How to Quickly and Efficiently Determine if a Chosen Foreign Market is Ripe for Penetration

1. Foreign Market Investigations
for Cost Conscious First Timers
Springer Global Consulting
“Should I Export?

2. Assumptions
• Readiness Analysis complete
• Gap Analysis Complete

3. Assumptions
• Country and City Picked to investigate
– Heard something/grapevine/common
knowledge
– Competitor
– Customer
– Supplier
– Trade Show
– Government Initiative/New regs
– Port City/Distribution Hub
– Trends
• This location is compelling to us and we
have something compelling for it

4. Goals of Visit: Learn /
Decide
• Learn
– Learn the industry
– Make friends and contacts
– Generate leads for next visit
– Evaluate effort/investment
– Evaluate potential/return
• Decide: Is this market compelling
for us, and are we compelling to it?

5. “If You Visit, They Will
Meet”
• They WILL meet with you
• They WILL talk
• They WILL share
• You CAN learn most of what you
need to know

6. Structured Approach to Visit
“80% of what you need to know in 20% of time
needed”

7. Agenda for 1 Week
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
B’fast Exercise/Alone Distributer/Rep 1 Exercise/Alone Dir. Compet. 1 Exercise/Alone
Morning 1 Regulator Supplier 1 Ind. Compet. 1 Dir. Compet. 2 Customer 4
Morning 2/Lunch US Comm. Ser. Supplier 2 Ind. Compet. 2 Customer 1 Best Friend 1*
Afternoon 1 US Cham. Com. Supplier 3 Distributor/Rep 3 Customer 2 Customer 5
Afternoon 2 Industry Group Freight For. 1 Freight For. 2 Dir. Compet. 3 Customer 6
Dinner One of above Distributor/Rep 2 Lawyer/Acct. 1 Customer 3 Best Friend 2*
Least Need to
Impress,
Least Need for
Future Favors
Greatest Need
to Impress,
Most Need for
Future Favors
* Or follow up meetings

8. How to Find These Companies and
Groups
• Internet / phone research
• Suppliers  competitors & customers
• Distributors, reps
• Customers’  ASL’s
• Local freight forwarders
• US Commercial Service, US Chamber
Commerce
– Regulatory filings, approval/regulatory groups
• Trade Shows
• Industry Publications
• LinkedIn, Premium LinkedIn
• Google Earth

9. 6 Clicks Can Save Time and
Money

10. What to Discuss, What to
Determine
• 1: Not Pricing! (at least not with competitors!)
• 2: Disarm
– Explain yourself, intentions
– Avoiding competition, want unserved niches
• 3: Give
– Market intelligence
– Invite to visit you
• 4: Learn
– Trends in the industry; rates of change, market size, capacity
(s/d)
– Barriers to entry, switching costs, modes of competition
– Recent entrants, recent withdrawals
– New alternatives
– Who is capturing the profits in the “value chain”
– Who’s aligned with whom, who’s unaligned
– Importance of “relationships”, transparency

11. Cost for 1 person
• Plane fare (worst case) $2,000
• 6 nights hotel (worst case)
$1,500
• Food $1,500
• Taxi $ 600
• Visa $ 200
• Other/Misc $ 200
Total (worst case) $ 6,000

12. Confronting Fears
• English: Hosts likely to speak
• Airports: English everywhere
• Transportation: Hosts likely to help
• Safety: Hosts will care
• Hotel rates: Pick Western hotels
• Food: Western b’fast and lunch
• Food: Dinner – prepare to eat local
• Your staff: Welcomes your absence!
FAITH SELF-CONFIDENCE