Before you decide to launch into international markets, it is important to make sure you have fully identified both the external and internal factors that could affect or influence your competitive strategy and the export potential your business has.
There are many things you need to do as part of your export preparation, identifying opportunities in the export market, SWOT analysis on your own business and assessing what market potential your services or products will have, are just a few.
With the help of 4X Currency we take a deeper look into these to make sure you have a definitive “Ready to Export†checklist:
#1 Identify Your Market Opportunities
There are quite a few things to take into consideration when you assess the potential export market opportunities for your products or services. These could include: • The distribution channels available to you • The share of the market that your business might gain • The size of the export market in your area • The economic conditions in the local area • The suitability of your service/product for your target market and how likely it is to be accepted.
#2 Perform SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis will help you to identify which internal and external factors will have a positive or negative effect on your business’s ability to export. It will provide you with information on your competitors, the market, the internal business environment (strengths and weaknesses) and the external business environment (opportunities and threats).
Once you have identified all these areas, it is important to analyse them so you can begin your export strategy by defending against any negative factors and taking advantage of the positive factors.
Service/Product Potential
It is crucially important to analyse the need for your products or services overseas. Those with high demand in international markets will be more successful and offer a higher potential for export. It is very important to know how suitable your product or service will be in your target market and what its acceptability rate will be. To properly evaluate the market potential your service or product has, see what your answers to these questions are:
• Do you need an after sales service for your service or product? • Does your service or product have a unique feature to bring success overseas? • Does your service or product need any modification?
#3 Create a Clearly Defined Export Plan
Once you have gone through this checklist and feel that you are ready to take the next step, it is time to make an export plan.
The first and most important step is to come to an agreement with the rest of the company’s key management on what the company’s objectives and goals are, as well as what its capabilities are and the potential constraints. When you sit down to begin your plan, don’t be tempted to take another company’s plan and just edit the facts and figures to reflect your own. The plan needs to be completely your own so that it reflects what you think are the most important things for your company and why you think it will be successful.
Summary
Once you have been through this checklist thoroughly and feel confident in your product and service, the next step will be to create a market entry strategy, but that’s a whole other checklist in itself!
Planning really is the key to a successful exporting relationship, these things take time and good research and preparation is key. If a couple of people have shown a strong interest in your service or product, that does not necessarily mean you are ready to export straight away, there are a lot of things to take into consideration.