Market entry strategy for exports to New Zealand

If New Zealand is a relatively unknown market for you, you need a clear market entry strategy. This may be different from the strategies you have used so far, as the market structure and the competition is different.

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.

Oppportunities for international business in New Zealand

New Zealand, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, is known for its stunning natural landscapes, Maori culture, and outdoor lifestyle. Its population in 2023 stands at about 5 million.

With a GDP per capita around $41,000 USD in 2023, New Zealand’s economy is based on agriculture, tourism, and film production, with dairy products being a significant export. The country is also known for its wine industry.

New Zealand’s imports include cars, refined petroleum, machinery, and electronics, essential for its economic and technological development.

Major cities include Auckland, the largest and most diverse city; Wellington, the capital known for its arts scene; Christchurch, a city rebuilding with innovation after earthquakes; and Queenstown, famous for adventure tourism

Travel to New Zealand for a better impression

The best preparation for doing business in any country is visiting it. This way you can experience the culture, check the shops and build your network.

Where it comes to hotels, research shows that if you check these platforms, in 80% of the cases you have the lowest room rates.

Consumer products in New Zealand: Distributors, retailers or online

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.

Distributors

Distributors are used to import, store and physically distribute a product.
They normally don’t invest in promoting your product to consumers.
They are the best chance to get your product in the market so that you can gather sales data.

Large retailers

Retailers are very risk averse, may ask for a listing fee before they put your product on the shelves.
They can help you promote your product in their stores and in their magazines, but will also ask a fee for this.
They are the quickest route to the mass market, if you can convince them.

Online

Specialised web shops may have a greater interest in your product than general web shops.
They can experiment more easily with pricing and ways of promoting.
Volumes may be lower, but working with web shops is still a good way to collect reviews and get brand awareness.

B2b or customized products for New Zealand

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.

Agents

Agents represent you in the country and have a limited negotiation room.
They often sell not only for you, but also for other parties.
A good agent already has a network in your target market and can start selling directly.

Local offices

Local offices are a costly option, but give you full control on your sales.
You have to send someone over and hire local staff and office facilities.
This gives the opportunity to do local marketing and business development from within the country.

Distance selling

If you product can easily be delivered and serviced from abroad (like software) this may be a good option.
Video conferencing is more accepted now and can limit travel.
Lead generation may be done with SEO, advertising and email marketing.

Where it all starts: select a target group

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.

Do your first approach with instantly

If you target people in New Zealand in a specific industry or with a certain role in the company (like HR directors) you can do an easy first trial yourself.

With the tooling of our partner Instantly.ai you can define your target group, whether it’s 50 or 50.000 people. Send them a sequence of emails, directly in their inbox, for typically under 10 dollarcents per persoon.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good market entry strategy for New Zealand?

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.

Is market entry in New Zealand difficult?

This al depends on the product or service that you want to sell and the competition. Typically, if you already sell in comparable countries as New Zealand, also here it should be possible, unless there is strong local competition. This is something that you only discover if you dive into the market.

Can I use my brand to sell in New Zealand?

Yes, if you have registered your brand for New Zealand or you trust it will not be used by others, you can use your brand there. You only need to recognize that in every new country you need to build brand recognition and brand standing separately. Therefore you need a good positioning, the right distribution structure and a marketing plan.

Is marketing in New Zealand different?

Although your product or service often can remain te same, the marketing that you need in New Zealand may be different from other countries. You may have to translate your materials and advertisements, adjusting it to the local ‘tone of voice’. Also marketing communication channels may be different.