Export Trading? Here's What You Need to Know
Being in the field of export trading takes a lot of patience, perseverance, and challenges.Before getting into the core of export trading, there are essential requirements that you must take into consideration.
The Essential Requirements to Export Trading
Language and Cultural Differences
Familiarize yourself with the differences in language culture and business practices. It is for the reason that you don’t inadvertently offend your potential customer and lose the sale.
Paperwork
There’s no way around it. Both Canadian and foreign governments require a lot of documentation from exporters of products and services.
Accessibility
You have to be easily available to your foreign client
Competition
You must be sure you’re thoroughly familiar with the competition in your target market.
Human Resource Requirements- Do you have
- The capacity to handle the extra demand associated with exporting?
- Senior management committed to exporting?
- Efficient ways of responding quickly to customer inquiries?
- Personnel with culturally sensitive marketing skills?
- Ways of dealing with language barriers a local contact or go-to person?
Financial and Legal Resources-Can you
- Obtain enough capital or lines of credit to produce the product or service for new orders?
- Find ways to reduce the financial risks of international trade?
- Find people to advise you on the legal and tax implications of exporting?
- Deal effectively with different monetary systems and ensure protection of your intellectual property?
Competitiveness –Do you have
- A product or service that is potentially viable in your target market?
- Resources to do market research on the exportability of your product or service?
- Proven and sophisticated market entry methods exporting it?
Exporting Goods Vs Exporting Services
Exporting goods and exporting services present quite different challenges. The farmer must deal with packaging customs and physical delivery. For example, while the latter confronts issues such as work permit, credential validation, language, and travel to and from the market when exporting goods, it is also important to remember that there is often a service component that should be anticipated such as installation, training service, warranty, and etc. Are you ready?
Export Trading Myth
“My company is too small to be successful at exporting to succeed in the international market.”
You don’t have to be a big firm! Tens of thousands of Canadian small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), those with foreign sales at between $30,000 and five million dollars are currently exporting and are doing very well
Evaluating Your Export potential
Can your product or service find a worthwhile market outside Canada? Answering this question is crucial. If there’s no demand for what you’re offering, it would be unwise to proceed.
Customer Profile
Who already uses your product or service?
Is your product or service in broad general use are limited to a particular group?
Is your product or service popular with a certain age group?
Are there other significant demographic patterns to its use?
What climatic or geographic factors affect the use of your product or service?
Product modifications
Product modifications are modifications required to make your product appeal to foreign customers. What is the shelf life of your product will this be reduced by time and transit in the packaging be easily modified to satisfy. The demands of foreign customers is special documentation required. For example, does your product have to meet any technical are regulatory requirements?
Transportation
How easily can your product be transported?
Would transportation cost make competitive pricing a problem?
How efficiently does the target market process incoming shipments?
Are specialized containers are packaging materials required?
Local Representation
Do you require local marketers to flash sale people or other local representation?
Do products require professional assembly or other technical skills?
Is after-sales service needed if so, is it available locally or do you have to provide it?
Do you have the resources to do these?
Exporting Services
If you’re exporting services, what is unique or special about them? Is your service is considered to be world-class?
Do you need to modify your services to allow for differences in language culture and business environment?
How do you plan to deliver your services in person with a local partner or by electronic means such as the internet?
Capacity
Will you be able to serve both your existing domestic customers and new foreign clients? If your domestic demand increases, will you still be able to look after your export customers and vice-versa?
Taking the Next Step to Export Trading
Robert Arthurs International provides resources and contact information to help businesses with:
- Export counseling
- Marketing strategy information
- Market entry support export
- Financing
- In-market support
Are you ready to export trading and grow? If yes, let Robert Arthurs show you how and do it the right way. He is a certified expert in this field and has extensive experience to showcase under his portfolio. Get in touch with Rob you’ll never have a second thought of not pursuing export trading.
To know more information about Canada export/import controls: