Valuable Export Moves That Can Guarantee Your Success In Foreign Markets
Exporting into new markets no doubt comes with a list of benefits that can enhance the growth of your business. By simply exporting into the global market, you can increase profits through international sales, reduce your dependency on a single market, and gain the ability to stabilize seasonal fluctuations as you take advantage of other markets. By deciding to export to new markets, you take your products to over 96% of global consumers who live outside the USA and it is said two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in the global market. In other to benefit from all the opportunities the global market can offer, you need to take some key steps which can help mitigate some of the risks that come with exporting and to guide you to perform effectively with the right export practices.
Many businesses today fail in the global market because of their inability to put in some due diligence to understand the basic needs of exporting to new markets and avoiding any mistakes that can hamper your success in the global markets. Over 67% of businesses start to export to the international market place without an export business plan, majority of businesses fail to check their potential in the foreign space, go in with little or no expert advice or any sort of training, not even a comprehensive market research, but with their hopes based on assumptions. This explains why many businesses fail until they learn to master the key steps of exporting and most probably through the hard way.
Below are some key steps you might want to consider for your export success;
Run a company self-assessment to check export readiness
As you might spot opportunities in the global market, it is important to take some time to run a self-analysis of whether you are ready for the global markets rather than taking a dive right away into the market without any self-assessment if your business is ready for the international market place. At the very beginning, it is very important to identify how committed are you to export to the world at large? How flexible are you to meet the needs of the new markets you are looking at? Do you have the capacity to manage orders from all over the world? What experience do you have about the global market and how can you use your experience to enhance your success.
Many businesses jump right in into a market before they start to realize they were never ready to export internationally. Such common mistakes can be costly for your business and time-consuming. If you are interested to go global with your business, it is important to take a step back and self-assess your business with the foreign market needs.
Seek expert counseling and make use of any training you can find
What we have learned from our experience is majority of businesses fail in their export endeavors because they failed to sought valuable information about exporting to new markets and base all their reasoning on assumptions. Dealing in a real-world, were things change in less than no time, you must stay at the front line of information. It is very important to always seek the advice of an expert or if possible take some training to build your experience in the global market. Don’t let the benefits of exporting in new markets blind you from making the right decisions. There are numerous sources of information you can make use of when it comes to exporting. Reach out to the experts who can guide you on the best practices on exporting or take some time and train yourself and build your experience in exporting.
Another way to remain informed is to carry out research on the things that bother you about exporting in a new market. In our world today, we are drowning in information but we are reluctant to make use of the information around us. You can find export books, articles, and webpages that can provide you with all the necessary information you might need to understand the export process.
Create your export Business plan
Creating an export business plan is very crucial for every business looking to export their products internationally. Creating your export business plan already indicates you know what you are doing and you are already one step towards your success. Over 67% of businesses fail to develop an export business plan and they always learn the hard way. Coming up with a comprehensive export business plan lays the foundation for your new venture and brings to light a model or a strategy your business can work with. Markets vary from other markets, the challenges in one market might not be the same challenges in another. Developing a business plan for your export will answer all the questions you need to know about exporting in a new market and the information gathered through the process can be invaluable for your business.
With a plan in hand, you can easily identify if your business is ready to take the next bold step of exporting to new markets, you can easily make the right decisions from your analysis, identifying the things you need for your business to survive internationally, and identifying the markets and products with export potentials. With an export plan you remain focus to your goals and objective, you can project the possibilities available for your business overseas and ready for execution.
Conduct your market research and complete a marketing plan
Once you have your export business plan you need to carry out an in-depth market research for all the markets you are interested in and start approaching the markets with potentials and promises. The worst mistake any business can make is to venture into a new market blindly. This is the case with numerous SME’s we have worked with and rescued. As mentioned earlier, markets can differ from each other and what can be working for your local market might not guarantee success in another foreign market. A market research is a blueprint for any management to take strategic decisions in line with the objectives and purpose of the business. A well-done market research will expose the market to you and with the information obtained and analyzed, you can sight opportunities in the market or better still, red flags.
With a market research, you are entitled with information about the consumers, the niches of the market, with such valuable information, you can easily model a robust marketing plan that can best suit your business interests in the market. What is more important about a market research is the information gathered from the market and how the management team can easily make strategic decisions about the market to work with. As you research a market, you find the possible problems you can face in the market, by identifying these road blocks before time you can easily seek solutions in a less costly manner.
Start searching for buyers
With a well-developed export business plan, you must have indicated the best strategy to locate international buyers for your products. Your decision on how to promote your business or products to the global market might be through B2B sites, trade shows and events, through local organizations offering foreign leads for your products (registration is required), leads generation, working with export agents or working directly with distributors in the local market. Your end decision will greatly depend on your export objectives and goals for the market. You need to understand which method will best get you to the buyers you need. When searching for buyers it is very important you have a team ready to respond to every lead you generate. You must understand swiftness in responding to the leads you generate is very important especially with leads from different time zones. To keep your leads, or prospective clients, you need to provide every information required as soon as possible or they will go somewhere else.
If you decide to use multiple options for generating international leads, you must have in place the staff to manage the leads you generate and always keep in mind the different time zones you will be working with.
Learn or seek other ways to finance your business exports, any foreign investments or projects
Once you are set up with your export business and you are already experiencing some promising results, you can research on some financial support that can be used to grow your export venture. In most regions, the local government and some financial institutions can offer loans or other financial benefits for SME’s looking to export their products in the global market. You can also research any foreign investment institutions that might be ready to offer some benefits for your business. A good example is the Export-Import Bank of the United States offering financing assistance. Also, The U.S. Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) provides financial assistance for small businesses seeking to export overseas.
The reason you have to take this step at the end is because you must need to be sure about what the markets of interest are offering before you go for loans to grow your business in those areas. You may want to set up a local office in a foreign market, set up a managing and sales team in promising markets. With financial support you can be able to meet such goals.
EndNote
With all the above steps, coupled with persistence and patience, you can be guaranteed of a successful export experience. You will be able to avoid the mistakes many businesses make when they start exporting into the global market with a guiding plan or a market research to guide their decision making. In any successful export experience, planning should be your number one task to undertake and get the training if you have too. Research and learn from every step of your export experience.
