How can businesses break into new markets

How can businesses break into new markets

The UK’s EU exit deal offered UK businesses some welcome clarity for the future of post-Brexit Britain. That said, it gave businesses precious little time to make practical preparations – supply chains faced major disruption as organisations grappled with new and complex customs regulations.

This inevitably impacted UK-EU trade. Recent ONS figures revealed that UK trading with EU partners fell by 23.1% in the first quarter of 2021, when compared to Q1 2018 trading.

At face value, these figures may seem alarming. It is important to remember that there remain strong trading opportunities for companies beyond the EU, within other international markets, thanks to a boom in demand for “Brand UK” products. Indeed, a recent Barclays study revealed that consumers based in the United States of America, South Africa, India, China and UAE all expressed a willingness to pay a premium for products produced in the UK. In India and UAE, some buyers were willing to pay respective premiums of 11.8% and 10% for British products.

Such figures highlight a strong potential to expand into new markets – after all, One World Express’ study revealed that over two fifths (45%) of business leaders are keen on expanding into overseas markets outside of the EU over the coming years.

So, how exactly can UK businesses follow through with their ambitions, and tap into these potentially lucrative markets?

Thorough research
Despite strong international demand for British products, businesses cannot afford to be complacent. As such, it is vital for business leaders to conduct thorough research before entering into a new market.

Researching different countries to establish where there may be demand for the businesses’ offering is key – after all, it is impossible to successfully enter a market if the product in question will not sell. This will certainly go beyond standard market segment research, to understanding the laws, religion, culture and currency of any potential target country. Doing so will inform the company’s market entry strategy, i.e. how they market to their target demographic, as well as the timing of their market entry.

This may be time consuming, however it will be key to the potential success of the business’ entry into the new market.

Effective resource allocation
Entering into new markets can drain business resources – and so businesses must prepare themselves accordingly.

It would therefore be beneficial for decision makers to conduct a thorough audit of their organisation’s resource capacity before developing a firm strategy. Such considerations will of course involve an assessment of finances, however other factors such as technological and staff capacities must also be considered.