Don’t Let Inefficient Payment Methods Stand in the Way of Your International Growth
As companies grow, international expansion is often a natural part of their development process. When pursued in the right way, it is a strategy that can provide access to a larger target group and increase sales potential. But growing in international markets involves new challenges, and some issues can impact your future success more than you might at first realize. Handling payments across different markets is one of these issues.
Efficient Processes and Local Adaptation Are Crucial to Successful International Expansion
International expansion can benefit a company in many ways. To succeed however, there must be a solid foundation to stand upon. That is why it is important to ensure that internal routines and processes are as efficient and well-functioning as possible.
How payments are made needs to be adapted to the local conditions in each new market. Often, this means that existing solutions will need to be supplemented to incorporate new languages. Expertise on local accounting rules and regulations and different invoicing procedures might also be needed.
Uniformity and Prior Knowledge with a Full-Range Partner
Many companies that have undergone international expansion discover that there are very few payment solution providers who can offer a uniform platform for multiple markets. They thus end up with a multitude of solutions, each one tailored to the needs of a specific market. The administration that arises from that typically requires the devoted attention of several full-time employees. This is time and effort that could be put to better use on tasks that are more aligned with core business objectives. As the company continues to grow and enter new markets, the amount of manual work and administration required will also grow.
Avoiding this heavy administrative burden requires uniform, centralized processes for invoicing and payments. Having a single platform for it all makes it a whole lot easier. At the same time, it is important to be able to offer all of the payment options that customers in each market expect, along with the ancillary services associated with that. A full-range supplier can help coordinate all of this with the other partners involved, such as printers, debt collection agencies, etc. Everything is included in a single solution, providing uniformity and a customer experience that is cohesive, professional and positive.
Finding a partner who can offer all of this saves time that you would otherwise need to spend on researching and analyzing the new markets. Furthermore, the right partner will likely already have knowledge and experience of the rules related to payments and invoicing in various international markets. Learning all of that yourself can be quite a tough task! Rather than focusing on building up the necessary infrastructure for payments, your company can instead focus on developing in the new markets you decided to enter. The speed this type of partner offers you in entering new markets can also be a decisive competitive advantage.
Creating Loyal Customers in New Markets
In a world where end customers are faced with so many choices, each interaction that might cause friction involves a risk that the customer will turn to another provider. Payments is one such area. Failed payments, late reminders and penalty fees are issues that upset customers enough that they may decide to take their business elsewhere.
The more you invest in creating a positive experience for your end customer, the more it will help your ability grow, both in existing and in new markets. Simply put, satisfied customers stay customers. A modern, digital platform for payments helps eliminate the risks of friction via automated processes that create a seamless experience for the customer, regardless of which market they are in.
Billogram works with many customers who have established their business internationally, and we know what it takes for a payment experience to be positive, for you and for your customers. Would you like to know more about how we can help you achieve success in international markets? Contact us!