International trade becomes more profitable when a business selects markets from evidence, calculates landed cost and manages payment, tax, customs and currency risks before launch. Sales volume alone does not show whether an export market produces a margin.
Build a country-level model with demand, competition, duties, freight, returns, local compliance and payment timing. Test one market with defined stop conditions before committing inventory or a large campaign.
Model landed profit before entering a market
Build the margin model from the customer price backwards. Deduct duties, tax, freight, payment charges, returns, local service costs and currency exposure, then test how the result changes when volume or exchange rates move.
Confirm product, labeling and data requirements with qualified local advisers. A limited pilot with a budget, success threshold and stop condition provides better evidence than committing a large inventory before demand and operations have been tested.
If you’re interested in doing business in another country, creating a foreign currency account is a must. With this, you’ll be able to manage every international transaction in a single platform. Also, it can help you save and prevent exchange rate losses.
1. Know Which Country To Enter
You probably have a country or two in mind, but are they worth the risk? Entering the wrong market can result in losses, not gains. That’s why you must consider which market is worth entering. To do that, start by creating a list of prospected countries.
After creating a list, evaluate your products carefully—do they fit in any of the markets you listed? To find that out, you need to consider the religion, law, culture, and tradition of each country on your list.
For example, if a country is known for being conservative (e.g., Canada, Iceland, Cyprus, and Estonia), exporting tobacco and alcohol can be risky. Or if a country has a specific dietary requirement (e.g., India and Iran), exporting products like meat may result in significant losses.
Here are some countries that may help you increase your company’s profitability in the international market:
- New Zealand
- Hong Kong
- Denmark
- South Korea
- The United States
- Australia
- The United Kingdom
- Japan
- Singapore
Once you’ve narrowed down the countries on your list, it’s time to examine their respective laws. At this point, consulting locals might help you understand not only their laws but also their customs and traditions.
Don’t forget to conduct market research. This will help you find out whether people from other countries would want to purchase your products or services.
2. Know When To Enter
Once you’ve identified which countries are worth entering, it’s time to determine the best time to enter the international market. Entering another market without considering the timing might result in heavy losses than gains.
The right time to enter the market depends on your competitors. You may either go before them or after them. Going first can be risky because you can’t guarantee that people will buy your products or services, regardless of your research.
Going after your competitors may be less risky because you’ll be able to find out if there’s a chance for your products or services to succeed. However, the locals might become loyal to the products and services of your competitors. They might not consider trying yours unless you have a great marketing strategy that’d encourage them to do so.
3. Follow Seasonal Trends
It’s important to understand that selling products and services in the global market is ruled by seasonal trends. For example, products related to winter may not be as profitable as possible if you sell them during the months of spring.
Here’s a simple guide about different product categories and their respective seasons:
- Wedding products and services – from April to August
- Black Friday deals – November
- Cyber Monday deals – November
- Christmas and Holiday products and services – from October to December
- School season products and services – from July to September
- Products related to Mother’s and Father’s Day holidays – from April to July
- Summer season products – from May to August
- Car-related products and services – from March to June
- Products related to home improvements and gardening – from March to August
- Spring season products – from March to May
Knowing the seasons of every type of product may help you determine the best time to sell them—when the demand for a specific product is at its peak. With this, you’ll be able to maximize the profitability of your business in international trade.
4. Check Market Demand
Before you start entering the international market, you need to make sure to understand the product demand of each country. This is because not all countries have similar demands when it comes to different products.
For example, Parmigiano Reggiano, a type of cheese that originates in Italy, might have a high demand in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom but not in other countries due to cultural limitations.
You can also do it the other way around. Instead of searching the product demands for every country, look for the countries where your products and services are in demand. This is faster than checking each country’s product demands but not as detailed as the other method.
5. Learn A Language
Language barriers are one of the biggest challenges of entering a new market. This is especially true when it comes to non-English speaking countries such as South Korea, Japan, and France. The best way to address language barriers is to learn the language itself.
However, learning a new language can be difficult and might take plenty of time, especially in languages like Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. If that’s the case, you may consider using a reliable software application that can translate foreign words accurately.
