Stepping into the global market and considering exporting goods? That’s a big step for any company, big or small, but it is also a very risky move. Many companies try and fail in the exporting market because they do not initially check if their product is even viable in their target country.
However, there are three simple steps to identify if your company will meet export marketing success in a foreign niche. If your company and product hit the marks for all three steps then you can almost guarantee success.
Check the Demand for Your Product
The very first thing you want to identify is a demand for your particular product. You’ll want to review how much of the product the country is importing, how much does it produce domestically, and if demand has been increasing within the past few years.
Demand for imported products is an aspect you really want to double-check. If the country is doing fine domestically then there is little reason for the consumers to buy expensive exports. If there is a demand for oversea goods then you have a better shot of profiting.
Of course you need to consider the competition. Pricing, control over their local market, brand recognition, and others come into play here. Do not try to take over a niche market if the domestic company over there already has total domination. You’ll be a mouse picking a fight with a lion.
Check the Legal Barriers
Another important thing to check is the set of legal barriers. This is where the US Commerce Department and other government resources and consulting agencies come in handy. You need to understand everything that the legal barriers can throw at you.
Does a particularly country welcome products from the your country? Do they ban particular products? Do they have special tariff and tax exemptions for niche companies or certain types of products and services? How much do exporters pay at customs?
If the legal barriers are too much then either drop it and move to the next potential target or see if these legal procedures can be consolidated to simplify the process.
Check the Culture Barriers
You do not want to sell a product or market a product in ways that may insult the culture of the target market. For example: selling lingerie in a conservative, religious nation will lose you money and also anger the potential market.
You need to check if your marketing strategy, if the product you are promoting, and even the choice of words your company uses all align with what the market accepts as proper and polite.
Marketing strategies that work in the US may not work in a foreign country. Banner ads do great in the US but in Japan it’s all about mobile marketing. Take these into consideration and your company can determine if it has the resources and knowledgeable research to guarantee success.
If you would like to start exporting, the most direct and inexpensive export marketing method is direct email marketing. You may consider world importers & buyers directory as your export marketing tool .
Source:
exportmarketing.net Editor