Internationalisation for SMEs: Market Choice, Channels and Cost
Most SME export failures are not caused by the product. They are caused by opening five countries at once with no one accountable for any of them, and by discovering the real cost of the channel eighteen months after signing the distributor.
Choosing the two markets
- Existing inbound demand, which is evidence rather than hypothesis
- Regulatory and certification cost, which can exceed the sales cost
- Whether the competitive price point supports your margin after logistics and duty
- Distance from an existing reference customer who can be cited
- Whether someone in the company can operate in the language and business culture
Choosing the channel
The real cost and the real timeline
As a working figure, a serious first year in one European market costs between 60,000 and 150,000 euro including travel, fairs, certification, marketing materials and a share of management time. Contribution generally turns positive between month eighteen and month twenty four. Any plan showing profitability in year one is either a very small plan or an optimistic one.
Who should run it
Not the domestic sales director as an addition to their existing role, which is the most common arrangement and the least successful. The market needs someone whose week is structured around it. For companies not ready to hire, a temporary export manager on a two to three day cadence for twelve to eighteen months is the standard alternative, and it is easier to stop if the market proves wrong.
https://niklaslindahl.com/guides/internationalisation-for-smes