Month: October 2022

Overseas expansion How to find the best target country

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This is the second post on the topic of finding the ideal target country for your business expansion Another criterion in your market assessment is what is the competition like? There is likely to be local competition and probably international competition that have entered the market before you. Find out as much as you can about their products or services, pricing, quality, distribution methods. Is there national and regional competition? How are they perceived? What is their after sales service? A SWOT, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity Threats analysis could be helpful in assessing the potential competition. You should consider the Macro Economic climate. We have talked about GDP growth but extend this to look at per capita income, demographics. Does the country have a young growing demographic? In many African countries more than 40% of the population is under 15 years of age. Niger’s under 15-year-olds represent half of the country’s population. The country with the lowest under 15 years population? Singapore at 12.3%. Look at the trend of the working population size. China’s working population …

Expanding Overseas: Which Country is right for your business?

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Having decided you are ready to expand internationally, how do you decide where to target? Which country or countries is the best fit for your business? According to the UN there are 195 countries in the world. That’s a lot of potential countries. Some will not be open to you, if you are a US based company, you will not be allowed to do business in some countries, such as Iran and North Korea for example. Some countries prohibit foreign companies for operating in certain sectors, military and essential infrastructure are common areas for restrictions. There can be religious restrictions, if you market alcohol you will not be welcome in Brunei. But even with these legal, governmental, and religious restrictions there will still be many to choose from. So how do you select the countries that are right for you? Proximity One criterion I feel is important and one that is often overlooked is proximity. There is a huge difference operating in a country that is a two hour plane ride away to one that …

Are you thinking of expanding overseas? Week 2 Is it right for you?

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Is my company ready to expand overseas? Is it right for me? Taking your company overseas Taking your company’s products or services overseas is an exciting prospect, the potential for a larger customer base, the opportunity to enter faster growing markets, maybe less mature markets where you can ride the tide of expansion. There is also a certain cache in being an international business but with opportunity comes challenge. The international journey can be treacherous with unexpected setbacks that need to be overcome. Even before you embark on the adventure you must assess whether your company is ready to operate overseas. And are you personally suited to doing business abroad? The first question is whether you have the financial reserves required to support your overseas business during its startup phase. This will cost more than you expect and take longer than you plan. This is based on my own personal experience in entering foreign markets. At this stage in the process, you do not know what you do not know. There will always be surprises. …

Are you thinking about expanding overseas: Week 1

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Thinking about expanding overseas? What you need to know. In this 13-part series I am going to explore what you need to know if you are considering taking your business overseas. Why might you consider expanding overseas? Maybe you have outgrown your home market. Some markets are relatively small, take Singapore, a vibrant economy, but still less than 6 million people. There is limit to how big you can be serving a relatively small population. I believe Singapore ranks 36 on the list of GDP by country.  But companies serving the largest economies move overseas so there must be other reasons. Clearly one reason is to increase sales of your business. By making yourself available to a broader range of customers the potential for growth exists. You may find there is less price competition in overseas markets. Beers seem to be particularly prone to this. By entering a new geography you may be able to sell to early adopters at a price premium. The lure of higher profits can be a driver, you would not …