Going global: How to launch products in international markets

In today's connected world, expanding your product into international markets might seem like the logical next step for business growth. However, it’s not as simple as duplicating what’s worked in your home market and hoping for the best. Global product launches require thoughtful strategy, deep market understanding, and often, significant product modifications. So, how do you make that leap? Here are five key lessons that will help you navigate this journey and set your product up for international success.

1. Is International Expansion Really the Best Growth Domain? Know thyself.

Before rushing into international markets, challenge your strategy and ask yourself: is this truly the best growth path for your company right now? Because when pursuing international expansion, it is critical to put first things first: that starts with building a rock-solid foundation in your home markets and capture them fully.

You need to have a deep understanding of your current growth loops and revenue mechanisms before even considering international opportunities. Evaluate how your product performs domestically and what are the mechanisms that drive the product’s growth and monetisation. Then ask yourself how these mechanisms might translate, or require adjustments, in new markets. Expanding before mastering your home market, or without a full grasp of the drivers behind its success, is risky and can spread your resources too thin.

"The truth is, a product/market fit in one market doesn’t guarantee a product/culture fit elsewhere."

Bart-Jan Pors, Venture Builder @ iwoca

2. Dig in and Do Your Market Analysis. Thoroughly.

Global expansion hinges on solid market understanding. Start by analysing the landscape: What’s the size of the addressable and serviceable market? What barriers to entry exist—such as regulations or infrastructure? How does competition stack up and what differentiates your product in ways that competitors can’t easily replicate (your ‘moat’\? Equally important is understanding how your product will fit into the daily lives of users in different regions. Are their needs the same as your current users’ needs?

These are some of the foundational questions that will set the direction for your expansion and inform the priorities of markets and product positioning.

Market research should incorporate both quantitative and qualitative insights. Quantitative data provides the hard numbers—market size, growth potential, demographics, etc.—while qualitative insights reveal cultural nuances, user expectations, and local market dynamics.

If your product has already attracted international users organically, you may have a valuable quant data resource at your disposal. \This may for instance be your case if you’re running a SaaS product that can be approached from anywhere in the world, even from markets you haven’t officially launched in.\ Use this data to identify similarities or differences in usage patterns. These patterns may inform what’s working and what may need adjustment for your target markets.

Leverage external data sources as well—industry reports, consultancy data, and market research firms often provide rich, data-backed insights that can help you validate your findings and fill in gaps.

In addition, complement your quantitative data with qualitative feedback. Engage local stakeholders, industry experts, as well as potential customers to form a complete picture of how your product will resonate. Relying solely on numbers without hearing local perspectives can lead to costly oversights.

3. Don’t Assume Customer Behaviour is Universal

One of the biggest pitfalls of international expansion is assuming that customers in new markets will behave the same as they do in your current ones. The truth is, a product/market fit in one market doesn’t guarantee a product/culture fit elsewhere. How will new customers in their specific cultural setting use your products? Or in fact, what are their problems in their local context and culture that your product needs to solve?

A common approach to address new markets is to localise your product, which can be done in steps of increasing effort as you deepen your country rollout:

1. No localisation: default \English) language support

1. Language localisation: develop local language support

1. Content localisation: develop content that tailors to the local user’s context

1. Feature localisation: develop features specific to the local market’s needs

This approach can work really well when user behaviour and preferences in different markets have a lot in common. However, when cultural context and user behaviours are too different, this approach often fails. There are plenty of examples out there of products that were very successful in their home market but didn’t succeed elsewhere precisely for this reason. Why? Because this approach implicitly places the product, rather than the user, centrally; It assumes that the original product is sufficient to achieve the same product/market fit as it has in your home market, give or take some adjustments to meet the local context.

But focus too much on your product and your solution, and you forget to do what a product manager is supposed to do: to first understand our users and their problems. This may sound subtle or a play of words, but in reality it tends to be a major shift in actual product mindset.

