International business opportunities

Business Opportunities

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...a mix of promotional activities such as advertising, public relations, direct mail, exhibitions, point of sale promotions and others according to the sector and market.

A very large proportion of all such activity brings no benefit whatever to the business, often because little or no attempt has been made to gauge market need. Successful market development begins with a determination to understand the needs of the market, the current suppliers, the expectations and lifestyles of buyers, and the ways in which language, culture and the law impact on how the market behaves. This information is known as market intelligence, and is derived from the process of market research.

Market research

The greatest challenge facing new or less experienced exporters in developing new international business is invariably, knowing where to start. With around 200 countries in the world, it can seem like a nightmare trying to decide which markets offer the best opportunities.

A useful starting point is market selection, where a simple process of information gathering can enable a shortlist of most attractive markets to be drawn up, based on freely available information such as population, levels of disposable income and other relevant statistics. This process can also consider the needs and limitations facing the potential exporter. For example it may be appropriate to leave more physically remote markets out of the process especially for a small business where time may be a very finite resource.

A market selection process can help to identify a small number of markets that seem to be worthy of further consideration. In most cases, it is unlikely that any markets will appear to be clear favourites without further investigation, and at this point the business may have to invest some money into more detailed market research. Whether the exporter decides to do this for... continued on page six >

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