Entering International Waters

Over the past few years, my work has increasingly involved international collaborations. More recently, a new direction has emerged: helping companies establish themselves in new markets within the European Union. I think of it as entering international waters.

My interest in this began before I moved to Stockholm, towards the end of my work on Latvia’s international positioning strategy. Often referred to as nation branding, this field looks at how a country, or an industry, is perceived internationally and how its strengths can translate into investment, trade and collaboration.

One of the most interesting parts of that work was learning to look at a country from the outside. How is it perceived by others? What makes its industries relevant to an international audience? Where are the opportunities for cooperation?

This involved looking at how countries position themselves, studying industry trends and following wider European strategies. But it also developed a way of thinking that I continue to find useful: looking beyond national borders to understand where interests, challenges and opportunities overlap.

I have recently found myself applying the same perspective to supporting companies. Entering a new market is rarely as simple as finding potential customers and presenting them with an existing offer. The process depends on the company, its industry and the market it is entering. It may involve defining the company’s position, clarifying its value proposition and differentiation, assessing its relevance to the new market and identifying potential customers and partners.

There is also the question of translation. A company can have a strong position in its home market and still find that the same proposition does not immediately resonate elsewhere. The differences are not necessarily dramatic. They can be found in business practices, expectations, professional language, purchasing decisions and the ways in which trust is established. But - as I point out, nuanses truly matter matter.

This is particularly interesting within Europe. The European Union creates

a common economic framework, but it does not create one common market in the cultural or commercial sense. Companies still operate in environments with different business traditions, networks, expectations and ways of communicating.

For that reason, I see strategic positioning as an important part of entering a new market. Before pursuing partnerships or commercial opportunities, a company needs to understand where it fits. What does it bring? Who is it relevant to? What makes it distinctive? And how does that value translate in the market it wants to enter?

There are some simple questions that can help with this. What characteristics of your product or service respond to a need in the new market? What makes your offer distinctive? What is the story behind your company, your team and your expertise, and how does that contribute to credibility? And how can you communicate your value in a way that makes sense within the expectations and business culture of the market you are entering? These questions are not only about communication. They can also reveal whether there is a genuine opportunity in the first place.

I find this work particularly relevant given the direction Europe is taking. European competitiveness in relation to the United States and China has become

an increasingly important issue. At the same time, Russia’s war against Ukraine has changed the geopolitical environment and created a stronger sense of urgency around European cooperation, resilience and the need to build connections.

I have noticed this greater openness to cross-border collaboration in my own work. Companies are looking beyond their familiar markets. Organisations are looking for partners in other countries. People are more interested in understanding what is happening elsewhere in Europe and what could be done together. That is one of the things I find truly meaningful about this work. Helping a company enter another European market may begin with a commercial question, but it can also create a connection between two parts of Europe that previously had little reason to interact.

For companies, there are obvious reasons to look beyond their home market: new customers, new partners, new expertise and new opportunities. But there is also value in becoming more connected to the wider European economy.

Sometimes that starts with something quite simple. Talk to someone in another country. Follow what is happening in your industry elsewhere. Share what you are working on. Ask how people in another market see a problem that you have been thinking about for years. A conversation outside your usual circle can sometimes reveal a market, a partnership or an idea that would have been difficult to see from home.

Perhaps that is the most useful part about entering international waters. You do not simply take what you already know somewhere else. You also discover what you could not see from where you started.