The ultimate goal of every business is (or at least in theory it is) to grow as much as possible, to expand its operation and to make as much money as possible. We are almost ashamed to put things this bluntly, but that is the reality. In order to truly expand, companies often have to enter new markets; sometimes close to them and sometimes half way across the world. This is not an easy task and outsourcing can actually be a great ally in penetrating these new markets.
What this Process Entails
Entering new markets is one of the most difficult things for a company to do. For one, in most markets, there will already be companies that do the same thing you are and you will be the “new face”, someone who will have to do some great things in order to carve its place on the market. It may sometimes involve taking over companies that exist in that new market and then gradually introducing your own brand into it. It will involve plenty of planning, negotiating and handling of very sensitive matters.
A Few Tips To Keep In Mind
There are a number of things that you need to keep in mind if you are considering penetrating a new market. For one, you have to know as much as possible about the culture of this new market, its needs and wants. This is why getting into new markets should always involve a lot of preparation and analysis.
You should also realize that legal and regulatory challenges can be quite sizeable, especially in markets that are traditionally not considered investor-friendly. It will always be a good idea to hire someone who knows the market to help you with these matters and move things along.
Getting into a new market is always a potential minefield and this is why you will never want to make this move an all or nothing, Hail Mary type of a move. If you do, you are putting the future of your company on the line, a company that might already be doing perfectly fine.
How Internet Made it Easier
When we are talking new market penetration, there is one thing that we must not forget to mention and acknowledge as a great difference-maker. We are talking about the internet here. Thanks to the internet, companies can have a much more precise insight into the new market they are considering to conquer and what is more important, they can easily make their presence known there without actually doing anything drastic.
A great example of this is a classifieds website that mostly handles real estate properties in Panama and Costa Rica called Encuentra24 whose owners realized they need to make an English version of their website in order to attract buyers from English-speaking markets. It was as simple as making a website accessible in another language.
And this is just a single example.
Where does Outsourcing come in?
For one, outsourcing certain aspects of your operation is going to free up time and assets that you will then be able to assign to finding new markets, analyzing them and creating a plan to penetrate them over time.
In case you have already been outsourcing a department of your company to a certain country, then you already have an in there. You will already have a contact there and you will know at least something about the business culture in that country. This can be of great help once you decide to move into such a market.
We must also not forget something called market expansion service providers, which are actually outsourced companies that you can hire to handle your expansion into new markets. Hiring a company like that can make the entire process so much easier and more comfortable. Some such companies will handle only parts of your new endeavor while others will handle everything, handling your new expansion from top to bottom.