{"id":19866,"date":"2021-12-03T11:30:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T11:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/news\/success-overseas\/"},"modified":"2021-12-03T11:30:46","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T11:30:46","slug":"success-overseas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/cy\/news\/success-overseas\/","title":{"rendered":"Success overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"

By James McPherson, Commercial Director, Active IQ<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is much admiration in the Middle East for the Western education system\u00a0\u2013 and therein lies an opportunity for UK awarding organisations, training providers and fitness professionals. Over the past 12 months, Active IQ has been making great waves abroad in the Middle East and we are well on our way to establishing a good reputation in the region.<\/p>\n

Our role is not about simply exporting our qualifications but about adapting our materials and delivery. Working abroad requires us to listen, learn and adapt our qualifications to ensure they meet the exact needs of the local market.<\/p>\n

Practical and cultural considerations help ensure success overseas including removing any language barriers, observing and navigating cultural demands \u2013 such as Ramadan \u2013 and facilitating all-female training and gym access in those regions that require this.<\/p>\n

Of course, a successful exporter can\u2019t just trade on having empathy for local markets; underpinning the respect and appreciation of overseas customers must be a well-constructed, commercially viable model.<\/p>\n

We took our time and trod carefully as we learned about the cultures, markets, demands and requirements of the areas where we hoped to operate.<\/p>\n

Speaking the language<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our first foray into this area was in Saudi Arabia, helping to train and recruit female instructors locally, by working in partnership with Spectrum\u00ae Wellness for Women, the first Active IQ training provider in the Kingdom. We worked closely with Tracy Aldereyaane, VP at Spectrum, to develop resources that meet the needs of learners in the region to support teaching in the community and working with clients in local fitness facilities. It was here we realised the importance of translating our materials into Arabic.<\/p>\n

We took great care in the process of translation, working with an Egyptian translator and then a Saudi-based company to ensure we were translating for a wide variety of Arabic speaking countries.\u00a0We decided to take local dialect into account and developed an Egyptian translation and a formal Arabic translation of our course material. Our External Verifier then worked closely with a translator to quality assure the work, ensuring Arabic learners are provided with the same opportunity as English-speaking learners. And we didn\u2019t stop there \u2013 we also appointed bi-lingual instructors and assessors to enable end-to-end delivery, including vital in-person support.<\/p>\n

Another challenge lay in dealing with technical language and we resolved this by working with the translator to transcribe anatomical words into the Arabic phonetically.<\/p>\n

Respecting the culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as speaking the language, we ensured our photos and images were culturally appropriate. Although the UAE is comparatively liberal, some neighbouring territories have a different sense of propriety, with pictures of exposed skin between the chest and knees being considered \u2018haram\u2019. We took these differing requirements for localisation into account and were not afraid to return to drawing board to build fresh supporting materials for each area so they would truly resonate with each local audience.<\/p>\n

Aside from getting the language right, practical and cultural considerations helped to ensure success, including removing any language barriers, observing and navigating cultural demands such as Ramadan, and facilitating all-female training and gym access.<\/p>\n

Bespoke solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was clear early on in our discussions and outreach that we needed to look at each country with the region as separately entities. In terms of the way that business is done, consumer behaviour, legal and political considerations, there\u2019s a huge difference between UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Understanding the important nuances of each culture informed both our wider marketing approach and more bespoke messaging as we combined our outreach through trade press, word of mouth and social media influencers pertinent to each country.<\/p>\n

Building momentum<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dubai and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (including India and Pakistan) are still developing in fitness education and UAE R has done an excellent job for that market by working with key employers to support the need for qualifications and CPD. Its insight is second-to-none and it\u2019s essential to have a good working relationship with its team. Demand is now spreading further afield to other countries around the world as Dubai is becoming a central hub for fitness professionals. It\u2019s a growing and rewarding market and we feel privileged to be working there.<\/p>\n

Seeing eye-to-eye<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy exporting into a territory where you only have a small presence and we knew going in \u2018cold\u2019 would not work.\u00a0 We took our time to network, make contacts, have discussions and really understand what the local community would welcome.\u00a0 Speaking to existing contacts in the UAE as well as the more established population of expats in the Emirates gave us valuable insight. Our attendance at Dubai Active helped us to cement contacts and relationships that had been established remotely due to the pandemic. Notwithstanding lockdown restrictions, when trying to build a presence overseas the best way to see eye-to-eye with people is to have face-to-face discussions.<\/p>\n

Bright future<\/strong><\/p>\n

The future is certainly looking bright for these international markets and our reputation is growing as people recognise our commitment to adapting our services to their market \u2013 rather than just \u2018importing\u2019 our existing models. The icing on the cake for our international team was winning the \u2018Exporter of the Year\u2019 awards at the Federation of Awarding Bodies\u2019 awards. This award celebrates the success of an organisation\u2019s exports and international business and we couldn\u2019t be prouder to have our work recognised in this way.<\/p>\n


\nMae Active IQ yn aelod o Gr\u0175p Partneriaeth Strategol ukactive \u2013 darganfyddwch fwy\u00a0<\/strong> yma<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ymwadiad: Unrhyw safbwyntiau o farn a fynegir yw rhai'r awdur yn unig ac nid ydynt o angenrheidrwydd yn cynrychioli rhai ukactive.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By James McPherson, Commercial Director, Active IQ There is much admiration in the Middle East for the Western education system\u00a0\u2013 and therein lies an opportunity for UK awarding organisations, training 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