What are the 5 international market entry strategies?
International expansion can be a difficult and daunting task. For some established businesses, international growth is the next logical step. However, other businesses are looking for rapid growth with international markets. Whatever your situation, there are specific strategies that can help you succeed internationally. You might be wondering, “What are the five international market entry strategies?” Well, the team at Eliasan Consulting has the answer for you. Keep reading to find out.
Exporting
Part of breaking into an international market is simply getting your product or services into your target market. For instance, if you want to sell your product in England, you need to get it into shops in England to test the market. If it does well, then you can continue to export. Once you’ve established yourself in the area, you can continue to export your product to the area.
Before you start exporting to a new international market, be sure to establish working relationships with distributors and shipping companies. You’ll want to find reliable shipping methods that will ensure that your products will get to their destination quickly and efficiently.
Licensing
If you have a product that you feel like would sell well in a foreign market but you’d prefer to not deal with the process of exporting, licensing is an option. Work with companies in the market that can produce your product to sell your license to them. This doesn’t mean that you’re relinquishing the rights to your product. Rather, you’re allowing a company in a foreign market to produce the product for a limited amount of time.
In order to properly sell a license to a company, you will need to work with lawyers and governments to ensure that the process is completed properly. If a licensing agreement isn’t complete, you could miss out on profits from foreign sales.
Joint venture
If you know of a company in a foreign market that can assist you in providing services or selling your product, you can establish a joint venture. This means that one of the business owners will be local to the market while the other is in the home market. You can join another business that’s already established in the market to draw from the knowledge of a local business owner and you’ll share operating costs.
Franchising
If you’re looking to grow quickly, franchising might be the option that’s best for you. By allowing business owners to use your name to open a store in their market, you grow your company and collect franchise fees. These fees can come in the form of costs that come with using your brand’s name as well as a yearly cut of profits.
The downside to franchising is that you’re letting another person represent your brand. You can vet business owners as much as you want, but understand that this can come with a compromise in products, service, and representation. You can quickly grow your brand to new locations but it can come at the price of tremendous risk.
Piggybacking
If you have a product that you’re already selling with domestic companies, you can use that relationship to move to international markets. For example, if you have a line of products that sell well in local stores, ask if you can sell them at their international locations as well. This is called piggybacking because you’re riding a domestic relationship into international markets. This can be an effective method for breaking into markets because you’re using an established brand to help push your product in new markets.
Work with Eliasan Consulting
At Eliasan Consulting, our team is well-versed in what it takes to expand your brand to international markets. If you’re still wondering what the five international market entry strategies are, give us a call or send a message today to schedule a free consultation.
