B2B Expansion Abroad: Where to Begin Before You Take the First Step

At a certain stage of growth, many companies reach a point where the domestic market simply isn’t enough anymore. Not because there’s no more room to grow, but because new opportunities start opening up beyond the border – bigger clients, new segments, more stable demand, or partnerships that just aren’t available locally.

On the surface, expansion can look simple: translate your website, launch a few campaigns, reach out to prospects in a new country. But in reality (and based on our own hands-on experience) deciding to enter a foreign market involves far more than it first appears.

Expansion isn’t just a marketing or technical project. It’s a strategic move that touches sales, product, team capacity, and internal processes. That’s why it pays to take it step by step: start by clarifying why expansion makes sense for your business, and only then plan what it should look like.

What to Clarify Before You Start Planning Your Expansion

Before expansion takes any concrete shape, it’s worth pausing to think through a few fundamental questions. These can determine whether entering a new market will be realistic, sustainable, and meaningful in the long run. Companies often jump straight into market analysis or country selection, but the real starting point lies earlier — in understanding your motivation and expectations.

Why are we considering expansion in the first place?

“We want to grow” is a valid reason, but far too broad. It helps to know whether you’re looking for bigger clients, more stable revenue, resilience against fluctuations in your home market, or the opportunity to reach segments that don’t exist locally. The clearer your goals, the easier it is to build an effective strategy.

What type of companies do we want to reach in the new market?

B2B decision-making processes vary across countries. Procurement teams, technical departments, management — all have their own roles and criteria. Understanding who your product truly serves and who will be making decisions about it in the target market is crucial.

What value do we offer compared to local competitors?

Businesses that expand successfully have a clear grasp of the problem their product solves and why it should matter to customers abroad. Without a clearly articulated value proposition, it’s hard to open doors to new clients or partners.

Is the timing right?

Sometimes the barrier isn’t the market, but the company’s internal readiness — limited capacity, the absence of a project owner, or ongoing internal changes. Entering a foreign market is much easier when the company has a stable foundation and the bandwidth to focus on growth.

Does My Product Stand a Chance in a Foreign Market?

What works in your domestic market won’t automatically work elsewhere. Different buying processes, different business priorities, new competitive dynamics, or even a completely different standard of service can significantly change how your product will be perceived.

That’s why the first step isn’t an in-depth analysis, but a quick and honest assessment of whether it even makes sense to explore the market further.

The key question is simple: Is there a problem in that market your product can solve — and are companies there willing to invest in this type of solution?

You don’t need a full market research project to answer this. Often, a few simple checks are enough:

• Look at whether companies in the target country face the same problem as your current customers.

• Explore what solutions already exist and how they’re positioned.

• Check early signals of interest — forums, trends, publicly available data.

• Reach out to a handful of companies in your target segment and get quick feedback.

• Have a short conversation with a potential partner, distributor, or a local expert.

Your Internal Team: An Often Overlooked Factor in Successful Expansion

When considering expansion, companies tend to look outward — at customers, competition, opportunities. What gets less attention, though, is something just as critical for long-term success: the readiness of the internal team. And that’s often what determines whether expansion runs smoothly or stalls early on.

Internal readiness doesn’t mean having perfect processes. It’s about realistically assessing whether the company has the capacity to grow while maintaining the quality of service — especially once the first foreign opportunities start appearing. These questions may seem simple, but they have a major impact on how quickly and effectively your company can respond.

What’s worth clarifying:

• Do we have enough capacity for sales and post-sales support?

• Who will own and lead the expansion?

• Are our processes robust enough to scale with the expansion?

• What adjustments will the product or offering need in a new market?

• Can we grow without compromising performance at home?

Answering these questions will give you more realistic expectations, help you uncover potential obstacles early, and make it easier to understand what resources you’ll need in the next phases of expansion.

Is Your Company Ready to Expand?

One of the hardest parts of planning an expansion is figuring out where to start. To make that easier, we’ve created a simple decision tree. It will help you assess — within a few minutes — whether you’re ready for the next steps or whether it’s better to strengthen certain areas first.

Practical tools to help you with your first steps into a new market

Before you start choosing specific countries to target, a few simple tools can help you quickly validate demand, understand the competition, and assess the overall readiness of the market.

Quick checks for demand and trends

• Google Trends – shows whether your topic is actively searched for in the target country.

• Exploding Topics – highlights new and fast-growing trends.

• AnswerThePublic – uncovers the most common questions and searches around your topic.

• SimilarWeb – gives you a quick overview of competitors and their online performance.

Identifying companies in the target market

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator – the most reliable way to verify your segment, decision-makers, and market relevance.

• Apollo.io – a database of companies and contacts you can easily filter by country, size, or industry.

• Crunchbase – provides insights into companies that are growing, funded, or open to new solutions.

Competitor analysis

• Ahrefs / Semrush – show what solutions are being searched for in your space and who dominates the organic landscape.

• BuiltWith – helps you see what technologies companies in the target country are using; particularly useful for SaaS.

Conclusion

As you can see, expanding into a new market involves a number of important questions. But once you can answer the fundamental ones, you’ll very quickly get a clearer sense of whether expansion is something to focus on now — or a topic to revisit later.

If you’re unsure about the answers, or you’re already considering expansion but don’t know where to start, feel free to reach out to us. We’ve supported companies expanding into a variety of markets across multiple industries, and we’ll be happy to help you take a step back, assess the situation realistically, and understand your options.

Book a free, no-obligation consultation with us and we’ll discuss whether now is the right time for your company to think about international expansion — and what the next steps might look like.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I start expanding my company into a foreign market?

The best starting point is a mini-validation: checking whether companies in the target country face the same problem your product solves. Only then does it make sense to choose a specific market and plan your entry.

2. Which foreign market is worth expanding into?

Aim for markets with the closest product–market fit. Not the largest ones, but those where companies deal with the same problem as your existing customers.

3. How much does international expansion cost?

A lean expansion can cost a few thousand euros. A more complex entry with localization, partners, and marketing typically costs tens of thousands. The biggest cost is usually not marketing, but team capacity.

4. How do I know if our product has a chance to succeed abroad?

• Look at the competition in the target country.

• Validate 3–5 companies in your ideal segment.

• Check whether they face the same problem.

• Get at least the first signals of real interest.

5. How long does it take for expansion to deliver results?

In B2B, usually 3–12 months — depending on the sales cycle and your internal readiness. Results come faster where there’s a strong product–market fit.

6. What do I need to start selling in a foreign market?

Internal readiness is key:

• a clear project owner,

• capacity for sales and customer success,

• solid processes,

• basic content localization.

7. Do I need a local team in the foreign market?

Not necessarily. Many companies start with local partners, distributors, or freelancers. A local team only makes sense once demand is stable.

8. How do I find my first customers abroad?

The fastest channels are:

• LinkedIn (Sales Navigator),

• local partners or distributors,

• niche forums and communities (e.g., Reddit),

• online events and webinars.