1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,140 Hi, I'm Dmytro Shvets, your host at The Start Global Insights, where I interview experts 2 00:00:11,140 --> 00:00:17,660 in different countries about local business secrets and international expansion experience. 3 00:00:17,660 --> 00:00:23,320 Almost all foreign experts in my interviews say this magical phrase to the exporters – do 4 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,360 your homework and research the market you are going to enter. 5 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:32,800 Recently, I've had a workshop at the business school about international market strategy 6 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:37,520 and of course repeated that obvious step to the participants. 7 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:43,520 And it turned out that there was a lack of understanding of how to analyze foreign markets. 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:50,080 So I decided to devote this short explainer episode to the topic of market research. 9 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:55,480 I will split this episode into three very easy steps that you can follow and do your 10 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,720 market research quite easily. 11 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:03,960 I'll try to avoid complicated language or cliches, but if you would still have questions 12 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:09,920 after that, please write me to email, social network or just leave a comment to the podcast 13 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,080 transcript at the Start Global website. 14 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,360 I will write all needed contacts in the show notes. 15 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:22,240 I hope that till now you have already made your systematic choice of the focus countries 16 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,920 so you know what market you need to research. 17 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:33,000 But if not, I would advise you to listen to the episode 13, the season 1 of this podcast 18 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,700 where I explain how to choose your international expansion focus markets. 19 00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:41,320 But now to the topic of market research. 20 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:42,320 Ready? 21 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:43,320 Let's go! 22 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:48,680 So, the first step you should take is similar to all series journeys. 23 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,960 Right, that is to set the goals and questions to be answered. 24 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,560 And the first question is the fabulous WHY. 25 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:03,360 Ask yourself why you need to do this research and answer in a very detailed way. 26 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,880 After that, write down all the questions that you would need to clear up after analyzing 27 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:10,160 the chosen market. 28 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:15,440 In general, the research is done to understand the local rules of the game and create the 29 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:20,520 market entry strategy based on the data and not on your guesses. 30 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,520 And as you probably know, the strategy is an answer to the question of how you would 31 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,560 go from the starting point to the desirable state in the future. 32 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,420 And you should do it in the most effective way. 33 00:02:33,420 --> 00:02:37,920 For you to remember where to look for the right questions more easily, here are the 34 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:39,600 main keywords. 35 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,960 WHO, WHAT and HOW. 36 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,200 WHO is for the client, competitor or the other stakeholders. 37 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,200 WHAT is for Payings, Needs, Solutions and Prices. 38 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:57,660 And HOW is for the Channels, Logistics, Communication and Barriers. 39 00:02:57,660 --> 00:03:03,100 Step 2 is to define the sources of information, where you would look for the answers. 40 00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:07,880 In general, there are two types of sources, primary and secondary. 41 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,980 Primary research refers to the data directly from the source or stakeholders in the market. 42 00:03:13,980 --> 00:03:19,960 This can include customer surveys, competitor observations, focus groups or interviews with 43 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,480 experts in your target audience. 44 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:28,720 The data collected in this way is original and specific to your company and its goals. 45 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:35,000 The best way to conduct interviews is in person, at trade shows, conferences or one-to-one 46 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:36,000 meetings. 47 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,480 This way you can better control the conversation, read the body language, empathize and, the 48 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,600 most important, build trust. 49 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:49,680 However, in today's environment, a video call or phone call is also suitable. 50 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:55,720 By the way, the first resistance I hear after such advice is why people should share the 51 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:57,400 information with me. 52 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:01,320 Well, first, people love to feel like experts. 53 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:05,520 The main thing is to fuel such conversation with the right questions. 54 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:12,920 Second, you can motivate the interviewee by providing him or her with some value in return. 55 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,640 For example, offer to share the summary of all interviews. 56 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:21,600 Every distributor or dealer is always interested in the current state of affairs in his or 57 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:22,600 her industry. 58 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:27,360 And third, not obvious, but you can pay for such conversation. 59 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:32,800 You can find such experts through local business communities, social media, forums and, in 60 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,240 fact, directly from potential partners. 61 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:40,920 For example, just write to the distributor director or category manager on LinkedIn. 62 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,880 And finally, you can listen to interviews with local experts that have already been 63 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:46,360 conducted for you. 64 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,600 For example, the Start Global Insights podcast. 