How to expand into new markets with Elsita Meyer-Brandt of Eventbrite. [CHEAT SHEET]

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Elsita MEyE r - B r a n d t

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cheat sheet by Elsita MEyEr-Brandt

Most organisations begin with aspirations to start local, then

grow global.

But, in reality, very few ever take the big leap into new markets.

In this Cheat Sheet, Elsita Meyer-Brandt, Head of Market Expansion

and International Marketing for Eventbrite, shares five rules to

help organisations, just like yours, expand into new markets.

FivE things to gEt right whEn Expanding into nEw MarkEts

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InsI

ghts Use this Cheat sheet to better

understand the following concepts:

1. Research the opportunities and prioritise your markets

2. Plan in-depth how you’ll enter the market

3. Prepare a long way ahead, through partners!

4. When you get there, move fast

5. Keep learning

Let’s get started learning!

Watch the video

http://notsofreakyuniversity.com/course/expand-new-markets-eventbrites-head-new-market-expansion/

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What is the nOt-sO-FREAKY UnIVERsItY?

It’s a library packed full of resources and courses. But unlike many other membership sites for entrepreneurial business owners and operators, the NSFU is dedicated to instruction. It is about providing the steps needed to achieve an outcome. The biggest barrier to achieving any goal is knowing where to begin. NSFU courses solve that problem, by providing a clear and repeatable path. Why the unusual name? We focus on the topics that freak out even the most seasoned business operators. We simplify technology trends, online marketing, leadership principles, raising money, boosting cashflow, pitching, presenting, productizing, starting a new business or re-engineering an old business to start again. Change is relentless. Myopia will kill you. We isolate the freaky in business and un-freakify it.

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01. R

EsEA

RCh

thE

OPPO

RtUn

ItIE

s

A

nd P

RIOR

ItIs

E YO

UR m

ARKE

ts


Before investing any substantial monies or resources into expanding your business into a new market, examine your internal data to identify the best opportunities.

Start by simply examining your own web traffic analytics to gather insights into what countries your site visitors are coming from. This can offer a strong indicator of where your best international expansion opportunities lie. Another great source of analytics driven insight might be your email database.

As you examine your existing customer data, seek to identify the following:

• Whereareyourcustomers?Wheredoyousee

“traction?”

• Lookformarketswithstronggrowthpotential–not

necessarilythe“biggest”market

• Considerthe“Ripeness”–factorssuchaspopulation,

urbandensity,grossdomesticproduct(GDP),

eCommerce,mobileandInternetpenetration

The biggest markets in the world are obviously the United States, India and China but does that mean entering either of those is the right choice for your business?

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01. R

EsEA

RCh

thE

OPPO

RtUn

ItIE

s

And

PRI

ORIt

IsE

YOUR

mAR

KEts


Conversely, you might receive a surprisingly high volume of site traffic from an unexpected destination, like Nepal. But without corresponding sales to reflect traffic volumes, you would be unwise to invest your time and money expanding in that geographic direction.

By examining your existing customer data, you might identify an under-reached segment of customers from Canada, for example, which is considerably easier and more logical to reach.

ACtIOn stEP:Auditexistingcustomers.Wheredoyouseetraction?Analysethesizeofyourmarket,yourcompetitorsandyourbusiness’growthpotential.Focusonthe“low-hangingfruit”-thatis,thosemarketsmostliketheonesyoualreadyreach.

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02. P

LAn

In-d

EPth

hOW

YOU

’LL

E

ntER

thE

mAR

KEt

02. Plan in-depth how you’ll enter the marketOnce you’ve identified the new market that you feel is perfect for your business, it’s still not quite time to invest heavily.

After you have thoroughly combed through your internal data, start to examine external data to understand the feasibility of actually entering the new market you’ve identified in step one.

Bringing your business to a new market is a daunting task, but you can simplify the process by carefully adhering to a repeatable strategy.

Before you put money into sales, marketing or anything else in your newly chosen market, assess the salient aspects of taxation, language and social norms of the new market.

As an example, whereas most of the world adopts the date format of 04 June 2015, the United States adopts 06/04/2014. Presenting anything else will undermine your marketing efforts. Likewise, every region has its unique tax rules.

Before you decide to enter a new market, you need to fully understand all the points of differentiation between your market and the new one.

