How is a market study done?

Okay, we've already talked about the possibility of internationalizing our company.

We have a product or service to export, a prepared team, all the necessary legal requirements... in short, we are ready! And now? Where are we going? What are the markets that offer us the greatest competitive advantages? How do we locate them?

Well yes, you are right, the time has come to do a market study! So, let's go there:

At this point, We already know the situation our company is in.; That is, the languages ​​we know, the possibility of facing the previous costs involved in exporting, the transportation suitable for our product, etc.

So, all that remains is to focus on finding the best destination country.

To do this, we will have to analyze the financial situation of the countries in which we are interested, their culture, their import policy, in short, their accessibility and their possible acceptance response. And for this, we have our best friend: the Internet.

You can use conventional search engines like Google or Opera, or fight against algorithms with others like DuckDuck Go or Google Scholar.

The latter is full of papers of very interesting academics and scientists.

Regarding resources, ICEX, Extenda, World Bank and World Trade Organization They are very good options to find unlimited data on:

Socio-political and economic information about the country

For me it is an essential requirement to know the socio-political and economic reality as a prior step to carrying out any international business.

So I usually analyze, from the prism of international relations, any event that is of interest to me.

For example: the new silk road.

This way we will know whether or not it is a good time for the population of that country to welcome us.

Furthermore, we must know the trade agreements to which it is adheredAs well as bilateral relations with our country of origin, its legal system (possible approvals of our product, patents, specific legislation, controls...); and of course: its risk, its market size and all possible economic indicators (balance of payments, GDP, Per Capita Income, degree of coverage, etc.).

Supply and demand information

On the one hand, we will have to take into account variables such as the volume of competitors and the price range in which our market fluctuates to know the offer.

And on the other hand, the country demand itself -its import capacity-, the demand of our target or potential client and the possible distribution channels.

Transport and logistics

We must know the different ways by which our product can reach this market that we are analyzing: sea, air or land.

For this, it is usually resorted to freight forwarding companies and customs agents, who will advise us on packaging, free zones (special tax and customs zone) and the INCOTERMS -International Commercial Terms- most used.

This acronym refers to the set of uniform uses and rules used for the interpretation of certain terms in international commercial traffic.

That is, the transmission of risks during transportation, among others. But this is for another article.

Accessibility

As I commented at the beginning of the post, States relate to each other through multilateral or bilateral treaties, and other norms or institutions that make possible international trade.

Among them are those already mentioned INCOTERMS, but in addition, the UNIDROIT principles about international recruitment as Vienna Convention of April 11, 1980 regulating the international sale of goods -UNCITRAL-, whose scope of application lies in international sales between businessmen with establishments in two acceding States.

In the case of the European Union (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania and Sweden) Its member states join the EU internal market (art. 3.3 TEU and 26.1 TFEU).

That is, to instrument of economic integration consisting of the free circulation of goods, services, capital and people.

Which grants, therefore, full freedom in carrying out any international business -legal, of course-.

Whose main commercial features are: a customs union (elimination of tariff barriers to imports and exports), free trade Area -in which bureaucratic barriers, or taxes, among others, are reduced or eliminated-, and freedom of establishment and provision of services.

For member states, such as Spain, the European Union is the best option to begin the internationalization of our brand; and, therefore, where we should start carrying out our market studies.

How to export a product or service