65 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:55,580 Secondary information sources include existing data, statistics, reports, research and publications 66 00:04:55,580 --> 00:05:01,140 that are available in open access for free or for fee upon request. 67 00:05:01,140 --> 00:05:06,080 These sources can be useful for getting an overview of the market, analyzing trends and 68 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:12,000 the market sizes, information about your competitors and other aspects that complement your primary 69 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:13,000 data. 70 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:18,480 You can use open data provided by government agencies, statistical offices, chambers of 71 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:20,300 commerce and other sources. 72 00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:25,480 In my case, I usually start by looking for market reviews and statistics, for example, 73 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:31,920 in Eurostat or World Bank and in reports of governmental expert development offices. 74 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:37,600 For example, the Office for the Expert Development of the United States or Australia or Poland 75 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:38,800 or Ukraine. 76 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:43,360 I also look information in local publications, business community reports. 77 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:48,400 And what is also interesting as a source is the annual reports of public companies where 78 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,920 they publish their strategies and market information. 79 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:56,520 And then, having all this information about the general picture of the market, I compile 80 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,720 a questionnaire for interviewing the local experts. 81 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:05,280 For your convenience, I will share some links to the popular open sources in the show notes 82 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:06,760 to this episode. 83 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:12,040 By the way, in fact, this is practically impossible not to do research when you are entering the 84 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:13,160 market. 85 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:18,040 After all, when you are entering the market at random, you are conducting an experiment, 86 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,760 which is one of the methods of the market research. 87 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:26,840 However, if such an experiment is done unconsciously or without understanding of the goals of your 88 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:32,520 research and without analyzing the results, such an experiment may lead to repeating the 89 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,960 same mistake over and over again. 90 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,600 Step three is to analyze and summarize. 91 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:44,280 Very often, when I do the market research, I find myself endlessly searching for information. 92 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:49,440 Here is another source and another one, and this article is very interesting, and this 93 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,920 part may give you some more understanding of the market, and it looks like a never-ending 94 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:54,920 story. 95 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,760 At some point, you need to say stop. 96 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,560 Make sure that data answers all the questions that you have asked at the beginning of the 97 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:07,360 research, and if it does, start analyzing and summarizing data you have found. 98 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:11,200 First, organize and sort the data that you have collected. 99 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:16,440 For example, you can create a comparative table of all the numerical data. 100 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:22,000 Look for patterns and trends in the data from surveys, articles, and existing research. 101 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,400 For example, you may find that the most common distribution channel for your product is directly 102 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:34,360 through dealer, without retail chain or the distributor, or that the income level of households 103 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:42,120 corresponds to certain regions with increasing demand for your product. 104 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,000 Compare the offers of your competitors' prices, sales channels, and communication with each 105 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:47,040 other. 106 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,800 You can also perform a SWOT analysis, this is strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and 107 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,440 threats of your company in the selected market. 108 00:07:55,440 --> 00:08:00,860 Next, you can group the sorted data, for example, by the questions you created. 109 00:08:00,860 --> 00:08:03,120 Create a logical structure for the report. 110 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:06,240 It should consist of a story with main conclusions. 111 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,360 First, the main conclusions, and then their justification. 112 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:16,120 And so, after analysis and conclusions, you can proceed to create your expert strategy 113 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,480 based on data and not on assumptions. 114 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:24,680 Finally, remember that market research is not a one-time activity. 115 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:30,680 Today's world is constantly changing, new needs are emerging, new value chains are being 116 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:37,640 created, and the landscape of stakeholders, legislation barriers to market entry are disappearing 117 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:38,640 and emerging. 118 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:43,680 So, the collection and analysis of the market information should become a continuous process 119 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:48,240 that needs to be integrated into the life of your company. 120 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:49,600 That's it for today. 121 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,240 Hope this helps in your international expansion. 122 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:58,600 And please leave me your feedback and questions to this episode on Apple Podcast, YouTube, 123 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,160 StartGlobal website, or just write me an email. 124 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:05,920 And of course, do not forget to subscribe to StartGlobal Insights on all major podcast 125 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:06,920 platforms. 126 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:16,720 See you soon!