Exporting – It’s All About Strategy, Baby
For many companies, the best way to gauge overseas opportunities is to look at your success rate at home. If your product or service already has won you customers in the domestic market, chances are good that you can find a market abroad.
Another approach – your once strong sales are flagging. If this is the case, you may be surprised to learn that foreign markets may still have a keen interest in what you are selling. For example, where technology and other advances may have diminished your products' market share, in other countries these same attributes may be the very things that provide an opportunity. After all, not every country will have the same level of technological advancements that we do here, or may not even want them.
But what are the attributes your company should possess to begin exporting?
Get some goals – It will be important to stay motivated through the process of identifying new markets and then determining the best way to reach new customers. Without the vision and support from management on down, chances are you’ll be less successful without clearly defined goals.
Be committed – This process may take some time and you will likely need to change and adapt certain things along the way. From customer service response time and return policies to marketing and sales demands, if you aren’t able to commit, you will struggle along the way.
Learn stuff – Expanding into foreign markets usually requires a learning curve. If you want to succeed, you will want to encourage your staff to be engaged in the learning process as well. Discovering everything from cultural cues to world economics should be an expected part of the journey.
Maybe modify – While you may have strong domestic sales, you might find that some of your product or service selling points need to be adjusted to meet the interests and demands of foreign customers. A willingness to adapt accordingly will be crucial to your success.
Finally, finances – It may require additional capital to launch your export efforts. Keep an eye on your bottom line and know in advance what you’ve allocated to your exporting and what the returns will need to be in order to keep you in the black.
Management needs to understand the goals, objectives, capabilities, and constraints before diving into export. An Export Plan should contain the following:
- Why your company should export – define your goals
- Export commitment statement – your mission statement
- SWOT analysis – internal and external export resources
- Marketing – identify foreign markets, positioning, sales, and distribution
- Tactics – target countries, indirect marketing, market research
- Export budget – costs from packaging to shipping and handling
- Implementation – schedule & staff needs, operations and review
So what are you waiting for? Let’s start planning your export strategy today!
