Have you reached the top of your industry or segment with your company? Then choose to enter the foreign market. By reaching a new target group you can sell more to a larger group of people. However, entering a foreign market is a complex process. You’re dealing with a different culture, target group, competitors, government and infrastructure. In this article we would like to give more information and tips for optimal market entry.
Finding out foreign demand
First of all, it is important to test the demand for your products abroad. The customer in the current market may be happy with your product and service, but are people in the other country also happy with the same product or service? You can test the demand for your product by attending trade fairs abroad or by being present in stores of your potential target group. You can try it without too much time and effort by placing your products on international marketplaces. Think of Amazon where customers from multiple countries can purchase your products.
Display the offer
Have you found out after some research that there is a lot of demand for your product abroad? Beautiful! Now you can think about how you want to showcase the offer as a company. Do not immediately opt for an expensive building with high costs. For example, first choose to translate the current website to the foreign sales market. However, do this professionally and have it translated by a translation agency. With a lot of experience in translating websites, Translation Agency Perfect is a major player in this market. For example, pages can be translated while retaining SEO. Translating a website just like that is a bad move.
Translate your website
Translating a website is not just translating text into another language. By translating a page of text indiscriminately in Google, the entire message can come across wrong. The focus keyword must return often enough on the page. Provided, of course, this also has search volume abroad. Links that have been incorporated into texts must also be adapted with the correct URL. When a German website visitor is redirected to a Dutch website, chances are that he is “lost”. You also have to take into account the target group and culture to strike the right tone of language. This is a very important part.
Target audience and culture
Each country has a different culture with customs that people feel comfortable with. Americans, for example, are very exuberant, but people from Scandinavia are modest and on their own. Also take this into account. Where Americans love to party with big discounts, Scandinavians want to be well-informed without making too many empty promises. This means that the entire appearance of the website and the company must be adapted to the target group. After all, you start as a “new” company in another country. You also have to consider the payment methods. Paypal and credit card are payment methods that work worldwide. However, it is wise to choose a local payment method. This can give extra confidence to the target group.
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To send
When you have translated the website properly to the target group’s wishes, sending can also become a difficult obstacle. The shipping costs can differ per country. Of course this depends on the transport service. Because of the possibly higher shipping costs, you may also have to increase the price. The same applies to the VAT percentages. Costs may be higher or lower due to other VAT percentages abroad. The shipping time can also differ per country. Ordered today tomorrow at home may be feasible in a sparsely populated country with a good infrastructure such as the Netherlands. However, it would be more difficult in countries such as Peru where roads are poor and houses are sometimes isolated for miles. You also have to take into account the import of products to the relevant country if you do not have a warehouse. Keep in mind that large import and export files have to be translated. Fortunately, there are translation agencies that have experience and expertise in translating import and export files. It is important that you understand the small letters and conditions well.
Government legislation and regulations
Familiarize yourself with the laws and regulations of the government. In the worst case, you can’t even sell the products. It could also be that small rules are disrupting your entire business. For example, in the Netherlands there was a company in sex toys that wanted to become a T-shirt sponsor of a football club. However, with a lawsuit it is allowed. But if you just want to start exporting, you don’t want to be in court with a lot of time and costs. For example, a country may initially radiate a certain image, but after further investigation it may not agree with the actions of your company. So familiarize yourself with the laws and regulations of the government. Not only whether you can sell the products, but also to what extent you can carry out marketing.
Competitors
Competition is often an underestimated topic. After all, you want to export to another country because you are on the ceiling in the current country. People love your products and services. However, people abroad may not be interested in your products due to the presence of competitors. Where Coca Cola rules in Europe, Africa and Asia, Pepsi is again more popular in Canada and America. Because let’s face it, if everyone around you drinks Coca Cola then that is the number 1 Cola in your eyes. The same goes for services. Netflix is a fairly popular streaming service in Europe, but Amazon Prime is more popular in other parts of the world. It is therefore very important to what extent a competitor is present in the market for products or services that you offer. When there is a major player in the market, it becomes difficult to offer you products or services. This will take a lot of money and time before you have won the competition. So keep this in mind.
Finally
The overall conclusion is that you need to do good research. A guarantee of success in your own country is not yet a guarantee of success in the export country. Consider target audience, shipping, laws and regulations, and established competitors. Don’t just do it behind the computer, but make sure you run a test in the country. Visit trade fairs or give away samples to your potential target group. This information in combination with desk research provides valuable information. It gives a good indication of how far you will succeed. Because you never know for sure! After all, it continues to do business with the necessary risks.
