There are practical issues to consider when promoting your product in an overseas market. These include the media you use and the skills and experience you will need to produce promotional content.

Your activity should be based on your marketing plan, your customer research and the positioning decisions you will have made.

Build your promotional mix

There are a number of ways to reach customers. Options include advertising, direct mail, trade shows and the internet.

Find out how established competitors promote their products in your target market - they will probably already be using reliable methods.

Promotional materials

It's important to be able to communicate with customers in their language - you may lose sales and goodwill if you can't. If the local language isn't English, do you have a staff member who can speak the language fluently? Alternatively, you may have a local partner who will communicate on your behalf.

If you are producing promotional literature in a foreign language, ensure it is translated sensitively and correctly to avoid any embarrassing mistakes.

If you have local agents, distributors or licensees, involve them closely when preparing marketing materials. Their local expertise will help sharpen your message and avoid language errors.