Case in Point: Pay as you go in Africa

We all use them: video streaming services, online subscriptions, cloud storage, or even utilities like water and electricity. What do these products and services have in common? We pay for them periodically and automatically, through standing orders or direct debits.

But take those same services to Africa and this model falls apart, as I learned while developing fintech products for the continent. Africans (in all their diversity across the 54 countries!\ tend to have a very different relation to money; For instance, consumers often rely heavily on cash, may have less predictable incomes, or have a shorter financial planning horizon. Additionally, the financial services available to them don’t always support recurring payments.

Companies focusing on their core product while overlooking how these customers would pay them often see their launches fail. And companies that have been successful? Many have set up tailored Pay as you go models, enabling users to top up their access to subscriptions, electricity, or even their mobile phone!

4. Be Ready to Make Significant Changes to Your Product and Operations

What to do when local realities clash with your existing product model? Go back to basics: understand the user, their cultural behaviours, values, and context. Then, translate that back into your product and build a solution that really addresses their specific needs. This return to a user-first mindset is critical to success in diverse global markets.

By this point, with your market analysis and customer understanding in hand, it’s time to enter the solution space. Conceptualise solutions, and try and learn iteratively from customer feedback whenever possible.

Sometimes, localisation techniques are sufficient to get you that local product/market fit. In other cases, however, achieving that product/market fit and product/culture fit involve substantial changes in how the product operates or even how your business supports those users. Be prepared for either.

Case in Point: Apple Pay in Japan

When I helped launch Apple Pay in over 30 countries around the globe, the key to success was always the same: enabling customers to pay merchants with their Apple devices, whether in stores or online. But when Apple set its sights on Japan, things took a surprising turn.

With a population of over 120 million and a iPhone market share of more than 50%, Japan clearly posited a large commercial opportunity. But Japanese consumers have deeply ingrained payment habits, very different from the rest of the world — anyone that has ever seen a Japanese merchant till can testify! Apple realised that changing these behaviours was a losing battle. Instead, the killer use case wasn’t in retail payments — it was in public transport. In Tokyo alone, millions of people commute daily, making transit payments the perfect fit for Apple Pay.

The challenge? Japan’s transit systems use unique technology, so Apple had to modify the iPhone’s hardware specifically for this market! Imagine the enormous impact and cost of that design decision on Apple’s manufacturing lines and supply chain — just to meet local needs and make Apple Pay a success in Japan!

5. Serve Global… Be Local

Even as you scale globally, remember that success depends on more than just bringing your product to new regions. Building local expertise can be crucial. Consider hiring local teams or partnering with local experts who understand the intricacies of the market and can navigate the landscape more effectively.

Providing things like local customer support operations and local payment options can be key to gaining customer trust. Building capacity to understand the on-the-ground realities into your organisation gives you invaluable insights to shape your product operations.

Moreover, if you act in a regulated industry, compliance with local regulations and policies is non-negotiable. Different countries may have their own standards around data privacy, payments, and industry-specific regulations, all of which could influence how your product operates.

Ultimately, scaling globally while thinking locally allows you to build deeper relationships and establish a lasting presence in each new market.

Case in Point: Scaling a global service, locally

When I led the venture that helped Apple launch Apple Pay around the world, I constantly had to think about how to win customers in the next market. I knew there would be a market need amongst banks and merchants, but how to win these customers to take the service from us (and not our competitors) was every time a new challenge when hopping from Taiwan to Saudi Arabia to Brazil (and 30 other markets).

Based on the market opportunity we analysed (key lesson 2.), I would decide how to tailor the service to local needs. This ranged from doing nothing, to localising language and features, to recruiting local personnel, to setting up full-blown in market operations.

Conclusion

Launching a product internationally is both exciting and challenging. It requires more than simply scaling what works at home. From ensuring the business case is there, to tailoring your product to fit cultural contexts, to building local expertise, the journey is filled with learning. Keep your focus on understanding your users and the unique challenges they face in their markets, and you’ll be better positioned for success.