When you start exporting an existing product to new markets or plan to introduce a new product/service to an existing market, you have to consider the best route(s) to reach your customers, users and partners.

Would that be classical distribution, specialized distribution, direct sales, retail, online marketplaces, eCommerce or a combination of all these. Guess it highly depends on the nature of your products / services, whether they are B2C or B2B or B2B2C (which I refer to as  B4B)

Secondly, how well do you know this new market!?

If exports, important aspects might be language, culture, business habits and customs and how successfully could you impose your own business model. These questions could be national but also regional as some markets are fairly homogeneous, whereas others vary greatly from one end to the other. Don’t forget to include exchange rates in your pricing / profit calculations, especially if you do business in a third party currency.

Naturally you have done your homework in both cases – Exports or New Product – identifying customer demands beyond a few random email requests not to mention barriers to entry and market share of direct competitors as well as the presence of indirect competitors (including customers who would prefer not to buy your type of products / services) to gauge the potential market in value or volume. Some markets might be more labor intensive than others, which shouldn’t stop you from pursuing them – just keep your business model à jour.

Each of these elements will not only determine the speed of winning over new customers but also your own marketing and logistical cost in doing so as well as providing a profitable trajectory for your sales.

I’ve been developing business internationally for almost 30 years, mainly within Europe being based in France. I like cheese, beer and what IT can do for us.