Elaine Curran, Director of Trade and Investment
How to develop a Trade Action Plan to grow your sales beyond Northern Ireland
This article was originally published in the May/June edition of Ambition magazine.
Are you a business interested in selling outside of Northern Ireland?
A Trade Action Plan will make you are aware of the risks, costs, and overall approach you need to be successful in your new market.
In this article, Elaine Curran, Director of Trade and Investment at Invest NI, gives an overview of how to develop a Trade Action Plan and what you should consider before taking the first step in your exporting journey.
What should my Trade Action Plan include?
Here are five points to include when developing your Trade Action Plan:
1. What are your objectives?
Firstly, you should identify what you want to achieve. Consider your sales goals, timescales and forecasted sales figures. Be specific with your objectives as this will determine your targets and act as a measure of your overall success.
Once you have clear objectives, you can start to build on how and where you want to export.
2. What is your value proposition?
A value proposition is why a consumer should buy your product or use your service. You should develop a measurable value proposition for each market you are entering. It should specifically answer: what makes your product or service unique, why should potential customers choose it; and how is it different from your competitors? This unique selling point is what you will market to your customers.
3. What market segments will you target?
Through market research, you need to identify what market segments you will target. Market segmentation is when you divide the market into smaller, distinct groups of customers based on shared characteristics. Who your customers are and what they need should be at the heart of your research.
Then you will need to decide the best routes to reach your potential customers. For example, do you want to sell directly or sell through re-sellers such as distributors, agents and partners?
Your market research should also include your market entry plan and how you intend to integrate your product or service into your chosen market. Don’t forget to conduct due diligence – your new market will have its own legislation, tax and customs.
4. What is your pricing and promotional strategy for your target market?
At this point, you should know who your customers are, what they want, and how you will sell to them.
Next, you need to consider the market price of your product or service. It’s essential to remain competitive while making a profit. Consider what your goods or services cost you, and what they’re worth to your customers. You might want to consider fixed or variable costs, and whether to use cost-plus or value-based pricing.
5. What extra resources do you need?
Exporting can be costly, and you should identify what extra resources you need as part of your Trade Action Plan.
Additional resources might be professional support, added distribution methods, changes to the product or service needed for your chosen market, or scope for future growth.
How do I evaluate success?
Once you have your Trade Action Plan, you will need to consider how you’ll measure your performance to ensure you’re delivering against your objectives.
Key performance indicators and management processes can make tracking and monitoring your progress easier.
Consider after-sales policies and regularly liaise with customers, distributors, export agents and banks. To mitigate risk, monitor the political landscape and any geopolitical issues that may affect sales in your chosen market.
To learn more about Invest NI’s available support and start exporting outside of NI, visit www.investni.com/support-for-business for more information.
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