Apr 15 2009
USA Export: Market Research
Your USA export product requires initial market research to get off to a profitable start. It’s very important to find out as much as possible about the market(s) you intend to enter, because you want to make sure your time and effort to export your product provides you with the quickest return on your investment. In the US, almost all the information you need is available online. In fact, the US Government provides a wealth of information through the Census bureau, US Department of Agriculture and so many other sources.
Unfortunately, the international markets do not provide as much information as in the US. And when they do, not everything is available in English. The US Government provides information on USA export markets at:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
http://www.export.gov/
http://www.foreign-trade.com/
http://www.worldmapper.org/
After you’ve completed your research and collected all the information you can find, you have to get your product into the international market. Next, you need to find a sales or distribution channel. While the information available on the Internet keeps improving, …how can you use it to find that special distributor you need to be successful? After all, the internet gave you millions of results on searches you thought would be very specific. Try this:
- Ask your contacts for referrals.
- Explore the US Commercial Service. They offer a tremendous amount of information for would-be exporters. They have contacts locally and in the export markets. They can help you with focused USA export programs.
- Participate at trade shows either here or in the foreign market you’re focusing on. The District Export Council has consultants who are available to answer your questions and perhaps do some work for you.
All these involve a certain budget. So, you need to find the best way to keep your exporting start-up as cost effective as possible. Once you’ve decided on a few distributors, you have to be sure they’re not fly-by-night operations. Fortunately for you, it’s more difficult to set up operations in other countries than in the US, so the distributors you select will most likely have some history.
Finally, approach the local Chamber of Commerce to uncover the information you need. The US Commercial Service can also help you with your USA export market research.
