Wolf&Grayson EditorialProduct launches often falter in international markets for a simple reason: companies design for success at home and then try to export the same formula everywhere else. It’s a pattern that plays out across industries and continents, costing businesses time, money, and credibility. Cash Nashery, Executive Vice President of Engineering & Quality at Known, has helped bring products to life across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. In every market, he has seen the same avoidable mistake resurface again and again.
Recognizing the Repeated Export Trap
Most companies fall into the export trap without even realizing it. They perfect a product for their home market and are then baffled when it flops somewhere else. “One mistake shows up again and again: we design a ‘Western’ product and try to export it without truly designing for the people who will use it,” says Nashery. It sounds obvious when you say it out loud, yet even the smartest companies keep repeating it. The consequences go far beyond disappointing sales. When products don’t fit local conditions, they can fail outright, costing companies millions in recalls, redesigns, and lost trust that could have been avoided from the start.
Cultural Defaults Kill Good Products
Every design choice carries hidden assumptions about how the world works. An interface layout that feels intuitive in one culture may confuse users in another. Documentation styles that work in North America can fall flat elsewhere. Even basic factors like maintenance schedules or training approaches often fail to translate. Nashery has seen expensive systems crash and burn simply because no one accounted for local realities. “I’ve seen advanced control systems fail in emerging markets because they required uninterrupted power and specialist training that weren’t reliably available,” he says. “Adoption fell, ROI suffered, and recalls followed.”
The solution starts with getting out of the office early in the process. Real customer research means watching people work, not just asking them questions. “The fix is to run a real Voice of the Customer process before design decisions harden,” Nashery explains. “Meet buyers, users, and maintainers where they work. Watch the process end to end.” Observing the workarounds people have developed to get the job done is crucial because those hidden pain points are where the most valuable design insights are found.
Being Global Means Being Local
The best global companies understand something counterintuitive: to succeed globally, you have to be intensely local. That means adapting to how work actually happens in different places. Nashery learned this firsthand when his team visited customers in India and the Middle East. Their fluid-handling system worked perfectly in U.S. plants but struggled everywhere else. “After visiting customers in India and the Middle East, we redesigned a fluid-handling system originally built for U.S. plants,” Nashery says. “We simplified the layout, reduced parts by about 30 percent, and made repairs faster with common tools. That regionalized version became the leader because it fit how work actually gets done.”
The breakthrough wasn’t just about making the system simpler. It came from understanding how different environments change everything about how a product is used. Markets also prioritize different things when making buying decisions. In some places, easy repairs outweigh fancy features. In others, local suppliers and workforce development carry more weight. “In some regions, decision pillars elevate local serviceability, supplier stability, workforce impact, or capability building alongside profit and market share,” Nashery explains. The smartest companies adapt their entire pitch to match what truly matters to local buyers.
Working Together Beats Shipping Solo
The companies that get it right involve local partners from day one, not after problems appear. When local engineers help write specifications before prototypes are built, issues are caught early instead of during costly redesigns. Nashery pushes for continuous customer feedback throughout development. “Bring local engineers and partners into specifications before prototyping,” he says. “Keep a continuous Voice of the Customer loop through pilots and rollout, and adapt quickly as feedback arrives.”
This approach delivers measurable benefits beyond better products. “It consistently cuts rework and shortens time to market,” Nashery notes. “It also helps you meet local certification and compliance requirements the first time.” Getting regulatory approval right at the outset can save months of delays and revision costs. The smartest companies go further by partnering with or acquiring respected local brands, gaining instant credibility and keeping valuable local expertise in-house. “When possible, deepen commitment by partnering with or acquiring a respected local brand,” he explains. “Retain the talent, co-develop what the market needs, then add your engineering discipline, quality systems, and IP.”
Great engineering alone will not save a product if it ignores local realities. Nashery has seen technically brilliant solutions fail simply because they did not fit how people actually work. “Western engineering excellence matters, but only when it is paired with empathy and adaptation,” he says. Success requires a shift in mindset. Instead of building for global markets, you need to build with local users as genuine partners. “If you want global adoption, design with local users, not just for them,” Nashery adds. “Start with a true Voice of the Customer, uncover latent pain, tailor to regional realities, and co-create from day one.” The companies that master this approach avoid costly mistakes and create products that genuinely work for the people who use them.
Connect with Cash Nashery on LinkedIn to explore more on engineering and global product strategy.
