Exporting Your Services
Ten Steps to Successful Services Exporting
Whether you have already succeeded in Canada or are starting your business through exporting, you can succeed abroad by following these ten steps:
1. Become familiar with the basics of exporting.
Before you invest the time and resources necessary to export, assess if the export opportunity is a good fit with your current operations.
2. Clarify the components of your current competitiveness.
You need to understand what the necessary conditions are for your success in a new market.
3. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses for duplicating that competitiveness in export markets.
The Export Readiness Diagnostic can help you assess your strengths, weaknesses, objectives, and strategies as you explore opportunities in foreign markets. It will also allow you to test your capabilities against different types of markets, or alternate market entry strategies, through “what if” scenarios.
4. Analyze your contact networks for potential markets.
Your best potential markets will be those where you have contacts that can provide referrals and help you develop your credibility.
5. Develop credibility for your firm in your export market.
Potential new customers will only take a risk on purchasing your service if they believe your firm is capable of delivering quality services in a timely manner.
6. Develop referral networks and strong advocates in your export market.
To be recommended as a service provider, you need to focus your marketing efforts on strengthening and expanding your referral network.
7. Address unmet needs through the design of innovative services.
Since most services cannot be protected by patent or copyright, you can compete most profitably through continual innovation, which allows you to command a price premium by addressing a need no one else has addressed.
8. Work with strategic partners to enter the export market.
Developing local partnerships helps you gain credibility, provides access to a local referral network, ensures you have a cultural coach, and helps to avoid restrictions on foreign service providers.
9. Manage finance and payment issues.
Before you begin, identify how you will finance export market development and ensure you receive prompt payment for your services.
10. Let TradeStart and the Trade Commissioner Service help you along the way.
TradeStart is committed to helping BC small and businesses thrive in global markets by offering comprehensive export information and services for both new and experienced exporters. Registering for the Virtual Trade Commissioner will provide you with market information and access to assistance in the market.