How to Create an Export Plan to Sell Internationally
by Carrie Hinkel on February 15th, 2008
Once you have decided to sell your company’s products overseas, it’s crucial that an export plan is developed. When preparing your export plan, you’ll be able to research and carefully examine your potential export markets, develop company goals, and determine what (if any) limitations exist. The result: a custom-designed strategy that prepares your company, products, and promotional efforts to succeed in the export business.
Tips for creating a successful export plan
Keep it brief - Your company’s export plan should be detailed, yet concise. It should be easily understood by other members of your company. It’s important that goals and objectives are written clearly so that they are not misunderstood by those involved in the process.
Be specific - Lay out definitive goals and objectives for your company, for example sales goals or market saturation goals.
Make it factual - It will take some time, but it’s imperative that an export plan is based on facts, not assumptions. You may need to call factories, shipping companies, etc. to get pricing, but the more your export plan is based in facts, the more useful it will be to your company.
Be honest - The most important thing you can do in your business’ export plan is to accept and address the company’s limitations and constraints. List them out and attempt to find a solution to fill in those gaps.
Questions to answer in your company’s export plan
In developing a thorough export plan, it’s essential that all of these questions are answered in full, with specific goals listed for each. Be sure to do the research necessary in order to provide accurate answers, rather than just guesses and estimates.
1. Which of your company’s product(s) have been chosen for export?
2. Will any modifications need to be made in order to adapt the product(s) for overseas markets?
3. Which countries have been chosen as export markets?
4. What is the customer target market for each country?
5. Through which channels will the product(s) reach the customers in each country?
6. Are there any country-specific limitations that exist for any of the targeted export markets? If so, how will they be addressed?
7. What will the product(s) export sale prices be in each country?
8. Which company employees will be involved in the exporting process, and what will their roles be?
If you take the time to create a well-thought-out export plan, your business will be rewarded with an accurate presentation of exporting facts - specifically tailored to the needs of your company and its products. Companies that begin exporting their products without a prepared export plan can quickly find that their assumptions were way off or that a crucial product adaptation was missed. Creating an export plan will take some time to develop, however without one you could make a mistake that costs your business tens of thousands of dollars. In the case of exporting, a bit of preparation could very well save your company from financial disaster.