Building an International Company

The Success of the International Company

One of the most successful companies known in every corner of the world is the Coca-Cola Company. Today, it produces a great variety of beverages and snacks, but a hundred years ago it was famous only for its brand drink known as Coca Cola. The receipt of the drink was invented by a pharmacist from Columbus, Georgia. In 1889, it was bought by Asa Griggs Candler who founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1892 (Williams, 2015).

By 1899, the founder of the Coca Cola Company was focused on fountain sales. However, due to a new creative idea offered by his nephew Candler accepted Joseph A. Biedenharn’s solution, which enabled to use glass bottles for Coca Cola (Williams, 2015). The new invention significantly increased sales and allowed the company to promote its product across the entire country. By 1909, the Coca Cola Company already owned 400 bottling plants. Soon, bottling sales exceeded the fountain ones and the company started expanding its presence on the cocinternational market. During the 1920s-1930s, the company launched a campaign, which allowed it to open plants in France, Spain, South America, Africa, and Australia (Williams, 2015). During World War II, Coca-Cola was bottled in 44 countries.

Cultural barrier was the biggest challenge that the Coca-Cola Company met while expanding on the international market. Coca Cola has become an iconic symbol of the best American traditions. When one hears the name of this brand, he/she always imagines something that belongs to the American culture. Buying Coca-Cola meant buying a little piece of America. Coca Cola has become more than a brand drink, but it has turned into an image of the American culture. However, it has created certain challenges for its international distribution, especially when the company started promoting its advertizing campaign in Asia. Cultural misunderstanding has been the biggest difficulty for any company that strives for a global status, especially in the middle of the past century.

Nowadays, this process has become easier due to globalization, but 50 years ago everything was different. Oriental cultures were hostile to everything that came from the Western civilization. They did not want to accept the new product because it clearly represented a different culture and it included concepts that were not understandable for another culture. The Coca Cola Company had to make some innovations, which allowed its successful integration into a new region. The company started adopting its brand in accordance with the vision of another culture to make it closer to the customer and it worked. The brand drink saved its American background, but it also gained some features that were native for another culture. Another biggest challenge that the company faced included political relationships with countries and inability to export the beverage. One of the biggest markets that the American company could not reach was the USSR. The relationships between the United States and the USSR were extremely tense. For business it meant that Coca Cola was losing about 250 million of potential customers (Williams, 2015). However, when the USSR collapsed in 1991, the new market became available for the Coca Cola Company and today this brand drink has the highest sales among other beverages on the former territories of the USSR.

The New Product Idea

The new product I have created is called EkoBar. EkoBar is a classical snack bar, but there is one significant difference, which makes it unlike any other bar. This snack is made from natural ingredients and is very useful for health. The amount of calories is very low and it is sugar free. EkoBar is a healthy nosh, which is absolutely safe for children. Today, when people have become more concerned about their health and especially about what they eat, EkoBar has already captured the national market and now the company is ready to extend its influence in other countries. In order to bring EkoBar to the international market, a strategy has been developed to enable the company to receive an international status.

1. Optimization of the official website

Today, even the smallest businesses have official websites. Internet technologies give unlimited opportunities for growth. However, if the company is required to be promoted globally, it should take into account that not all people know English. The number of people who understand English is very high, but when one promotes business in a country where English is not a native language or even not the second native language, all information about the product should be translated (Taylor, 2015). This issue concerns all advertisements that the company will use to promote the product in a new country. Advertisements should be translated into the country’s native language.

2. Cultural Adaptation

Many famous international companies like Coca Cola and McDonald’s, which provide their products globally, have different types of advertisements for countries where they sell their products. In Europe, one will not find significant differences, but if one takes a look on the Western product, which is advertised, for example, in India or China, there will be noticeable changes. Cultural adaptation is a requirement for a company that wants to become global (“Five steps to expand your business globally,” 2013). The same advertisement will be understood differently by people of other cultures. That is why it is necessary to pay special attention to the cultural factor of a country where the product will be promoted. Cultural awareness and adaptation of EkoBar in accordance with the region specifics will save the company’s advertisement campaign from fiasco.

3. Market Identification

Even if the product is already known abroad though the company does not work internationally, it does not mean that one has an available market. The first step that is necessary to take is to define whether the market exists for the product (“Five steps to expand your business globally,” 2013). In case it does exist, it is necessary to determine competitors and how well they meet needs of this market. If the similar product is already provided by another company, it is necessary to make some innovations that will differentiate EkoBar from the competitors’ similar products. For example, a new taste, shape, design, lower price, or a more successful advertising campaign can be very effective. In other words, it should be anything that the competitor has not tried yet. However, if there are no competitors, it is necessary to determine why. Probably, there are some laws that forbid distribution of the product in this country. In this case, it is necessary to define other ways how customers can buy EkoBar.

4. Delivery Policy

Import and manufacturing laws are different in countries all over the world. That is why one should study local laws and determine whether the product satisfies local standards, has proper labeling, and can be sold on a new market (“Five steps to expand your business globally,” 2013). In some cases, it may happen that the delivery laws are too strict or limit some important features of the product. As a result, profitability will be low or there may be no profit at all.

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5. Product Name Re-Examination

Before starting the advertizing campaign in a foreign country, one should make sure that name of the product is properly translated into the local language. Cultural awareness is highly important because it directly affects the sale rates. For example, Starbucks offered its customers to buy Gingerbread Latte during Christmas holidays. In the United States, the sales significantly increased, while in Germany they were low though gingerbread was the favorite cookie in that country as well (Lee & Carter, 2012). However, when they translated the latte name into German, the sales rapidly increased. In this case, simple translation was enough to present a new taste for customers. However, it is also necessary to take into account that an ordinary translation of words cannot always work. When one creates the brand name for its product, he/she incorporates some meaning into its name. This meaning can be lost or not revealed fully when using machine translation. To avoid this mistake, it is necessary to communicate with local advertisers who know preferences of the market well and can help to translate the name of the product properly.

6. Brand Reputation

The manner and tone of communication with customers is crucial for any business. When the company works globally, it is important to ensure the high level of appropriate communication. All markets where the product is available should be treated fairly without distinction in terms of the revenue they bring (Lee & Carter, 2012). Reputation of the company is an important factor that allows it to extend its influence onto new markets.

The strategy provided above is necessary for successful promotion of EkoBar. One should take into account all the steps that have been introduced in order to avoid common mistakes. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the company will not face any challenges. Distribution of any product worldwide is always a unique experience and it is impossible to predict all outcomes. However, accurate analysis of the market and the awareness of a foreign culture can overcome some common mistakes and help the company to gain a new market.