To Boldly Ship Where No One Has Shipped Before
Time magazine highlighted 37 countries that it feels are hot spots for doing business. Where do you rank on the list? Are you taking advantage of these new unforeseen customers? Are you exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations?
The first thing you need to do is your market research. Take the list of 37 countries that time magazine has given in The Best Countries for Doing Business by Time Magazine. You know your demographics, your ideal customer. If you don't know your ideal customer, that is an article for another day. Find one country that fits your demographic and start with one country at a time. Never try to expand to the whole world at once, you will lose focus, and lose your mind. Just target one country at a time and keep expanding every 6 months to a year.
If you have never done business outside of the U.S., it might be wise to start with a country that speaks English like Australia, England, or Canada. However, do not let language be an obstacle, I know many companies who sell "lights out" to Sweden, Norway, and Germany without speaking one word of any of those languages. The bottom line is, if you have a good product people in other countries will crave and want what you have. America has a great reputation for providing higher quality. People in other countries love American products. You already have respect, take advantage of it.
The classic example of doing your market research is Disney Europe. Disneyland is based on fairy tales characters and movies produced by Disney. When Disney was expanding they decided to build a theme park in Europe. They invested and opened Disney Europe in Paris. Let's just say it never took off. To put it subtly, it was a total flop. What Disney failed to realize is that all Disney movies are based on fairytales originating from European stories. The European originals were mostly written by the Brothers Grimm. They were grim, tragic, and often gory. The little mermaid sacrificed herself for her love and they do not live happily ever after, the wicked step sisters get their eyes pecked out by birds etc. Not only did the locals not like it, but travelers going to Paris, are they really going to forgo the Eiffel Tower for Disneyland? Disney Japan was a phenomenal success. Not all countries will be hot spots for your product. The moral of the story is to do your market research.
After you explore the best possibilities for your business, now you turn proactive and seek. This means you target or advertise to these countries. The first and obvious advertising method is online. Make your product available online. Find a fantastic SEO (Search Engine Optimization)/internet marketing/whatever other "buzz" word it is called. Never forget the reality that, "It is not the best products that succeed; it is the best 'marketed' products, that succeed."
Next, if you have contacts in any other countries, try to get them to start blogging about you. I know a business that does mega sales in the Netherlands and the only advertising they have is a blog. If you aren't selling on the internet, you are missing a huge piece of the pie. Basically you are limiting your product to local customers only. If you really can't manage the internet right now, try to find a magazine or other method in that country that you can use to find customers. However, beware that phone sales will be difficult, language barrier etc. Online is more straight forward and every person can understand a picture with a price. The internet helps breach the language barrier.
If you are a wholesaler, look for distribution methods in that country that will work for you. Many of their systems work the same as ours; find their retail shops that are comparable to domestic retail shops. It is not as difficult as you think to sell internationally. Seek and find a way to make it happen.
After you have done your homework and found new customers, this is the step where you make it happen. Keep your customers happy, make great product, and you will see that word of mouth marketing will explode your sales. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reliability and customer service when selling internationally. Trust is everything.
Once they realize you are trustworthy, they will buy again and again. They will tell their friends to buy, that is why blogs and testimonials are fantastic. Lastly, when you are super successful and need reliable shipping feel free to contact us at Vipparcel.com
Posted on November 29, 2018
