International Marketing Consultants: Bringing Your Products to Foreign Markets
There are over a billion potential consumers in the country of India. The same is true in China. Both countries have a growing middle class with a desire for western made products as well as an ever increasing investor, entrepreneur, and executive base that has generated an enormous amount of wealth since 1995. That opens up a lot of possibilities for a company looking to expand their international operations.
The issue that many companies struggle with is gaining entry to these markets. There are language and cultural issues as well as domestic laws and regulatory compliance that need to be addressed when entering foreign markets. To address these issues, and to ensure a smooth market entry, many executives opt for the advice of international marketing consultants that are intimate with the target country.
An International Marketing Consultant’s Strategy
– Create a Consumer Profile
A major component to launching a product offering in India and China is knowing your customer. In Western nations we can often create a customer profile with some certainty. We can determine their preferences, target age group, culture, belief system, and purchasing habits. We can do this because the target group is much like ourselves and because data is electronic and data is readily available.
People in foreign countries have different beliefs, habits, and customs making it more difficult to create a profile. International marketing consultants research the target market in each country and region to create a workable profile.
A similar process works for business buyers as well.
– Market Overview: Assessing Viability
International marketing consultants establish a target market overview for the country and regions within the nation. They look for concentrations of residents based on the consumer profiles that were created. Benchmarks such as disposable income, culture, and purchasing habits are considered. International marketing consultants also perform a competitive analysis, assist with the complexity of foreign currencies, and consult with government officials.
– Product Introduction
International marketing consultants will determine the most efficient product introduction strategy. The strategy includes issues such as advertising, import-export, transportation, joint ventures, and the impact brand names or logos may have on local sensibilities.
– Government Regulatory Compliance
Regulatory compliance is a crucial issue when marketing products in international markets. International marketing consultants are aware of the laws of the target country making compliance easier to attain.
Entering markets such as India and China can be lucrative but there can be plenty of potential pitfalls along the way. There is much upfront analysis that needs to be thoroughly considered to successfully enter these markets. Knowledgeable international marketing consultants that intimately understand the target country are well worth the investment for a successful product launch.
We hope that our Doing Business in India Guide will help answer some of the routine questions we get asked. Please Contact Us if you need more in-depth assistance when looking to do business with India. We’ll be glad to help.
