All too frequently in our line of business, we work with companies that are making great strides entering the Indian market only to come to an abrupt halt because the company’s “export department” walks out the door.  Of course, an entire corporate department does not hand in their resignation notices, but it can sure seem that way. What happens is that the sole individual in whom a company has placed all of its export strategies and operations leaves the company for a better opportunity.  Because this single individual has all the global business relationships and holds the company’s international expansion strategy in his/her mind without having documented it, that company’s “export department” effectively walks out the door.    

Four actions are important for exporters avoid this predicament:

• Document your export procedures: Where are your international representative contracts housed? Have your international shipping procedures been documented? Are export licenses properly administered?  Do you have a written export plan?  And most importantly, are all of these updated regularly and available to multiple staff at the appropriate levels?  If you answered “No,” to any of these questions, take immediate remedial action.

• Designate your export operations team: At a minimum, companies should have separate individuals familiar with 1. Contracts and relationships with international representatives, 2. Logistics pertaining to shipping products or delivering services, and 3. Administrative matters of export licensing, IP protection, tariffs, etc. By spreading responsibilities across multiple staff, you reduce the risk of any single staff departure having an outsized negative impact.

• Develop your international marketing staff: In countries where retaining key staff is increasingly difficult, investing in the professional development of your international staff pays two dividends: it makes them more capable international marketers and it builds stronger ties to your company. Often overlooked, this action is low-cost and, in recent times, increasingly expected. 

• Devote leadership attention to your international business: Most importantly, senior-level corporate leadership must give regular attention to a company’s international business. This can take the formal approach of monthly reporting or annual reviews. Better yet is having leadership participate in international sales trips, trade shows and trade missions. Inattention by senior leadership to a company’s international business will, at some point, result in costly setbacks. Is your company taking this risk?

Selling into international markets requires careful planning, market research, understanding of trade regulations, and adaptation to cultural differences. SRK and Associates offers comprehensive market entry assistance to companies wishing to enter the world’s most populous market, India.  To date, we have assisted over 2500 U.S. companies with market entry services. For further information, please contact Supriya Kanetkar: srk@srkibconsultants.in.