So we’ve figured out what works at home. We’ve got repeatable tactics, we know our CAC, we’ve built a team that understands the market, and scaling locally is pretty straightforward at this point.
Now we’re trying to enter the US market, and I’m realizing that a lot of what made us successful in Russia might not translate directly.
Like, our entire go-to-market relies on a specific influencer ecosystem that exists because of how Russian social media works and which platforms dominate there. Our messaging angles that crush in Russian culture feel off when we translate them. Even our pricing strategy is built around Russian purchasing power.
But I’m also wondering: are we overcomplicating this? Some of the core principles probably work anywhere—like, building trust through creators’ authentic content, or targeting audiences based on behavior rather than demographics.
I’ve been talking to a few US marketers, and their tactics seem both similar and completely different at the same time. Some of it feels like it would work instantly in Russia. Other stuff feels very specific to how the US market operates.
How are you thinking about this internally? When you’ve expanded into a new market, what did you definitely bring with you from your home market, and what did you throw away and rebuild?
And how did you actually figure out which was which before you committed serious budget?
Great question, and honestly, this is where having mentors from both markets matters so much. The principles usually transfer, but the execution is completely different.
Think about it this way: your brand positioning and core value prop are universal. But your channel strategy, creator selection, messaging tone—those are market-specific.
So what transfers: understanding your customer psychographically. If you know why Russians buy from you—what problems you solve—that same customer exists in the US. They just use different platforms and respond to different creative styles.
What doesn’t transfer: platform dominance, influencer economics, and audience expectations. Instagram works differently in US vs Russia. TikTok creators have different rate structures. Audiences have different content preferences.
I’d recommend finding 2-3 mentors on the US side who get your space. Not to tell you what to do, but to pressure-test your assumptions. They’ll quickly tell you what’s universal and what’s market-specific.
Are you connected with anyone who’s made a similar transition?
One practical thing: I’ve seen brands do “growth strategy audits” with US partners. You bring your playbook, they tell you what translates and what needs to be rebuilt. Takes a day or two and costs nothing compared to burning cash on wrong assumptions.
I did a comparative analysis for a Russian e-commerce brand expanding to the US, and it was eye-opening.
What transferred directly:
- Customer acquisition cost optimization thinking (you optimize where it’s cheapest, regardless of market)
- Cohort analysis and retention metrics (behavior is behavior)
- Testing methodology (A/B testing works the same)
What required complete rebuilds:
- Platform mix (Instagram is 15% of US digital ad spend, but it used to be 30%+ of Russian strategies)
- Creator pricing (US influencers charge 2-4x more, even at similar follower counts)
- CAC benchmarks (your $5 CAC in Russia might be $18 in the US in the same vertical)
- Messaging (Russian directness reads as aggressive in US paid ads; the same brand message needs softening)
What surprised us: regulatory compliance cost. It wasn’t huge, but it added 15-20% overhead that Russian operations didn’t have.
Here’s what I’d recommend: pull your top 3 customer acquisition channels from Russia. For each one, research the equivalent in the US market. What’s the cost? The audience size? The creator landscape? That’ll show you what’s scalable and what needs reimagining.
What’s your primary customer acquisition channel right now?
One thing I’d stress: don’t assume US audiences are “better” or “worse” at converting. They’re just different. Russian audiences might be more price-sensitive, US audiences might value brand narrative more. Neither is better—they just require different strategies.
The math works out, but the approach changes.
I’ve been through this, actually. We brought our entire growth playbook to EU markets and half of it didn’t work.
What I learned: the principles transfer 100%. Understand your customer problem, test relentlessly, optimize for efficiency, leverage word-of-mouth. Those principles are universal.
But the tactics are completely market-dependent. Our most effective tactic in Russia was a referral program incentivized with local vouchers. In EU, it didn’t move the needle because the incentive structure was wrong for that market.
Here’s what I wish someone had told me: spend the first 30 days just observing the market. Look at what your competitors are doing. Talk to creators about what resonates. Read local marketing publications. Get a feel for what the market actually responds to. Don’t assume it’s like Russia.
Then, take your 3 most fundamental strategies (not tactics—strategies). Test each one with a small budget. See what works. Iterate from there.
The temptation is to bring your whole playbook and tweak it. That’s usually too slow. Better to start fresh, informed by your Russian learnings.
Here’s how I think about this: your Russian playbook is a case study, not a blueprint.
What you did in Russia will give you insights. But you need a new playbook for the US market. Here’s my framework:
-
Principles layer (transfers): Why does your product work? What problem solves? Who needs it? These are usually universal.
-
Market layer (rebuild): How do you reach those customers in this market? What channels? What price? What messaging tone? This is completely market-dependent.
-
Execution layer (test): How do you operationalize it? Who do you partner with? What tools? This is hybrid—some tactics port over, others need to be built new.
I’d recommend this: take your Russian playbook and extract the first layer—the principles. Then, bring in 2-3 US partners who know your space and ask them to help you build a new playbook based on those principles, but optimized for the US market.
Yes, you’ll reinvent some wheels. But you’ll do it 5x faster because you’ve already solved the fundamental problem once.
How much of your team is US-based or has US market experience?
One more thing: I’d actually recommend not bringing your entire Russian operations model to the US. You’ll optimize for the wrong things. Instead, start lean, learn fast, then scale what works. That’s faster than trying to replicate Russian success and Debug what doesn’t work.
From a creator perspective, here’s what I notice: Russian brands sometimes expect creators to work a certain way—very fast turnaround, minimal revision. US creators expect more collaboration and creative input.
It’s not better or worse, it’s just different. Your playbook for how to work with creators might need tweaking, even if your product strategy stays the same.
Also, the content itself: what’s shareable in Russia isn’t always shareable in the US. Humor is different. Visual aesthetics evolve differently. Trust cues are different.
So yeah, your core growth principle (“use creators to reach audiences authentically”) transfers. But how you execute that with creators might be pretty different.
One thing that might help: show US creators examples of what worked well in Russia. Not to copy it, but so they understand your brand intent. Then let them translate it for the US audience in their own voice. You’ll learn a ton from how they adapt it.
I’d break this into two distinct questions: (1) What’s your fundamental competitive advantage? (2) How does that advantage play in a different market?
Say your advantage is “fast, quality product at low cost.” That’s universal and probably transfers.
But how you convince customers of that—through pricing, messaging, distribution, partnerships—that’s market-specific.
Here’s what I’d do: conduct a primary research sprint in your target US market. 20-30 customer interviews minimum. Ask: “Why did you buy? What other options did you consider? What concerns did you have?”
Then, compare those responses to your Russian customer interviews. Where are they the same? Where are they different? That tells you what transfers and what doesn’t.
Second: map your Russian competitive landscape against the US landscape. Are your competitors the same? (Usually they aren’t.) That changes positioning significantly.
Third: test your top 3 growth tactics with US audiences in a small, bounded way ($5-10K) before committing major budget. You’ll know really quickly what works.
The brands I see succeed in market expansion do this research first, then move fast. The ones that struggle bring their playbook wholesale and spend months debugging it.
What’s your competitive advantage in one sentence?
One last thought: be intellectually humble about this. Your playbook worked in one market under specific conditions. The US market might reward different behaviors. That’s not a failure of your strategy—it’s just how markets work. Stay curious, test quickly, adjust faster.