Your positioning strategy should set out what you will do to achieve a favourable perception in your new export market.
Typically companies will try to achieve the same brand positioning regardless of the market. A coherent positioning strategy can be hugely advantageous, so it’s important when reviewing the export potential of your products/goods or services to consider the following:
1. Customer profiles
- What is your current USP and will this translate to your new foreign export markets ?
- Do you understand your domestic customer profile? E.g. age profile, socio-economic grouping etc.
- Are there other significant demographic patterns to your product or service’s usage?
- Have you considered the need to modify your product/service to facilitate differences in language, culture and business environments?
- How do you plan to deliver your services to foreign markets ? In person, via a local partner or using digital resources?
2. Market Pricing and Value Propostion
- Consideration whether any necessary changes to make your product/service more appealing to foreign markets and customers?
- If you’re exporting services, what makes them unique within global markets?
- Have you benchmarked your services in a global context? Would they be considered to be world-class and stand up to stronger scrutiny?
- Have you considered the cost implications of servicing overseas markets? Including FX rates and fluctuations?
- Does your product have a shelf life and will this be impacted by time in transit?
- Will your packaging have the same impact in a foreign market or can it be easily modified to satisfy new demands?
- Are there any climatic or geographic factors that could affect the uptake of your product or service in other markets?
3. Route to Market
- Do you need special export licensing or documentation to export? i.e. technical or regulatory requirements localised to the market?
- Are there considerations for the safe transportation of your product to global markets ? i.e. specialized containers or packaging materials?
- Would transportation costs make competitive pricing a problem?
- How efficiently does your target market process incoming shipments?
4. Capacity to support
- In the event that your domestic/export demand increases beyond current projections, will you still be able to look after both markets?
- Will you be able to serve both your existing domestic customers and any new foreign clients?
5. Further considerations
- Do you require a local presence or representation?
- Will your products/service require local professional support or can this be done digitally?
- Will after-sales service be required ? Can it be easily sourced locally or do you have to provide it? Does you have the resources to provide it?
- Are there legal / IP implications to consider when entering global markets?
Once your positioning strategy is in development, it’s time to consider how to develop your export strategy and access your target market.
