1. Guernsey >
2. Expanding a Business >
3. Marketing a Business

Marketing a Business in Guernsey

The international transition of a business when preparing to expand is more than just costs and procedures. It's more cultural acclimatisation than calculatory acumen. It's making sure your product or service fits the inclinations and idiosyncrasies of a nation; finding a way to culturalise your business in order to reap the same results your business has achieved domestically. This is accomplished through one simple step: effective marketing.

Marketing your business on indigenous soil is an art-form in itself; attempting to do it overseas is nigh-on miraculous. Countries may be becoming more heterogeneous, but the foundations of a culture rarely budge for anything: their sensitivities, traditions, humour, discourses, protocols are essentially unchanging and stubbornly unaccommodating. Therefore, the identity of your product or service needs to seamlessly fashion itself upon a nation, not the other way around, shoehorned in, hoping for the best.
Advertising and Sales promotions in Guernsey
If you are expanding your business in Guernsey, the advertising avenues are similar to those in the UK. Guernsey is connected to the UK television and radio network but has its own ITV franchise called Channel Television. On the internet, Guernsey has its own country-code top-level-domain, which is .gg, instead of .co.uk. The islands also have a newspaper called The Guernsey Evening Press and Star and the Channel Islands have their own radio station, Island FM

Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural sensitivity and understanding of protocol is paramount to effective marketing. The intricacies of a nation its beliefs, even its superstitions can make or break your business. Know the market; immerse yourself in it. Never assume your marketing strategy will be transplantable to a foreign country. There is only a slim chance language will translate well. Anglophonic countries may be susceptible, but if your product or service plays on a quintessentially British characteristic or joke the chances are, it will not be well received.
As for other countries, don't bank on using the same strap-lines or gimmicks. Unless they are perfectly transitional, your product or service could suffer especially if it relies on humour.
Unless you are certain your product or service can sell itself on indigenous merits, it is probably wise to revise its selling-points for a foreign market. As always, however, only your own fastidious research can conclude this.

 

Click here to Ask an Expert about Marketing a Business in Guernsey