How do you choose the right export strategy and partners? (2024)

Get a good mentor and advisor from the very beginning! Someone that has wide experience and global networks! When I started exporting 20 years ago, I didn’t have a good advisor/mentor. I learned fast! Now I help businesses to export.

If you are scaling your software to a new market, consider the following localization issues:1. Be prepared to address issues as soon as they arise on a customer's side. This requires support and interfaces in multiple languages, and consideration of different timezones.2. Understand how your customers will pay for the product and your tax obligations. Research special laws relevant to software companies and tax thresholds that might apply to your business.3. Ensure your target customers are legally able to purchase your software. Additionally, confirm whether vendors, such as those providing digital signatures, KYC, and others, are localized or licensed in the target markets.

To choose the right export strategy and partners:1. Assess market potential, considering factors like demand, competition, and regulatory environment.2. Determine the most suitable entry mode, such as direct exporting, licensing, franchising, or joint ventures.3. Research potential partners thoroughly, evaluating their reputation, experience, and compatibility with your goals.4. Conduct due diligence to ensure partners have the resources and capabilities to support your export objectives.5. Establish clear communication channels and mutual understanding of expectations and responsibilities.6. Continuously evaluate and adjust strategies based on market dynamics and partner performance.

One of the strategies for B2B SaaS companies to enter a market is to find connectors with a strong network in the relevant industry. There are several advantages to this approach:1. You gain their expertise in market entry.2. They can facilitate warm introductions to potential customers.3. You avoid paying a salary, as they typically work for a success fee.At Introdex, we assist such companies in entering new markets by finding the best connectors for them.As soon as you receive initial feedback from customers and perhaps achieve your first sales, you will be ready to invest more resources in setting up a team, allocating budgets for marketing, and other key activities.

Será importante el mercado donde se exportará, si el destino es para un deeler o cliente final, que recursos logísticos se va a utilizar, el tamaño del mercado, pero sin duda lo más importante cual será mi objetivo, mi estrategia de precios, evaluar los riesgos del mercado objetivo

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You need to be present in the target market if you want to build a sustainable export business. These are my suggestions:1. Work with a local expert who knows your sector and that has a personal network to key players in the target country2. Instead of founding a company and building a team right away, find a local distribution partner that can do the sales and after sales service.3. Carry out multiple interviews with potential distribution partners, ensuring their competence, network and compatibility with your values.4. Invest in the partnership by supporting and training their staff in sales, commissioning of projects and after sales services.

But first: Answering where in the world does my product/service have the best chance of success is key. Think TAM/SAM/SOM and then test whether your product/service has "product/problem fit" (Thanks Scott Sambucci, https://salesqualia.com/). This helps hone your ideal customer perona (ICP) and align your website/marketing and customer journey to that ICP. At this point, you're buiding out the answer to the "desirabillty" quesion - is anyone prepared to buy what I have to sell and where in the world are a concentration of these customers? There's a lot to unpack! But if you're New Zealand buiness and want support assessing export readiness or how to develop an export strategy check out https://my.nzte.govt.nz/essentials/exportessentials

One of the reasons why we started Introdex is the challenge of gaining access to such partners. Typically, partnerships are built on trust, but when you lack presence, you need introductions from people they trust, or you must spend time building your reputation, which is both time and resource-consuming.The market offers several ways to acquire such partners – through cold outreach, conference marketing, or recruitment agencies that try to find connectors. In our case, we are building a network tailored to specific locations and industries.

It is harder to find potential distribution partner's than manufacturers in your target country. This strategy could be you identify the right one:1. Define your ideal distribution partner (sector of business, size of sales team, product portfolio)2. Use digital platforms like LinkedIn, LinkedIn sales Navigator and Cognism. These tools allow you not only to identify distribution companies but also the right contact person.3. Use trade fairs to develop your network in the market. At first go as a visitor and slowly transfer to becoming an exhibitor.4. Use Export Promotion Programs that heavily subsidize your identification process. 5. Work with a local Market entry expert that has a personal network to your target group.

Dentro de este punto es vital tener un amplio conocimiento de los flujos internos y del personal que hace parte de esos procesos, cómo de los mismos a nivel individual, con ello y con una buena estrategia de comunicación interna, se podrán definir riesgos asociados e indicadores claves. Reuniones pre-operativas para definir objetivos esperados en cada exportación, ya que cada venta puede ser muy diferente, afinar algunos problemas en procesos anteriores y los que se podrían materializar, en estas pre operativas se puede aprovechar para socializar indicadores, sus tendencias y estrategias para mejorarlos. Los flujos internos y el personal que los llevan a cabo son muy importantes porque el proceso nace allí.

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Por lo general se deben identificar KPI que serán importantes en mi gestión de exportación, como volumen de venta, los márgenes, crecimiento, etc. Otro aspecto es mi participación de mercado, es importante medirlo para hacer ajustes, tener indicadores de cumplimiento por ejemplo niveles de entrega a tiempo, satisfacción de clientes, cumplimiento de calidad del producto, de pedidos, garantías y/o devoluciones.

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Explorando desafios no cenário de exportações brasileiras, destaco a complexidade em se proteger contra riscos cambiais, dada a volatilidade da moeda brasileira. Essa instabilidade representa uma ameaça significativa, podendo impactar negativamente os lucros das exportações. Além disso, obstáculos como greves e inspeções aduaneiras surgem como fatores imprevisíveis, potencialmente acarretando custos incalculáveis durante as operações de venda. É crucial abordar estratégias robustas, tentando ao máximo antever esses entraves, para mitigar tais riscos e assegurar o êxito nas atividades exportadoras.

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Es importante evaluar cumplir con las normas aduaneras vigentes de cada país , esto evita multas o detenciones que afecten la destinación aduanera en sí, sin embargo hay otros aspectos como riesgos cambios de divisas, inestabilidad política, cambios en la demanda del mercado, problemas logísticos que son tan a menudo hoy en día, cambios en los aranceles aduaneros que nos dejen en desventaja competitiva y poca adaptabilidad o flexibilidad de los productos debido a las nuevas tendencias de los consumidores o clientes finales.

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