The old adage that some information is better than none is applicable in many situations but in the world of exports it can be damaging. Why? Well most exporters will not make the decision to enter a market on no information but they may start thinking about it with ‘some’ information. They could benefit from a lucky break but chances are that it leads to a very costly mistake. The more information and intelligence you have on a market the more likely you are to reduce mistakes and have a smooth entry.

What do I mean by some information? Here are some examples: Guyana is a growing market and is forecasted to continue its growth trajectory in the next few years. Maybe an exporter looks at this and thinks well we need to get in there because all goods and services will be in demand. What if your particular product was being manufactured in Guyana by a big company like Edward B Beharry and there were brands which generated high customer loyalty? That would make successful market entry pretty difficult. Maybe that would be useful to know before you dump last year’s surplus into market development there. It does not mean that you do not try to enter the market but you would have learned something and can now tweak your strategy to be more competitive.

Perhaps an exporter may have some negative information about a market; for instance, Haiti has high poverty rate. This may suggest to them that Haitians have no purchasing power and therefore cannot buy anything. There are, however, 10 million Haitians in Haiti and it is estimated that some 10% have middle to high income levels. That’s almost the population of Trinidad and Tobago! You may be overlooking a market with high potential and less competition as others are overlooking it as well. Now, you may want to look at where those persons are located and where they shop so you can be targeted in your approach.

The more information you have the better your decision making is in the first instance and then your market entry, should your decision be to move forward. Market information and intelligence can be difficult and time consuming to gather and analyse. That’s why it tends to be extremely expensive. I am certain that at some point in time you would have ran a search on market information for a product and found reports costing thousands of US dollars.

So what do you do? Well you can contact us at exporTT where we have the access to the largest amount of market intelligence on global markets in the country. Through our primary research in key markets and subscription based databases like Euromonitor and Panjiva we are able to:

1. Identify the best markets for your products
2. Determine the demand both in value and quantity in those markets.
3. Identify competitor markets
4. Determine the duties to be paid
5. Identify applicable trade agreement and determine if your products qualify based in the rules of origin.
6. Determine market entry requirements.
7. Provide details on the company and brand share of competitors.
8. Provide details on the key distribution channels
9. Provide forecasts for market size and growth.
10. Provide information on product innovations and consumer trends
11. Provide pricing information and break down the entire cost structure including distributor and retailer margins or mark-ups.
12. Identify key distributors and buyers and provide their contact information.
13. Provide information of logistic options and cost.
14. Provide information on the legal and regulatory framework including IP regulations, brand registration and company registration.

How much more comfortable would you be at making a decision with this information at your disposal? Our current introductory cost is free and our staff are eager to furnish you with the information you need for your next market entry. We know that your time is precious so please give us a call or email and we will start working on your next customer as you continue sending your shipments to your existing ones.

Our upcoming B1 Market Survey series covers 6 markets of which we will be taking a thorough look. We tend to focus on a few products of interest due to time and cost constraints so if you would like your product to be covered, please give us a shout and we will include them. We may even include you in some of our buyer meetings as we seek to determine their interests and needs and how we can meet them.

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