persevere with market research.

Opening your online international development by localizing your websites can lead to increased interaction with foreign markets. Ongoing research and market feedback will lead to adjustments to adapt your products to foreign markets.

Pankaj Ghemawat explains that large multinationals have the choice of

Not all companies developing overseas will have the luxury of making this choice.

Localization Is A Tool To Understand Your Foreign Markets

An intimate understanding of each of your foreign markets will be a major factor in innovating your products to different cultures.

By stimulating feedback from your foreign markets, even if it is only online, you will acquire valuable foreign market knowledge. Combine this knowledge with the right mindset. Try to look at your products through your foreign prospects eyes, and experience your products as he would experience them.

The question is will you simply skim off your market or will you be inspired to innovate your products to local needs and desires.

Will all of the research and analyzing your products “results” in foreign markets keep you from being truly inspired and seeing the opportunities for new product innovation?