Looking For Export? First Session

By Author: Devis Martin
Total Articles: 20
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Looking for Export, but how to Export? Is this the question which hovers the most in the mind of every person looking to venture beyond boundaries of one's country .Ofcourse, this was also the problem of Mr Nath , the marketing head of a corporate which wanted that they should also start export as their product is of very high standard .Whereas, inferior products than their products have good command in international market.

This made him to see me as to how to go for it .Before that they had no experience of international trade. The over confidence about their product with ignorance about international market was biggest challenge for me to make him understand that it is not always better product which can be exported but a lot matters which if does not exist , then transaction cannot be completed.

Anyhow, the gentleman agreed to give up the thought that only quality matters but various factors dominate an international business.

The factors which need to be understood for international business are:

a) Piloting with proper ...
... product - Even if one is manufacturing various products say three products and have very good market share in all of the three products , then too , the proper product has to be identified .

Here, one will say that ok, the theory is fine, but how to conclude that it is a proper product, then the answer has to be found by the person dealing in the products as he is the best judge in that case .Because, such person can only understand the minor aspects of any change if demanded or compelled in international market

b) Finding Proper Market - Every market has only one golden rule which is demand and supply compliments each other. The proper product should also get the most proper market. Since, merely because everything can be bought and sold in a market, any market cannot be said to be proper market.

Say, if ink pen has high demand in Russia and has very good potential, but it is being tried to be sold to USA which has least takers, then such market cannot be said to be proper market for ink pen.

This simple analogy if understood by an exporter at an early date, it can bring wonders for him as success of any international business is dependant upon proper market

The very next question which arises is that how to find out as to which is the best potential market. This question has solution on studying the following:
i) Research on customers behaviour in different countries
ii) Data on demand of a particular products in a particular country
iii) Export import data of the targeted countries
These all will give a strong signal that which country is having best potential for one's product.

c) Product Specification in potential market- the very next step which comes as most important factor is identifying and matching the specification of demanded products and successfully implying in your potential product before it can be explored for exporting .

The product specification has to be considered in following important terms:
i) Segment usage
ii) Packing
iii) Warranty and after sales service
iv) Pricing
v) Pattern, shape, size, color etc
On understanding the above factors, a exporter can have confidence to place the product in the potential market.

Hope, lot of unsolved puzzles are solved and many more will be in future as well. In the following sessions, we shall be highlighting about other crucial factors so that the fear of how to and shall I export will permanently vanish from the minds of manufacturers, exporters, trades, suppliers of the world including India.

The author is business editor with www.made-from-india.com, a world class B2b Portal especially meant for promoting international business of SME's.