Taking Your Business to the Next Level: 4 Helpful Tips on Selling Products Internationally
By Space Coast Daily // December 10, 2017
Selecting the Right Overseas Market
Do you feel like you have maxed out the potential in your existing market and want to expand? For businesses who specialize in selling goods, finding new markets is essential to the continued growth of their company.
Taking your operation overseas can be both exciting and a bit intimidating. Going on a number of business trips is a great way to get a feel for a country and what they can bring to the table. Before heading off on a foreign business trip, you will have to fill out an ESTA application HERE.
Once you have all of your paperwork in place, you will be ready to embark on this journey. Read below to find out about what you need to do when trying to sell your product internationally.
1. Selecting the Right Overseas Market
The main thing you have to do when trying to expand your reach is to pick the right overseas market. This decision will need to be based on a number of factors like culture, market risk and political climate in a particular country. Rushing through this important decision can lead to a number of long-term problems for a company. Before expanding to a particular country be sure to consider things like:
- Do research on where the bulk of your international online orders are coming from
- Pay attention to the language and cultural differences of the country in question
- Get a feel for the political climate that exists in a particular country
- Find out if there is going to be any tariffs on the products you place in a country
With a bit of research, you should have no problem choosing the right country to expand your operation to.
2. Conducting Market Research is Vital
Before you enter a new market, you need to research the overall selling potential you have there. Finding out whether or not there is an existing audience for your products in an existing market. One of the best ways to find out where you need to expand is by taking a look at your website traffic. Getting software that allows you to see what country your visitors are coming from is essential. With this data, you will be able to get an idea of where your products will be best received. Neglecting to do a fair amount of market research will make it very difficult to figure out which foreign country you need to be expanding to.
3. Get an Idea of What Your Export Strategy Will Be
Another important thing you have to think about before expanding to a new country is how you will get your items there. Having a concrete export plan in place will allow you to avoid the headaches that can come with shipping products internationally. If you are unsure about where to start with this planning process, reaching out to professionals in this industry is essential. They will be able to devise a customized export plan based on the needs your company has and the requirements of the country in question. With a bit of professional help, you should have no problem ironing out the details of your export plan.
4. Make Sure You Can Handle the Increased Workload
Some companies make the mistake of expanding to another country without figuring out whether they can handle the increased workload. If you do not have a plan in place regarding what to do when orders start coming in from other countries, it can create some major problems. Taking stock of your production facility and the capabilities it has is important. If you need to add on a few more machines and employees, it will be worth it if the sales start rolling in like you envision.
While expanding into new countries is a great idea, it will take a lot of hard work to be successful in these new markets.
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