I believe that generally speaking in export you need these three qualities as a small business to succeed in export and particularly in the European market.
Persistence
You need to be persistent if you want to be successful in the European market, this is a core quality that you should not be short of. Europeans build their trust over time and they hate small businesses or start-ups that make a furtive appearance and then disappear. First, it does not work. You won’t generate any business if you don’t spend enough time in the market and don’t show that you are committed to it long-term. Distributors and large corporations need to see you over time and see their peers buy your products before they move. It requires a lot of persistence to build an export market from the ground up. Persistence pays off. You need to be prepared for it. In 2021, persistence is an even more important quality as we will have more challenges ahead due to the continuing uncertainties created by the global pandemic. End of 2020 and early 2021, has seen a new increase in the number of cases in Europe, employees have been sent back home in many European countries. You need as a commercial partner, to stand by your European customers and show that you are a reliable partner. They need to feel you will still be there after the pandemic. For this reason, it will be even more important, to be persistent in 2021.
Agility
Persistence without agility can be hard! Your business to be agile to build on your understanding of the market, gathering feedback from key potential customers, and distributors. This is how you will refine and adjust your strategy to be able to succeed. You need to be agile and shift and change. For example, I am a big advocate of selling at a high price first, to test the market. It is a great way to test the market interest but also test what price point your product should be sold at. It’s important to then adapt if need be to be able to convert leads into sales. We have all had to be agile and sell products without face to face visits. This has been a record year this year at Exportia, and for our customers, because we have been agile and have moved to selling via webdemos, webmeetings and webtrainings and webinars! Every successful business in 2020, has been agile, and has shifted the way it does business one way or the other. In 2021, we need to stay agile to thrive.
Confidence
Being agile without being confident about your product value adds and differentiations, and your ability to supply excellent customer service is useful! You want to demonstrate in 2021 that yo u are confident about your product capabilities. In uncertain times, companies and government organisations invest in proven solutions. In 2021, you need to demonstrate why you are confident about your product or solution. Show your track record, outline your customers satisfaction, showcase your low return rate. In 2021, business will be done with reliable businesses. Businesses need to display the confidence they have about their product and have abulletproof justification for it. This is how we will convince new European customers to buy Australian high-quality innovatives products in 2021 my team and I.
Happy new year! I wish you and your team a successful 2021 in export markets.
And remember tobe persistent, agile and confident!Contact me if you want to find out how we can help you achieve success in export markets in 2021!
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