These days, more businesses than ever are claiming to be “international.” But what does that mean, really? Is becoming an international business a simple matter of advertising abroad? Does having one client from a far-flung continent qualify you? Can you claim the title once you cut the ribbon on a storefront half a world away?

Perhaps technically. But honestly, I think not.

Here’s the hard truth: You might have customers from lands other than your own, but you’ll never be a truly international business until you learn to understand your audience abroad as wholly as you do those in your own backyard.

Not all that long ago, I visited Dubai on a business trip and decided to take advantage of the fact that I was in the shopping capital of the world. I found myself in the changing room of a Louis Vuitton, cycling through a series of outfits and poking my head through the curtain to speak with the sales manager who personally attended to me. While there, I noticed a robe and a headscarf already propped up and waiting for me in the changing room.

The thoughtfulness brought me to applause. I mean that literally — I came out of the room clapping!

Let’s dive into why this is so important.

Louis Vuitton is a French company. By all accounts, they could run its shop in Dubai the same way it might have in Paris, New York or London. If you’ve ever been in a retail dressing room, you’ve experienced the undignified routine that goes into asking for help. After trying on the three or four items you brought in with you and realizing that none of them are quite right, you either have to scramble into your own clothes and walk out to find assistance or pull the curtain around you and poke your head out through the gap. It’s a hassle, sure, and usually an awkward one. But in many countries, including Louis Vuitton’s home of France, it isn’t a big deal.

Yet for Emirati women, the inconvenience amplifies tenfold. Modesty is a crucial part of the culture in Dubai; for most female residents, poking your uncovered head out to talk to a service representative would be unthinkable. The only other option would be to redress from head to toe, and then take the time to fully rewrap and pin your headscarf back into modesty.

Louis Vuitton could have chosen to standardize its in-store experience. It could have allowed its female patrons in Dubai to struggle through the inconvenience and embarrassment, rationalizing that the same behind-the-curtain hassle didn’t seem to bother French women all that much. And yet, it didn’t! Louis Vuitton cared enough about the experience, comfort and cultural needs of their Emirati customers that it came up with a solution that alleviated some of the stress. The store stocked easily donned robes and headscarves that women could put on whenever they needed to ask for help but didn’t want to go through the trouble of constantly undressing and redressing.

I hope you can see why I began applauding after I sidled out from behind the curtain. The sale manager who had helped me looked confused for a moment, eventually asking me why I was so enthused.

“Don’t you see?” I said, “This is what international business should always be like.”

Meet your customer where they are.

It was this experience that got me thinking: To truly become an international business, companies need to meet their consumer base where they feel comfortable and not merely replicate what worked in another country.

This means taking culture, social norms and communication preferences into account, and tweaking service offerings to suit the needs of those in the area you plan to set up shop. Think — in Dubai, a perfume merchant wouldn’t advertise their wares using images of half-naked women, but they wouldn’t think twice about doing the same in New York!

This tailoring isn’t restricted to just services or marketing either. Culture influences the way we talk and communicate within business settings. For example, in Japan, diving straight into conversations about pricing would be rude. But in Germany, hem-hawing around the subject would be seen as a waste of time. The way a client perceives you will shift depending on their culture and professional norms, so a one-size-fits-all approach will inevitably fall flat.

Humor, propriety, conventions and even spelling vary across national lines. Doing your due diligence and research for an international client takes time, but it always pays off in the end.

Pay attention to the small details.

The littlest logistical quirks can grow into the worst client-repelling service hiccups.

I’ll use a personal example. The other day, I was attempting to check out from a supposedly “international” online business and ran into a hiccup: The site wouldn’t let me pay. I kept receiving an error message that told me my billing address was incorrect, even though I had a perfectly valid listing typed in.

The problem? The cart interface didn’t recognize Nigerian addresses.

It was an incredible hassle. I spent the next two days going back and forth with customer service representatives as they tried to figure out a workaround that would allow them to take my money. That was the funniest part: I was working overtime to pay them!

Make sure you have your logistical details in line. Otherwise, you’ll inevitably lose some clients.

Every client should feel equally important.

If you remember one point out of all of this, it should be this: Business is, at its heart, people-driven. Whether our clients live in our hometowns or halfway across the world, they need to know that they are cared for and appreciated.

Standardization is all well and good, but the best brands aren’t afraid to customize. If you truly want to engage with your base, think like Louis Vuitton and leave your clients wanting to applaud when they step out from behind the curtain.

*I originally posted this article in Forbes on December 12, 2018.