International Export Guide For SMEs

If you are considering exploring new markets abroad, this article will be very helpful. However large, even China contains less than 20% of the world’s population. If your SMEs markets exclusively in one country, you may be losing many business opportunities.

However, expanding your SMEs can be a bit complicated since there are import and export companies that already operate internationally. For that reason, taking the first step correctly will be decisive to succeed in your new expansion project.

Why Export In SMEs Is Big deal

In addition to the reasons already known, these are some of the reasons why you should start exporting your company’s goods and services.

Take Advantage Of Other Seasons

In addition to international parties where you can get good results in any market, there are other times of the year that can be very useful.

For example, summer arrives in July and August in most of the Northern Hemisphere, but it is always hot in the subtropics. So, if you have a product or service that is marketed during the summer, markets close to the equator will be productive for your business throughout the year.

Maximize Your Production Potential

If you are manufacturing products, you already know that online production is the best way to save on raw materials and lower factory costs.

However, you can only store a number of products at a time. Unless you have a percentage destined for export.

Increase the Value Of Intellectual Property

As you license your intellectual property in several countries, its value increases. If you ever decide to sell your business, this will help you get a significantly higher selling price.

Also Read : Speed Will Be The Key Factor For The Success Of Your Website In 2020

How To Start Exporting

Now, let’s look at the steps you must follow to start exporting your goods or services to any part of the world.

Step 1: Market Research
This is the most important step, and omitting it could mean a disaster later. You should know which markets will be more receptive to your products and how to target those markets.

If your products or services are not going to be culturally acceptable in a given region, you will save a lot of time and money by avoiding them altogether.

Another thing to keep in mind when doing market research is the way you will communicate. For example, most successful entrepreneurs in Japan are older.

In Japan, titles are extremely important and are used differently according to the age and social position of the person with whom you are speaking. If you use the wrong title, it is considered rude and you will probably lose respect and business.

Step 2: Product license
Once you have identified your target, you can decide which countries you want to start with. From there, you will have to license your products for those countries.

Always work with a legal team to make sure you are doing things the right way. Omitting something could cause some problems, so make sure your products and company name are protected.

Step 3: Prepare Your Website
Your website is a very important part of your business. It is the means by which other companies find it and determine if they want to buy your product or service. To reach an international market, you need to improve your web presence worldwide.

If your website already occupies a prominent place in English search engines, that is excellent, but not particularly useful in a foreign market. For that reason, you must fully translate your website to target new keywords.

Before hiring a translation service, make sure your website is completely ready to be translated. Errors in the format or broken links will be seen on your translated pages.

Step 4: Translate Your Website
Something important that you should keep in mind when translating your website is that your goal is not to find the cheapest service but the best quality one. Many of the low-cost translation services use computer-generated text.

The reasons for hiring human personnel for translation are so many that it is difficult to list them all. However, the most important reason is that you are guaranteed a precise translation of the concepts instead of words.

Idioms and other expressions that make perfect sense in English do not always translate well into another language. A language expert will understand the meaning behind his words and translate it according to his intention.

You may also want to work with a company or person that deals specifically with companies and understands SEO. This will allow you to have your website ready to start being found in new languages.

Step 5: Start Marketing
Using your market research as a guide, start marketing your products or services to your new potential customers. The exact way you do it will vary greatly depending on your type of business.

Producers may need to go directly to existing stores or through distribution centers so that their physical products are at the hands of their customers. On the other hand, if you have digital goods or services, you are likely to continue marketing directly to other business owners.

Don’t forget, while carrying out your marketing strategy, check your data frequently to see what works and what doesn’t. The sooner you identify problems with campaigns, the sooner you can solve them.

Prepare To Take Your Company To New Markets

Now you know how to start exporting your goods or services. As you can see, it takes a lot of work to take your company to the next level. But is it worth it?

Thanks to our B2B database enriched with more than 43 million companies, our solutions, services, and network of experts, you can generate new international relationships, identify your new potential customers and contact the decision-makers.