Many businesses discover that entering a new market can be both risky and time-consuming. However, for a company that sees growth, there needs to be room into which it can expand, and many times that means getting into a new region. Sometimes a new market is a place where there is possibly no existing demand for the product or service.
The only way to know for sure that getting into a new market is worth the time and resources is to perform through market research. The market research will also tell you what strategy needs to be used when entering into it.
Who are Your Customers?
The market research into a new market should start with a thorough screening of who your customers are going to be? Will they be other business? Women, housewives, men with kids, unmarried teens, etc. It will also need to outline what religious beliefs they hold? What products they currently use, their level of education and most of all the languages they speak. All of this information will allow you to create a profile of prospective customers.
Once you have a good picture of the demographics, it’s also important to figure out the geographic strategy. For instance, how will your products reach the market? Do you want to start by shipping a few dozen samples to gauge the market’s response or open up a manufacturing facility?
Approaching Your Target Audience
Once you know who the target audience is trying to approach them is easier. If you’re getting into a foreign market where English isn’t their first language, it is essential to have a group of native speakers on your side. The great thing about having native speakers is that they may also know a lot about the target audience and in which case help you fine tune the approach strategy.
To test your approach with a group of native translators, for instance, the following can be done:
Running a pilot project or offering samples
The pilot should be large enough so that you get as many people as needed into the marketing net. That is the only way to know for sure if the figures you’re looking at are accurate. After all, a smaller sample of the market may give you incorrect results.
Devise an Exit Strategy
Part of your market research and deployment strategy should also be the exit strategy. An exit strategy does not mean that you’re giving up or are thinking negatively. It also does not say that there isn’t demand for what you are offering.
The exit strategy is essential since you need to be prepared for both failure and success. In the event of failure, there should be a limit at which you stop investing more resources. Here too a group of locals who work as translators and market researchers will be able to help you mainly because each market has its own set of quirks which a foreigner entering into it may not be able to grasp fully.