Key in your market entry strategy is some market research. Of course there are reports on market size and market growth, but often these are general. Specific knowledge on how your product is perceived and what your competitions is, is harder to get but more valuable.
Our local consultant can advise you on the best way to enter the market, based on market and competition research.
The Netherlands is an interesting country to do business in, and can also serve a stepping stone to other European countries
As of 2024, the Netherlands has a population of approximately 17.67 million people. The Netherlands boasts a robust economy, ranking as the 18th largest in the world. A significant portion of the EU’s natural gas comes from the Netherlands. The country’s GDP per capita is impressively high at around $48,860, reflecting its economic strength.
Amsterdam, the capital, is the most populous city, followed by Rotterdam and The Hague. The country’s terrain is notably low-lying, with a significant portion below sea level.
With developed ports and excellent logistics services, the Netherlands has one of the best logistics performance. It is considered a logistics hub, hosting plenty distribution centers. Multilingual and professional employees also add to the benefits of Dutch distribution system.
Knowledge of the customer base, major gateways, legal matters as well as the distribution structure will be beneficial to your expansion. Having a local partner will help you navigate around the Dutch market and ensure optimal results specially with the help of the country’s top distributor.
A local consultant can find possible business partners, or you have identified them yourself. But how to convince them to market and sell your products or services?
For this you need an export plan with a clear strategy and sufficient financial details.
If you have a consumer product that you can’t sell directly from your home country to your end customer, you need at least one step in between. This can be a distributor (who also acts as wholesaler or importer), a big retailer directly, or it can be a large web shop. Let’s look at the pro’s and con’s of each option.
For a B2B product that is not a commodity or for customized solutions the story is different. Here sales needs to be done in alignment with the department that actually delivers the service or that determines the price case by case. Also then you have three different options.
As counts for any country: you first have to define the target group that you want to sell to. If these are businesses, then you can reach out directly through emails and targeted advertisements, e.g. on LinkedIn. If this arouses interest and gives a sufficient response rate, then you may have found an easy way to get the market’s attention.
If your target group is more diffuse, or is a consumer group, then you have to rely more on advertising such as on Facebook or Instagram.
Entering a new market is an investment. Finding partners, contracts, translations and marketing costs money and you may need additional working capital.
Only with a good plan with enough financial data you can convince banks and investors to fund you. We help you with the complete business case and documentation.
First determine who are the end-users of your product or service. And where do they buy it now? The best way to determine the right entry strategy is to approach these parties. Would they consider your product or service as an alternative? Do they agree with the positioning that you have in mind? And what competitors are they buying from now? These data will help you determine the right strategy.