Draft a summary plan featuring the most salient details that will affect all departments within your business: sales, marketing, finance, product, legal, engineering, and so on.

The most simple way to do this is to ask yourself, “How will be get and service our first customer.”

ACtIOn stEP:Answerthesetwoquestions:Howwouldyougetyourfirstcustomer?Whatwouldyouneedtohaveinplacetoservicethem?

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Click to watch the video


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03. P

REPA

RE A

LOng

WAY

AhE

Ad,

th

ROUg

h PA

RtnE

Rs!

03. Prepare a long way ahead, through partners!

Before you rush into a new market, lay the groundwork with partnerships.

Start by developing relationships with key influencers and local organisations.

Look for partnering opportunities within the region. Seek those companies with corresponding, yet non-competitive audiences and look for avenues to enter into mutually beneficial agreements.

It’s far easier to leverage the network of an organisation which already has a customer base than it is to create your own. Which of these two options is likely to be easier? You could start cold and build your own audience or work with another organisation to leverage their networks.

Remember, you are likely to already have something that prospects partners might need – access to a local audience in your own home country.

ACtIOn stEP:Identifylocalpartners.Perhapsorganisea‘partner’eventtobringtogetherseveralorganisationsinyourspace.Youwillgainkudosbybringingkeypartiestogether.

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04. W

hEn

YOU

gEt t

hERE

, mOV

E

FA

st!

04. When you get there, move fast

Once you’ve done your research and found a market to enter, as well as identified a partner (or partners) to help you do so, it’s time to get cracking!

Moving quickly into the market will help you make a big splash and help announce your presence. Make yourself known by undertaking multiple marketing activities simultaneously.

It is better to move fast and potentially make mistakes than to wait until the market opportunity disappears. If and when you make a mistake, apologise and keep moving. Be willing to be scrappy, as long as you get it right in the end! When entering new markets, small mistakes are the best way to learn.

ACtIOn stEP:Ready,fire...aim!

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05. K

EEP

LEAR

nIng

05. Keep learningThe most important lesson is to keep learning!

True in many aspects of life, it’s particularly important when entering new markets.

Once you’ve made the move into one new market, make notes of your successes and failures. This self-assessment will help you enter new markets with greater ease going forward.

Markets change, so keep learning about the new markets you enter.

Market “ripeness” is also subject to change.

You may find that a market which looked attractive a few years ago has become less viable.

Conversely, markets that appeared unattractive a few years ago may look more attractive after you have undergone the process and uncovered what initiatives work out and don’t work out.

Stay abreast of what your rivals are doing to avoid getting beaten to (or out of) a particular market.

In fact, commit to learning as much as you can about all aspects of your business as it exists in new markets. You may even be able to identify clever initiatives to introduce to your own home market.

Keep a record of all of that you learn. If you write down and store all the data and events, even in a personal journal, you’ll be able to revisit the new information being thrown at you as you enter a new market. Memories are unreliable. A list of journal entries can become the foundation of a checklist.

This information can be used to inform future actions throughout your business.

ACtIOn stEP:Recordyoulearning!Watchyourcompetitors.Constantlyre-evaluate.Gobacktothefiststep!

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Elsita Meyer-Brandt new Market Expansion & international Marketing, Eventbrite Elsita Meyer-Brandt is Senior Manager, New Market Expansion & International Marketing at Eventbrite, leading the company’s global market launches and international strategy development.

She began her career with Eventbrite in May 2012, focusing on business expansion and marketing in Eventbrite’s European markets and particularly her home market, Germany. Elsita’s latest international projects include Eventbrite’s market entry into Ireland early January and its recent launch here in Australia.

Click to watch the video

Prior to joining Eventbrite in May 2012, Elsita worked as a management consultant for Solon Management Consulting, a strategy consultancy focused on Media, Technology and Telecommunication. As an expert on digital media and diversification, she managed projects for some of the largest media companies in Europe, working across Germany, the UK, Serbia, Belgium, Hungary and the Nordics. Over the past eight years, Elsita has gathered international experience working for Capgemini in China, Booz & Company in Germany and BBDO Consulting in Spain among others and as of today speaks five languages. She holds a Dual Diploma (equivalent to BBA) from the ESB Business School Reutlingen, Germany and the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE), Spain. She completed her MBA with Honors from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.


How to expand into new markets with Elsita Meyer-Brandt of Eventbrite. [CHEAT SHEET]

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