Export Planning

Assessing Your Company's Export Potential

When you work through this next section of questions, note your responses, ideas and guesses. If you can answer “yes” to many of these questions, you are on the right track to successful exporting. If you answer “no” to many of the questions, or you don’t know the answers yet, don’t be discouraged – use the questionnaire to identify where you should focus attention in preparing your company to begin exporting.

Your Company

Is your company established in the British Columbia ? In more than one province?
Can you produce sufficient products or services to fill new orders or serve new customers quickly?
Have you already exported successfully?
Can you apply the necessary financial and human resources to the foreign market without endangering domestic markets?
Do you have internally efficient systems to respond to customers quickly
Do you have reasonably easy access to funds for expansion or market development?
Do you have sufficient sales and marketing staff to handle increased inquiries and demand?
Do you or your staff have a good knowledge of the culture and business customs of your target market? Have you or your staff travelled to the target market frequently?
Do you or your staff speak the language of the target market?
Can you easily adapt your business practices to those of the target market, or are they already similar?

Management Support

Is management enthusiastic about exporting?
Is the company management willing to spend at least 10 per cent of its time traveling for business development purposes?
Does management have realistic expectations about the break-even and payback periods for exporting to this market?
Is management willing to invest in local presence if necessary?
(This could be a local partner or sales force)

Your Product or Service

Have you located the market segment or region with the highest demand for your product or service?
Is your product or service unique? Does it have competitive advantages?
Can your product’s standards, packaging and labels be adapted easily to meet the different mandatory standards and/or cultural values of the target market?
Is your product easy to use, requiring little after-sales support? OR, can you arrange demonstrations, training and service as required?
If your product requires any special Canadian export licence , have you established that this can be easily obtained?
Have you developed a relationship with an external sales/distribution organization, freight forwarder and customs broker, OR, can you perform these tasks internally?
Have you begun to develop press and media exposure in the target market and to solicit referrals from your present customers if appropriate?

Planning and Market Entry

Do you participate in international trade events and trade missions to your target market?
Have you developed an export plan? Have you discussed your export plans with other exporters to your target market? Members of your industry or trade association?
Have you established what the shipping costs and tariff levels for your target market will be and how to recoup them?
Are you prepared to quote your price in the appropriate currency and are you familiar with various terms of trade, including shipping (“INCO”) terms?
Have you determined the appropriate method and terms of payment?
Have you adapted the messages in your promotional material to the needs of your target market?
Have you adapted your packaging and labeling to the culture and language of the target market?