Text II. THE CHOICE OF COUNTRIES FOR EXPORTING

    There is no shortage of choices when selecting an overseas market – listing the overseas countries to which the UK exports goods and services produces a lengthy gazetteer of the world. Of these countries there are 180 where UK exports exceed the value of 1 million each year, a clear indication of the potential for UK exporters. But the choice can be bewildering. Other than by sticking a pin in a map of the world, how does the company new to exporting choose which countries it should export to?

    Once you have established that your company is in a position to export, your first step will be to take stock of your present situation. The nature of your home market, your company’s resources, the nature of your product and how it is used, the market size and level of development and the environment required for its operation and any knowledge of the envisaged market. Using this knowledge you can build up a profile of your potential overseas market. By listing the characteristics of your UK market in terms of buying habits, incomes, lifestyles and any other factors affecting it, you can look for similar characteristics in overseas markets and hope to build on your home market success. Ultimately your market is not a particular country, but the potential purchasers of your product or service wherever they live. You should therefore have a clear idea of who these people are before deciding on which geographical area to concentrate.

    If you can find these customers in a market which operates under similar conditions to those in the UK, you will be starting your exporting effort on a sound basis. No two markets are quite the same, but the more familiar you are with a potential overseas market the better you are placed to interpret the prevailing trends for trade and the successful promotion of your product. It may seem simplistic but, on the same basis, looking at countries you know from visits or holidays abroad can be a good starting point. An understanding of a way of life in certain country will greatly assist you in your task of deciding how to sell your goods there.

    Market research will uncover the real potential for your product and your chances of success in a particular market, and is therefore a vital part of the process of starting to export.

    However, it is clearly neither feasible nor sensible to research every market. Combining your knowledge of the conditions needed for your business to thrive with a background knowledge of conditions markets around the world will help narrow the field considerably. Market conditions are affected by geographic, cultural and economic factors, all of which should be taken into account before making your selection.

You will need to consider whether a market is geographically accessible. The nearer a market is to the UK the easier it will be to visit and to service. This is no small consideration for a business exporting for the first time. You may not have the resources at hand to service a market at the other side of the world, neither in financial terms or time spent traveling. Furthermore, when problems do emerge they may seem daunting if they are at great distance from the UK. In addition, spreading your market too wide geographically can bring problems of servicing, which is a good reason for concentrating your efforts on one two countries, rather than spreading your resources too thinly. Your geographical knowledge will enable you to take distance into account when planning export strategy. For example, it is wiser to start exporting to one state in the USA and build up your business from there, rather than trying to tackle the whole USA market. Remember the distance from New York to San Francisco is the same as that from London to New York!

Then there are the conditions of terrain and climate which may present other difficulties, or have implications for the sales or distribution of your particular product. If the terrain makes distribution of goods difficult this factor must be weighed against the advantages of that particular market for your product. Should your goods be affected by extremes of temperature your choice of market will be limited accordingly.

 

Vocabulary notes

to bewilder – озадачивать

to take stock of – критически оценить

gazetteer – географический справочник

listing – составление списка

to exceed – превышать

to envisage – предусматривать

environment requirement – требуемые условия

ultimately – наконец

prevailing – преобладающий

trends – направления

feasible – выполнимый

to thrive – преуспевать

to affect – оказывать влияние

accessible – доступный

to emerge – появляться

to daunt – смущать, обескураживать

to spread – расширять

accordingly – соответственно

terrain – местность

implication – скрытый смысл

 

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