SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH | 4 minute read
So, you’ve researched foreign markets, identified your target markets, pulled together a comprehensive business plan and even sorted out your financing. Now it’s time for the nitty-gritty. In this fourth installment in our SME toolkit for international expansion, we’ll take you through everything from international pricing, taxes and duty, cultural considerations, and more.
Cultural, social, legal, and economic differences can have a huge impact on how you do business overseas, and they can be a headache to navigate for those with much international experience. Here are some of the key things to consider before you set up shop overseas:
To be competitive in a new market, your pricing strategy needs to reflect pricing in the local market. That means you need a dedicated pricing strategy for each new market you enter. Research typical pricing structures of competitors in your target markets to get a better picture of how much you should be charging, and don’t forget to factor in exchange rates and taxes when putting together your pricing structure.
Local standards for taxes and duty can differ greatly from market to market, so use government resources for each of your new markets to find out:
Your legal obligations and trading regulations are likely to differ for each market you trade in. Make sure you understand:
Payments & currenciesAccepted payment methods overseas may be different than your local market, so be sure to check what’s accepted ahead of time. Don’t forget that you’ll most likely be trading in different currencies as well, so you’ll need an order management system that can handle multiple currencies.
TradeGecko allows you to set up multiple currencies for orders and create individual price lists for different currencies so you can cater to each market. TradeGecko Payments (for wholesalers) also facilitates quick and easy online payments by customers – which is especially useful if you’re trading in different time zones and real-time customer service is a challenge. If you're interested, why not try TradeGecko for free now.
Keep in mind that every culture is different, and it’s important to understand local customs and differences if you want to build a solid reputation in international markets. Do your due diligence in getting to know how things work in each of your target markets, and you’ll be in a good position to make informed decisions about product offerings, customer service approaches, marketing tactics, and more.
Stay tuned for Step 5: Identifying your sales and distribution channels
To start from the beginning, read our previous steps to international SME expansion:
And then watch an overview of the whole international expansion process in our video below:
