Do you export? Want to grow your business overseas and sell more? Check out our Top 10 Exporting Tips to help you maximise your investment in your overseas markets.
1. Choose the right market
Don’t get fooled into thinking a market will work for you because you’ve received an enquiry or an order. You need to consider whether the size of the territory is large enough to justify your market entry cost. There needs to be good demand in the market not just a one-off sale, so do your research and choose your markets carefully. For more information, why not watch our webinar replay ‘Which market is right for you?’.
2. Make your product or service attractive to the market
Here you need to consider two aspects – the product / service itself and the way you market it. Think about whether your product / service will be suitable for the overseas consumers or whether it needs tweaking to make it more appealing. This could simply be, for example, converting weights to imperial or metric in line with the unit of measurement in your target market. And in terms of marketing, is it aimed at the same market overseas? If not, you may find consumers require different quantities so offering smaller / larger packages might make it more attractive.
3. Choose the right partners
Distributors and agents will represent you in your overseas markets so you need to make sure you choose carefully and get them to fully understand your strategy within the target market in terms of brand positioning and marketing your product or service. They may have a different agenda to you so manage the relationship to get maximum return.
4. Be seen and be heard
Standing out from the crowd is crucial in any market, and your international markets are no exception. So that means having a great marketing campaign in the native language of your target markets. Statistics show that people receiving information about a product or service in their own language are more likely to buy it and often pay more for it. Plus it shows a greater commitment to the market. After all, if all your competitors are just shouting a little bit louder in English and hoping the right message gets across, speaking the right language to your prospective buyers is going to put you way out in front.
5. Comply with local legislation
There can be significant differences in regulations and labelling in territories outside the UK, including now those in the EU. They may also vary depending on whether you plan to sell your products online or in territory. And there can also be industry-specific differences. Make sure you know what you need to do to be legally allowed to sell in your chosen market and to physically deliver there.
6. Protect your IP
Intellectual property (IP) rights only offer protection in the countries where they are granted or registered. Where a company only has UK protection, others may be free to use their IP abroad without any infringement of rights. Make sure you avoid anyone else pinching your ideas and stealing market share from you.
7. Build on your in-house resources
Customer services for the overseas markets is essential to ensure continuity of business. Take advantage of your internal skills to communicate with foreign audiences, especially those with language abilities. Emails, chat boxes, telephone calls will need to be manned and likely to be conducted in the language of the target market. If you don’t have the skills in-house, consider recruiting or outsourcing.
8. Develop your online presence
Your online presence in the target market is crucial to your success. How will your target audience find your product / service? Usually it will be through a web search using keywords in their own language. So as a basic, make sure you have a landing page in the target market language which is optimised to match the search terms your target audience will be using. Immediately, this will put you a step ahead.
9. Consider buyer behaviour & customs
Buyer behaviour varies from country to country. The German market, for example, returns more goods bought online than any other EU market. UK suppliers therefore need to factor this into their stock, finances and logistics. Late payments are acceptable in some countries not others so contracts may need to be revised to accommodate payment terms. Bribery is a big issue in some countries and sometimes seen as part of the negotiation process, so be aware.
10. Consider the available technology
If your product / service relies heavily on technology, consider whether the necessary infrastructure is in place in the target market to support your chosen approach. Consider which devices are more common and how your product / service can be accessed. Also, does your chosen technology support the target language, e.g. are cyrillic characters displaying correctly? And from a social media perspective, if you’re using it as a marketing tool, think about where your chosen audience ‘hang out’. Will it be the same as the UK market?
If you have found these exporting tips interesting, why not check out our insights page for more useful information!
