Build your credibility
The amount of credibility you have in a marketplace will directly affect your ability to make sales. If you are a new entrant to the market you need to gain credibility, fast.
There are a number of ways you can gain credibility in a new marketplace including:
- working with a partner company already established in the new market
- use of customer testimonials from recognised and reputable companies to boost your credibility.
Work with other partners
An effective way to increase your credibility is to create a strategic alliance with a larger or better known company.
These alliances can be:
- key customers
- main suppliers
- third party endorsements
- distributors.
Strategic alliances can give you a major advantage by speeding up your entry into the new market.
Use testimonials
Testimonials increase the trust people have in your business and improve the perception of credibility your business has. If you have reassuring testimonials from previous customers, people will see doing business with you as being less risky.
If you work with any well recognised international brands, include a reference or quote from them in your promotional materials. Also, use the contacts that you work with in existing markets to introduce you to their counterparts in the same company in the new market.
Testimonials from businesses in the new market have more credibility than those from other markets. These minimise the perceived risk of buying from a “foreign” supplier, as they are proof that you are established and able to deliver. Ideally, these should highlight the advantages that you have over your competitors.
Increase your capacity and capability
Making sales is only half the job; you must be able to deliver on your promises. If you underestimate the demand from the new market and can’t increase your capacity to deliver on your sales you risk damaging your credibility. Once you’ve lost credibility it can be very hard or impossible to get it back.
Make sure you can easily scale up if required. You can:
- have backup suppliers
- outsource some production
- lease additional production equipment
- utilise freelancers.
Speak to your bank or accountant about how you will finance processing a big order, as it is likely to put a strain on your cashflow.
Have a robust export business plan
Spend time working on your business plan and you will be rewarded when you start activity. It will allow you to:
- anticipate issues before they arise
- obtain needed skills, infrastructure and finance
- define your market entry strategy
- clarify what your product and/or service offering is
- outline how you will promote your product to customers
- define your business model for the new market.
Prepare your finances
Your business must be able to access large amounts of cash to finance your export activities.
Get advice from your accountant or bank on the most cost cost-effective ways of financing your export activities. A cashflow forecast will help you to predict cash inflows and outflows – act on the information from the forecast to avoid overtrading situations.
Remember, the cost of exporting will be more than you think.
