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(CNN) -- Creating a product or a brand image that is effective beyond its local marketplace is a challenge most international companies face.
Yet business strategies do not always translate well across diverse cultures and languages.
Local sensitivities and tastes even determine how your employees expect to be treated.
The key to success is keeping the product, brand or strategy flexible so it can be continually adjusted to bridge cultures and meet global trends.
"Once you have got a brand image, it is the most valuable thing you can have. It gives instant value, credibility, reliability and reassurance," says Simon Anholt of brand consultancy PlaceBrands.
"It is a promise of quality and a licence to charge more money for your product -- very often it is the most important asset of a company."
Coca-Cola launched its diet product in 1987, but for a century it had just one creation. Now it sells 400 brands in 200 countries, yet the vast majority of these products are not associated with the core brand.
"Most are very local with local names that people (at the head office) in Atlanta would not know how to pronounce. This is how Coca-Cola continues to grow its international business," Andy Milligan from brand manager Interbrand said.
This is a technique McDonald's is using. The fast food chain is often considered a typical U.S. brand, but it has learned to change its offerings for local tastes.
"Think 'Pret a manger,' a brand that at first sounds very French and you might think it is a fashion store. In fact it is an eatery -- they do high quality take-out food," Anholt explained.
"Sounds French, it is known to be British, but in fact it is 100 percent owned by McDonald's."
An even simpler way to take a brand into new and uncharted markets is to buy a local business that is already successful.
Quality of interaction
One of the key elements in this equation is the workforce -- since a brand is mostly defined by the quality of the interaction that customers have with company employees.
"We want value not only for the things we buy but the experiences we get and all those experiences are delivered by people," Milligan explained.
These representatives are the ones who have to sell a corporation overseas, so employing the right people is important.
"You have got to look for people with attitudes, as well as a set of values that are in line with the brand you want to build. You have the option to train people, but you cannot re-train attitude," Milligan said.
-- CNN's Rosalind Chin contributed to this report.
