Exporting goods to other countries comes with both benefits and risks, so we wanted to highlight some of the benefits and risks to help you make the right decision for your business.
Exporting Goods – Benefits
Business Growth
Expanding overseas opens up new markets for your business through which you can build on your sales, increase revenue and grow your business.
Diversifying
Having all your eggs in the one basket is never a good idea and selling your products in different markets can reduce the dependency you may have on one particular market.
Being More Competitive
You will learn a lot when exporting, including new marketing techniques and gain insights from new customers that can help you further develop and improve your product and be more competitive.
Exporting Goods – Risks
Not protecting your Intellectual Property (IP)
Your intellectual property (IP) is one of your key business assets. While you have your IP (your business name, logo and product) registered in Australia, don’t forget to also register your IP in the country you are exporting to. The process of doing this will also highlight if another business in your selected country already has something registered that impacts your business and product. So look up what IP system is used in your selected country and get that all sorted before you start exporting. IP Australia will have some helpful insights and resources on applying for IP overseas.
Not Understanding Local Cultures and Customs
This not only applies to how you do business in a new market, but how your product will go in the new market. Get it wrong and it’ll negatively impact your business.
Some things to consider before exporting goods to a new market:
- Is your product right for that market?
- Is there anything about your product or your business that offends local cultures and customs? For example, the name, colour, type of product, etc.
Missing Hidden Costs
When expanding into a new market if you don’t plan for all scenarios and costs, it will negatively impact your business. For example, don’t forget to budget and plan for:
- Legal advice from lawyers and IP experts
- Increase in marketing costs
- Costs related to export documentation, paperwork and shipping
- Cost of additional staff to handle the increased workload and output
- Making changes to your product, packaging or business following your review of the local culture and customs
- Costs if you have to travel to the country or countries you are exporting to
- Any other costs your research uncovers
Not Having Enough Resources
The increase in sales and business growth is great, but if you don’t have the resources to keep up with the increase in demand then you’re setting yourself up to fail. Research, forecast and plan ahead!
Not Having the Right Documentation and Paperwork
Having the correct documentation and paperwork, and meeting all compliance and legal requirements, is vital. If you have not dotted every i and crossed every t it can cost you money, time, product and customers. So make sure you have the right information from the right sources, like the Australian Government’s Austrade and from the Government of the country you want to export to. Take a look at our article about what you need to know before you start exporting.
The risks may seem like a lot, but if you do your research, plan head and get it right before you start exporting goods, you can mitigate the risks.
If you need pallets for exporting goods get in touch with our team!