How do I choose a product to export?

Alfonso Llanes, Master Degree in International Development

Written just now

Defining the right product to sell is the most critical stage in creating a successful trading company. Perhaps choosing a sub-product with a narrow niche but with a sufficient market size can spell success. For example, a product that caters to aircraft owners is probably good niche.

Research of products and markets should be about finding what achieves the most for a venture that accomplishes a vision. It is a challenge to find a trend or market need and be positioned in time to take advantage of it.

Every venture must begin with a thorough market research. The initial market research is usually the hardest because it's all unfamiliar landscape. But once the data is collected and analyzed this same data points can be applied to other products, markets or ideas.

Once a product is identified the next step is Identify the target markets in order to look and study opportunities and tap into them. This exercise provides the focus needed on the potential users-buyers that might be interested in what in what is being offer. This can save time and money and disappointments in an ever-changing society.

Just as there are different market segments for products or services, there are different methods used for segment markets and planning a good strategy that must contain competitive advantage and differentiation:

Geographic Segmentation

This market analysis requires the collection and study of data regarding transportation, logistics, credit, banking and compliance of regulations in the different sectors that overlap for a given activity.

Demographic Segmentation

Demographic segmentation consists of dividing the market into groups of potential buyers-users based age, gender family size, income, occupation, education, religion, race and nationality.

Psycho-graphic Segmentation

Psycho-graphic segmentation divides the market into groups based on social class, lifestyle and personality characteristics. It is based on the assumption that the types of products-services will reflect the person’s characteristics and patterns of activity. Opinions surveys are used more often than not for determining lifestyle and choices.

Behavioral Segmentation

Behavioral segmentation is based on the actual user likes and dislikes about particular products, and about how a product is used. For this exercise variables can be used that are closely related to the product itself.

Industrial Market Segmentation

This differs from the retail consumer market mainly on the variables, where industrial consumers can be segmented based on fewer characteristics. Industrial markets might be segmented on features such as location, company type and buying characteristics. Also, whether this market is for semi-manufacture manufacture or primary materials market such as dry bulk or liquid categories.