Institutional readiness for international market access: questions to ask before exporting

Market entry is a decision; exporting is a result

For many businesses, an order enquiry from abroad or a contact made at a trade fair appears to mark the start of international market access. However, there is an important difference between one-off sales and a sustainable presence in international markets. The latter requires adapting the product, securing delivery capacity, professional communication in foreign languages and consistent commercial follow-up.

Entering international markets is therefore not an initiative that the sales department can carry out on its own; it is a capacity decision that affects every part of the business, from production to finance and from quality to human resources. For the decision to be made soundly, the business's management needs to ask itself some questions candidly before taking the first step.

Questions a business should ask itself

The questions below summarise the issues that the business's management should consider together before deciding to enter international markets. Their purpose is not to rule the business out but to make visible the areas in which preparation is needed.

• Products and services: Can our product be adapted to the technical regulations and the labelling and packaging requirements of the target market?
• Capacity: Can we meet additional order volumes without disrupting service to our existing customers?
• Quality and certification: Do we hold the quality certificates and meet the conformity requirements demanded by the target market?
• Financing: Do we have enough financial flexibility for longer payment terms, exchange rate risk and market entry costs?
• Human resources: Do we have someone who can prepare quotations, conduct meetings and follow up correspondence in a foreign language?
• Digital visibility: When a buyer abroad researches our business, can they find reliable and up-to-date information?

A negative answer to one of these questions does not mean abandoning market entry. It does, however, mean that closing the gap in that area should be built into the market entry timeline and budget.

Market selection: the most suitable market, not the largest

A common mistake in market selection is to turn to the largest or most talked-about market. Alongside high demand, large markets also bring intense competition, stricter entry conditions and higher promotion costs. The right market for a business is one where its product stands out, its delivery capacity can meet demand and the cost of entry is compatible with its financial flexibility.

Market assessment should consider demand and the structure of competition, sales channels, market entry requirements, logistics times and costs, and payment practices together. Markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa differ markedly on each of these points; a sales channel or payment arrangement that works in one region may not work in another. Market selection should therefore be based not on general trends but on working files prepared by product and sector.

Market selection need not be limited to a single market; however, targeting several markets at once in the first phase can spread limited resources too thinly. Starting with one priority market and one reserve market both speeds up learning and offsets the risk of depending on a single market.

What needs to be clear before the first meeting

The first meeting with a potential business partner is the moment when the business's professionalism is put to the test. Clarifying the following elements before the meeting increases the likelihood that the contact will lead to a concrete next step:

• A corporate profile in a foreign language presenting product, capacity and reference information briefly and accurately
• Pricing logic that varies according to the delivery method and payment terms
• Minimum order quantity, delivery time and sample conditions
• The limits of the commitments that can be made in the meeting, and the person with decision-making authority

Preparing for the meeting also involves getting to know the other party. Finding out in advance about the potential partner's field of activity, the product groups it works with, its sales channels and its decision-making process turns the meeting from a general introduction into a concrete business discussion. At the end of the meeting, it should also be clearly agreed what information is expected from whom and by when.

After the meeting: no results without follow-up

A first meeting that goes well can easily come to nothing if it is not followed up. A quotation not sent on time, a question left unanswered or a sample process that is not tracked is read by the buyer as a sign of how reliably the business delivers.

After each meeting, therefore, the next step, the person responsible and the date should be recorded. Follow-up does not require a complex system; a well-kept record of the organisation met, the date of the meeting, the products discussed, the other party's requests, the commitments made and the next step ensures that the relationship continues without interruption even when the person responsible within the business changes. Feedback from the market should not stay within the sales department either; it should feed into decisions on product, presentation and capacity development. Only in this way does experience in international markets become organisational learning for the business.

TÜBİAD's approach

Within the International Market Access and Business Development Programme, the Business Community and International Trade Directorate addresses these questions through three work packages: assessing business capacity, selecting markets and partners, and meetings and commercial follow-up. The work draws on both the regional knowledge of the International Relations and Cooperation Directorate and the market research support of the Research and Strategy Directorate. Businesses with a pronounced need for digital visibility and process organisation can also be linked to the Digital Transformation and Productivity Programme.