Convince foreign distributors with numbers, not with stories

First prove yourself in your home market, as you will have the lowest cultural, knowledge and regulations barriers there. Then start with a nearby country with similar characteristics, where you can easily understand the market and provide support. Only then move to other countries, building on the experience you have.

Intenational marketing has the same components as local marketing, like positioning, distribution, marketing communications etc. The complexity is in adjusting to the culture, habits and regulations of the different geographies that you are active in with your brand.

First of all there are countries with a large population like China, India, Indonesia and Brazil with a growing middle class, and therefore higher consumption. Second, companies will tend to source more from a shorter distance, for environmental and supply security reasons. Last, electronic communication will continue to grow, reducing the need for business travel but also forcing companies to become active online.

International trade regulations can make it more difficult to sell your product abroad, but there are only a few sanctioned countries where you can not sell your products at all. Trade barriers can be high import duties, local certifications or labelling requirements to comply to etc. Trade agreement are mostly meant to lower these barriers.

Often it is rather an import duty than an export tarif that you pay, but if this duty is relatively high, it can be a reason not to enter a market because you can’t compete there effectively.

International trade fairs are a great way to orient yourself on the market and to see your competition. But in order to find distributors or major clients, they are highly ineffective and an directly approaching a list of target companies may be more efficient.

Many governments and industry organisations set up trade mission to a foreign country. This is a great way to get a lot of information in short time and we recommend to participate if the country is new to you. Don’t expect on a trade mission to do business directly, ensure that you also can do any follow-up and further market development, either yourself or with a local consultant.

Export finance can be obtained primarily from banks, for example with a Letter of Credit, but the number of alternatives is growing, such as factoring and other third-party financing.

Yes, especially if your product is being sold online, you need an international pricing strategy. This will prevent that consumers buy from another country then they are in, to get lower prices. This will prevent complications in servicing your product and in keeping all your distributors happy.

If you are not familiair with the business culture in the country where you want to sell your product or service, then you certainly need one. ideally you find a company that has local people in the country, who can do both market research, but also represent you and advice you.