Wine Vision Global Exporting

Ten Keys to Export Success

There is profit to be made by U.S. firms in exports. The international market is more than four times larger than the U.S. market. Growth rates in many overseas markets far outpace domestic market growth. And meeting and beating innovative competitors abroad can help companies keep the edge they need at home.

There are also real costs and risks associated with exporting. It is up to each company to weigh the necessary commitment against the potential benefit.

Ten important recommendations for successful exporting should be kept in mind:

Obtain qualified export counseling and develop a master international marketing plan before exporting. The plan should clearly define goals, objectives, and problems encountered.
Secure a commitment from top management to overcome the initial difficulties and financial requirements of exporting. Although the early delays and costs involved in exporting may seem difficult to justify in comparison with established domestic sales, the exporter should take a long-range view of this process and carefully monitor international marketing efforts.
Take sufficient care in selecting overseas distributors. The complications involved in overseas communications and transportation require international distributors to act more independently than their domestic counterparts.
Establish a basis for profitable operations and orderly growth. Although no overseas inquiry should be ignored, the firm that acts mainly in response to unsolicited trade leads is trusting success to the element of chance.
Devote continuing attention to export business when the U.S. market booms. Too many companies turn to exporting when business falls off in the United States. When domestic business starts to boom again, they neglect their export trade or relegate it to a secondary position. (This is particularly true during times of scarcity of product, i.e. grape shortage)
Treat international distributors on an equal basis with domestic counterparts. Companies often carry out institutional advertising campaigns, special discount offers, sales incentive programs, special credit term programs, warranty offers, and so on in the U.S. market but fail to make similar offers to their international distributors.
Do not assume that a given market technique and product will automatically be successful in all countries. What works in Japan may fall flat in Brazil. Each market has to be treated separately to ensure maximum success.
Be willing to modify products to meet regulations or cultural preferences of other countries. Foreign distributors cannot ignore local safety and security codes as well as import restrictions. (i.e. flavor profiles, labels, etc.)
Print product knowledge and benefit (i.e. type of barrel used, fermentation information, etc.) in locally understood languages. Although a distributor’s top management may speak English, all sales and service personnel may not have this capability.
Provide readily available servicing for the product. A product without the necessary service support can acquire a bad reputation quickly. (Note: many wine buyers in Asia cited this problem with California wines versus French wines. The French send sales support staff to Asia for samplings, promotions, and regular meetings with buyers. California wineries have been shipping the product out, but are not known for in-country follow-up.)

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