For a few years now, the number of French SMEs expanding internationally has increased sharply. While for some, exporting is a growth driver, for others it is a way to diversify their business.
Nevertheless, as part of international expansion, it is essential to secure several points beforehand. Preparation for expansion is a key factor for success, which must not be neglected under any circumstances.In this sense, EPSIMAS offers structured support to best prepare your company for this adventure.
This page lists below the various preparation steps for international expansion.
First, the company wishing to expand into new markets must evaluate its resources. This involves identifying the resources the company has, in particular human, financials, techniques and technological. Beyond resources, the company's constraints, weaknesses, and risks must also be identified. When identifying these elements, it is important to consider all aspects of the company (financial health, market environment, company ecosystem, etc.). Finally, the company's strategic direction is a key element to take into consideration.
Once all of these elements have been identified, the company must ensure that its objectives and ambitions are aligned with its resources and constraints. It will also be able to assess its level of maturity with a view to international expansion.
In this sense, EPSIMAS has developed a rigorous export diagnostic methodology. This diagnostic offers the company a comprehensive view of its capacity to internationalize, as well as precise recommendations. Based on this diagnostic, EPSIMAS can thus guide the company toward the international development methods that are best suited to its situation and the most secure.
Before launching any operation in a new market, it is necessary to identify the countries with the highest potential for development. Indeed, entering a new market is costly, and a targeting mistake can be very expensive. To this end, it is essential to measure the potential presented by the target market or markets.
The targeting methodology proposed by EPSIMAS is based on 5 axes of analysis:
– The identified local demand
– Market dynamism
– The ease of market access
– The existing local competition
– Country-specific risk
For each of these areas, relevant indicators for the company's business are developed and then analyzed. Thus, each country will be studied and compared to the others based on the potential it truly offers for international development. The various markets are assigned an overall score, as well as a score for each axis of analysis, making it possible to identify the best opportunities with reliability and objectivity.
Once the market is identified, it is necessary to understand its structure. Market research, in the context of international expansion, will help build a solid strategy adapted to local specifics. Market research will thus answer the following questions:
– How to efficiently enter the market? Which levers to pull to optimize development efforts? etc.
– Who are the local customer targets? And what are their expectations? Their consumption habits? etc.
- How is the market organized? And how to differentiate from the existing competition? How to position oneself? etc.
– What are the local industry trends? How is the market evolving?
Answering these questions offers a significant advantage. Not only will the company be able to grow quickly, thanks to a strategy tailored to the local market, but it will also benefit from a time-saving edge over its competitors. Indeed, although conducting studies is becoming more widespread, many companies still forego them. These companies then have to wait for field feedback from their employees to update their strategy—a considerable waste of time and resources that an SME cannot afford.
Once the market has been studied and the international development strategy formulated, the company must finance its growth. To this end, numerous tools and mechanisms, particularly public ones, are available. As part of an application for international development financing, the company will always be asked to provide specific information. In particular, the company will be required to provide information regarding the choice of the target market and its specific characteristics, as well as its capabilities to carry out this project. Thus, the export diagnostic, market targeting, and market research will answer a large part of these questions.
However, it will also be required to provide a provisional budget for the international rollout to be financed, revenue projections on-site, or details regarding the deployment strategy. To best prepare the company in its decisions and its funding requests, EPSIMAS offers an Export Business Plan. This document thus includes the export diagnosis, market targeting, and market research. But it also integrates a detailed presentation of the deployment strategy, a project-specific provisional budget, a financing plan, and a simulation of achievable revenue in the market for the first 3 years of activity.
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