The first step is to conduct market surveys or market research

By: Rajeev Patnia
Whatever the reason you begin to explore international expansion for your company, a weak US dollar, growth in emerging markets, or the desire to tap into global pools of talent and resources, it is crucial that the decisions you make in the early stages of international business development are made from a fully informed position. Knowing how to prioritize potential markets and grow sales in a new country can be critical for the realization of your business goals. A focused international growth strategy is a must, and if you don't have a good grasp of the issues, then it is imperative that you acquire professional and qualified assistance. This strategy is a multifaceted process, each step, while seemingly complex, can be accomplished when broken down and understood as detailed below.

The first step is to conduct market surveys or market research. This will include a geographic survey to determine potential locations best suited to your particular business. Market surveys will help to identify macroeconomic trends, import and export trends, social and business factors as they relate to your goals, and competitive benchmarking. The end goal being to select a short list of target countries for international growth or expansion. Once a target country/city is selected through a geographic survey, the next step is to conduct a detailed local dynamics survey. A detailed local dynamics survey in the targeted country/city is used to specifically determine the local business dynamics as related to customers, competitors, suppliers and product/service attributes. Secondly, you will need to build local infrastructure, in the form of a local presence, for the targeted region/city. Options for local infrastructure vary and can include a virtual office, a physical office, acquisitions, joint ventures, franchising, licensing or finding local distributors/resellers. The local infrastructure option chosen should depend on the amount of control the company would like to have in foreign operations, the company's understanding of the foreign market, investment budget, growth goals and the successes/failures of competing firms entering the market.

Finally, you need to establish a comprehensive local sales and marketing campaign. This campaign can be achieved through direct marketing, media buys, sponsorships, trade shows, a sales force, working with local agencies and devising a locally appropriate go-to market/distribution strategy.

Few companies have the capabilities of working through this process efficiently in a new country without the experience and expertise of a partner firm that understands the differences in local options and opportunities. The ideal solution to international growth and business development is to seek out a team who, for many years, has facilitated international expansion for countless clients. PanXpan is one such company. This professional partner can help you take a disciplined approach to expanding abroad. PanXpan is headquartered in Los Angeles, USA and works with partners in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Hong Kong/China, Singapore and Malaysia. When you enlist the services of a highly qualified market expansion company, you can be assured of international growth success.