We covered the following topics in Questions and Answers format.
Guide to Start Export Business
Part 2: Getting Ready For Export.
Part 3: Choice of marketplace.
Part 4: Identifying customers. (Coming Soon!)
Part 5: Selecting a strategy. (Coming Soon!)
Part 6: Cultural concerns. (Coming Soon!)
Part 7: Promotional materials. (Coming Soon!)
Part 8: Quality assurance. (Coming Soon!)
Part 9: Pricing your products or services. (Coming Soon!)
Part 10: Securing payment and temporary market entry. (Coming Soon!)
* Select Your Market *
Understanding your export markets will give you vital information about how to manage your efforts. The following five questions and answers help to choose your market.
1. Which kind of Market would it be advisable for me to consider?
Being export prepared depends on a good match among the sort of marketplace you pick out and the traits of your firm. There are 3 preferred sorts of markets to remember.
- Fast-paced, competitive economies. In these nations, new customers are eager to deal with strangers (you) so long as they experience confident that you have the knowledge to perform well. Examples are Australia, Hong Kong (China), New Zealand, Singapore, the united states and the Europen Union.
- Relationship-based, relatively affluent economies. Customers usually deal only with known suppliers – i.e. firms that they know and trust. Here interpersonal communication skills, cultural sensitivity and linguistic fluency are critical in developing a good relationship with a potential new customer or local partner. Such relationships typically need to be developed first at a senior level, so your senior staff must be prepared to travel extensively. Among these markets are Japan, southern Europe, the Middle East and the other more affluent developing areas.
- Developing economies where third party funding is often required for larger-scale contracts. In these countries, the private and the public sectors frequently turn to international financial institutions as sources of funds for large-scale projects. Here, market development takes time, flexibility and political astuteness. Experience in working with a third-party source of funds (e.g. one of the international financial institutions such as the World Bank) will be helpful.
2. Where would I be able to find market information?
Economic journals, for example, The Economist and The Financial Times and reports, Standard & Poor’s Industry Surveys investigate worldwide trends in the services industries. The Internet is additionally a decent wellspring of information, with numerous sites giving nation profiles itemizing national qualities and shortcomings. Different government bodies offer Internet services.
3. How would I acquire information on a specific Market?
The source of information will depend a great deal on how you plan to enter the market. Much of the information you will need is increasingly available through the Internet. One of the best initial online sources of information is the World Factbook website of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, www.cia.gov (select the World Factbook and the country of your choice). It carries profiles of countries, peoples, governments, economies, and the communications and transportation sectors.
4. Where do I discover information on market entry restrictions?
You will be able to get much of the information you need on the commitments made under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) from the website of the World Trade Organization, www.wto.org.
Market entry restrictions have to do with the technical regulations and voluntary standards put forward by each country and they vary from country to country. The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade tries to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. It sets out a code of good practice for the preparation, adoption and application of standards by central government bodies.
5. How would I discover who my rivals are and what they are offering?
To be internationally competitive, you will want to track potential competitors worldwide to see what kinds of services they are offering. Not only will this let you know what customers are expecting, but it will also give you ideas for how to customize your services profitably. One of the best ways to do this is by monitoring websites that provide benchmarking and best practices information,
