Whether you are a freelancer, start up, or established organisation, the challenges with taking your brand and business to a new market remain the same.
If you’re following our social media, you may have seen that we have recently relocated (again!) to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and are currently in the process of re-establishing ourselves – personally and professionally – in a completely new and relatively unknown country. There are several personal learnings we have had from this experience, in addition to the brand awareness experience and theory that we have lived and breathed for many years, that might be helpful to anyone looking to make a move – whether to a new town, or across the world.
Footstep Communications was set up in Dubai in 2013, after eight years living in the UAE developing knowledge, experience and connections. We continued to operate successfully for seven more years, before COVID and a change in personal circumstances led to a move back to our home country of England. We embraced the move, initially working remotely with our clients in the UAE, whilst also trying to develop a new local client base (and have a baby – possibly a bit ambitious!) After three years, we took advantage of an opportunity to come to Riyadh, and here we are again… Another city, another country, another blank sheet…
So, where do we start? What have we learned, and does it apply here in this very alien landscape?
- Make friends
An obvious one maybe, but not just for your sanity and weekend social life. When you are starting somewhere new where you don’t know anyone, the people you surround yourself with will determine how easy the transition will be, and how quickly your business will be established. No man is an island, we all need our tribe, our village, our team – and friendships are rarely organic. As with any relationship, it takes a commitment of time and effort to build trust, loyalty, and respect, and you need to be prepared to put the work in. Join the Whatsapp and Facebook groups and engage with people, help wherever and whenever you can. Speak to your neighbours, the people in the supermarket, the taxi drivers, the person in the queue at the coffee shop. You never know who these people are, and where the conversation might lead…
- Get to know your market
Get online and get Googling! Research your industry, identify peers, potential partners and supporters, and competitors. Where are they, what are they doing, and are they doing it well? Where are the gaps? What are the successes, could they be replicated? How much are people charging? What are the costs to you – who are the local suppliers and what do they charge? Don’t forget ancillary services, what are the most used meeting rooms, event spaces, groups and clubs? How do people communicate? What is the local media and social media landscape? Make sure you are following or subscribed to the most known and used sources of information.
- Be everywhere!
Following on from the previous two points, a great source of potential friends/colleagues and market information are business and networking groups. Connect with your local Embassy, and reach out to the business group(s) for expats from your home country. There may also be networking groups for your industry, or sub sectors within the industry. Look up the city’s trade centre calendar or google the conferences and exhibitions that are being held throughout the year and at least attend those most relevant.
Make sure you physically go to these events and talk to people on the stands and other attendees – and don’t just stand in a corner, work the room! Initially it’s a numbers game, the more people you meet, the more chance you have of meeting the right people – then you can put the effort into developing the relationships with those with whom you have the best fit.
- Update your marketing collateral
This actually needs to be carried out prior to attending events. The first thing that people will do after meeting you (if they’re interested in reaching out again) is a bit of an online stalk. They will look you up on LinkedIn, Google you, and/or check out your website, so these things need to be up to date, reflecting your current situation and appealing to the new target audiences you are potentially reaching out to. Plus, you will want to ensure the SEO of your sites is updated so that hopefully people can find you proactively by running a search for your industry in your city, without having met you. Make sure that you mention your location – and highlight clients and experience that are relevant and appealing for your new market.
Don’t forget to get yourself new business cards made up, as you will obviously need these for all the events that you are going to be attending!
- Ask for help
Once you have established some key relationships, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and seek help when you need it. Just recently we saved a lot of time and headache by asking our new friends for recommendations and opinions on which printers are the easiest to work with, which events are the best regarded, which influencers really carry the weight, and for introductions to some of the companies we want to reach out to. It’s also nice to be able to co-work with others with a similar work ethic, as it can get quite lonely working solo! It’s a real benefit to be able to bounce ideas off others and seek opinions and advice from those with more local experience.
If you are actively using social media, then you can achieve similar results by crowdsourcing opinions, ideas and advice (although be mindful that with social media, you do not necessarily know the other person and their reference points, or how trustworthy the information is).
- Reach out to your existing network
Don’t forget where you’ve come from! The people you have worked with over the years, the friends still living where you once were, the clients you enjoyed working for… These people are still there (figuratively, if not literally in the same place), the relationships should remain strong, despite time and distance. It may be surprising to hear, but people are generally good-hearted and keen to support the people they like and respect, so don’t be afraid to reach out and let them know where you are. LinkedIn is particularly good for this. It’s a small world, and you may be surprised with how many people from your existing network can put you in touch with someone in your new part of the world, or who might need help and support themselves in your new location.
Confidence can falter at times when starting somewhere new (take it from us!) and it is incredibly encouraging and inspiring to have the support of people you know – sharing your news, sending encouraging messages, and sharing information.
- Be a yes man – or woman!
Those of the more introverted among us may find this a bit daunting, but you need to follow the way of Jim Carey and say yes to everything to start with… Meetings, events, coffees, sending proposals, taking on work – even if you’re unsure. When everything is unknown, the only way you can be truly sure about things, is to experience them for yourself. Everything you do will be a learning and an experience, helping you to make more informed decisions and give advice to others in the future.
For anyone looking to make a move, or having recently made a move, we wish you all the best success. It’s incredibly challenging and stressful, and certainly takes a toll, but the end result can be so worth it in the long run, you just need to throw yourself into it – and don’t give up!
We’re here and more than happy to share successes, frustrations, give advice where we can, or just listen to a rant… so please do feel free to email sam@footstepcommunications.com or message us on @FootstepComms socials.
