You have decided to export, but have you checked your products are fitted for the markets you are considering? In order to answer this question, you should perform a market study.
What will provide the market study?
The market study will help you decide whether or not you should sell your products in the targeted market.
It will also provide you with important information on the market trends for your products and what strategy you should build.
It will also identify the distribution channel and your main competitors.
This study will identify the main contacts who will mostly become your customers, or at least contacts who will be able to give you market information on a regular basis. Most important, these contacts will help you build your network on the market.
How to prospect new markets
a. Participating to international fairs.
First of all, participating to trade fairs will introduce your company and products to the market.
It will also bring you good opportunities to know your competitors and get more market information.
However, trade fairs need to be prepared, especially if you are not used to export. Enterprise Mauritius organizes participation to some selected international trade fairs on a collective basis. Doing so you will benefit from the expertise of an E.M. officer from the preparation of the exhibition to the follow up once back to your company.
b. CPP – Contact Promotion Program
These actions are initiated by Enterprise Mauritius who will work with a group of companies to organize a business trip to a selected foreign market. E.M. works in cooperation with a consultant based in the country to be visited who will prepare a specific program of business meetings with selected contacts.
5. How to market your products
a. Direct sales
Maybe you will meet direct customers during trade fairs or business trips. They will buy directly from your company.
Dealing with direct customers gives your company a complete control over your marketing and sales strategy. However, you might have to deal with many small orders which means a very good logistic and back office organization.
b. Sales representative hired by the company
A sales representative is a member of your company located in a foreign market. This person will only sell your products and will be able to give you accurate market information. However, the cost of an efficient sales representative may be quite important.
c. Sales agent
A sales agent is someone who will sell your products on a commission basis. This person will also be able to provide you with accurate market information and the cost for your company will only be the commissions paid on the sales. However, you will not have any control over customers and agents often have products portfolio which means they don’t sell exclusively your products.
d. Importer / distributor (with exclusivity or not)
Importers or distributors will buy directly from your company and will sell your products to their own customers under their name. You can deal with importer / distributor on an exclusive basis, which means he will sell only your products.
In order to deal in the best conditions with sales representatives, agents and importers, we strongly advise you to write contracts which will define relationships between parties. Since these contracts will be made between foreign parties, they should be written with a specialized business lawyer.
Get the right communication for your products .......
- Company’s profile and leaflets
- As you will have to introduce your company and your products to foreign customers you will need to build a company profile and get leaflets in English and in the language of the country you are targeting.
- Don’t forget the cultural difference, in order to be efficient and well understood by your customers, your products should ideally be presented as if they where already sold in the targeted market.
Some products will need to be presented with technical drawings and / or with user manual. These documents should be written in the local language.
Market studies
