#16 Grow Fast, Grow Global - The Four Biggest Pitfalls

Welcome to the sixteenth extract in my series from my book 'Grow Fast, Grow Global: 6 steps to unstoppable international growth in the digital age'. Here's an extract from chapter seven, looking into how you can get it right and avoid the biggest pitfalls.

I have seen many businesses fail to gain the benefits they deserve due to these four simple pitfalls. It is so sad to see because they can completely derail international digital growth, and yet every one of them is totally avoidable. So please take heed and pay particular attention to each of these things, so you that I don’t see you make the same mistakes.

Pitfall 1. Poor tech - Poor tech will undermine the whole sales process and your ability to really scale up. There are companies that continue to upgrade and tweak a poorly built website, which has never really worked for them and is not built to best practice. This leaves them vulnerable to technical hitches that can throw a project into crisis.

Pitfall 2. Messy back office - Companies always overlook the importance of getting the back office systems in place so that they are ready to scale once the fast international growth takes off. If you don’t have smooth operations, systems and logistics, you’ll soon end up under strain.

Pitfall 3. Lazy localising - Customers will respond better to you and buy more if you localise your digital presence for them. Companies that don't will miss out on big opportunities to add local contact details, have customer service representatives available at different times of the day, or even add local currencies and payment methods.

Pitfall 4. Thinking you’re done - Launching a new digital sales channel is really exciting, of course, but you will need to actively build up traffic and sales over time. Otherwise, it’s the equivalent of having a beautiful shop stocked with great products tucked away where no one will ever find it. 

If you can't wait and want to get your copy of Grow Fast, Grow Global to read at the weekend as paperback or Kindle, then buy online now. 

Happy reading!