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Twenty Essential Factors to Consider Before Going Global (Part 6 of a series)
8/15/2005
by Laurel Delaney, Global TradeSource, Ltd.
According to Laurel Delaney, there are twenty essential factors to consider before going global. This article covers one of those factors.
Factor 2: Define your business plan for accessing global markets. An international business plan is important for defining your company's present status and internal goals and commitment, but it is also required if you plan to measure results.
Where do you start? Begin by adapting the skills, interests, and resources that you already have. Then, learn about crossing borders the hard way – by doing it. But first you must have the basics in place: time, nerve, imagination, capital, energy, knowledge, and determination. If you have these, you're halfway up the hill. If you want to reach the top, implement the following eight point action plan toward global marketing nirvana.
1. Conduct detailed market research (study business climate) to determine if there is a need for your product or service. This measure will also alert you to possible barriers to entering your target market.
2. Package your product or service so that consumers can see that yours is notably different from that of others. If you think there are no competitors, you didn't research enough. Keep digging.
3. Size your product or service according to the needs of the foreign market. In other words, listen to your customers! If all your customers tell you that your offering is too large, then size it to their liking. Likewise, offering too many choices is often detrimental, as consumers may be confused.
4. Size the market you are entering. Any major advertising agency or market research company in the foreign country where you wish to do business can make market predictions.
5. Participate in industry-wide trade shows. This is a uniquely effective way to contact cross-border customers, especially if you have a difficult product to sell, or a product that a customer needs to actually see. Check with The Department of Commerce to see what they are supporting and look for a listing of exhibitions held in markets worldwide.
6. Know the basics about your product or service so that when customers contact you, you can respond swiftly with accurate answers. If you sell a product, inform the customer about production capacities, production facilities, product quality, timing of supply, packaging, transportation, and price. If you provide a service, describe your area of special expertise (for example, a global marketing communications program), clients served, turn-around time, applicable fees, credentials, and any other important background information.
7. Regularly visit customers who are involved in your business transactions. Personalize your relationships and be prepared to yield and compromise when needed.
8. Capitalize on cost effective sales lead generation programs. Generating sales leads is a challenge for most businesses, but it becomes even more complicated when you are trying to win new business globally. Traditional methods of marketing are often more expensive to execute on an international level. To further complicate matters, issues such as language, customs, and cultural differences also must be taken into account. If you have an opportunity to place your company in a directory that effectively reaches your target market across several mediums, consider taking advantage of it. These programs are cost effective and they do the marketing work for you!
If you panicked at any one of these points, you should stay in the domestic market. If none of these possibilities worried you, then you already understand what comes with the global territory and your chances for success overseas will certainly improve.
Copyright ©2005 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved.
Next Month: Determine how much you can afford to invest in your international expansion efforts.
About the Author: Laurel Delaney runs GlobeTrade.com and LaurelDelaney.com, both Chicago-based firms that specialize in international entrepreneurship. She is also the creator of "Borderbuster", an e-newsletter and The Global Small Business Blog, which are both highly regarded for coverage on global small business. Laurel can be reached at ldelaney@globetrade.com.
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