How Strong is your 📈Market Expansion Strategy?
Let me attempt to summarize what we do at Nazaru …
In an oversimplified way:
- We help foreign trade and investment stakeholders access and expand to the African Market
- We support African stakeholders in government & private sector who wish to connect their products, brands and resources to the regionally and global market and attract investments.
The Mission we hold at Nazaru is to increase trade with Africa.
However....
While our goals and mission sounds simple on the surface... the underlying infrastructure we built to support what we do is extremely complex... I wish I could tell you that driving trade and investment was easy but I would be lying...
Below I share with you 3 insights on what it will take you to build and implement your Market Expansion Strategy.
- Secure Market Information: My #1 advice is that you do not "rush" into any market. If you rush in you are likely to rush out... Remember the saying "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread"? In my Trade and Investment Facilitation Masterclasses I explain that there are 3 markets to consider; Local, Regional and Global. The "rules of engagement" for all three vary tremendously. Realize that no two markets are the same and just because you are winning in one does not mean that you are ready to expand to the other. If you wish to be successful you must either invest in completing your own robust research or you can invest in some of our services to acquire market information such as consumer insights, trade volumes, buying patterns etc.
- Build a strong Network for your Success: Without a strong network it is near impossible to drive international trade because trade is driven through relationships and we only do business with people we know and trust. This might be the biggest shock people have regarding trade, investment and market expansion. They are quick to "demand" what they want not realizing that the world owes them nothing. Without the right access to key decision makers you can not achieve your goals. The Trade with Africa Network was built to support others like you as members who join immediately "plug" into an existing network that empowers them to achieve their trade goals.
- Acquire Technical Competencies: If you do not know what you are doing the moment you can admit it - the sooner you can shift to begin to seek the support you need... The skills needed to draw a plan on paper is very different from the skills required to implement such plans in real life. For example I often compare a business or expansion plan to an architectural drawing of a building on paper. Once you have the "drawing" remember that it will still take technical competencies to translate the plan and bring it into reality. It wasn't until I discovered that so many people approaching us were only into "TALKING" about Trade and not stepping in to drive trade that I concluded that I needed to start coaching people through the process. I now offer such coaching in groups and one on one because my core background is actually in supply chain execution, logistics, global sourcing, technology .....
The reason I built Nazaru in the first place was to offer the same skills I used to support Fortune #1; Walmart and I am extremely proud to now help drive and increase trade with Africa.
We have come a long way and I look forward to the future where African Trade is "normalized" and fast-tracked with the help and support of our platforms. Learn more at https://www.nazaru.com
Toyin Umesiri is the CEO of Nazaru LLC., Founder of the Trade with Africa Business Summit and leads the Trade with Africa® Network; a fast growing community of trade experts, government officials, policy makers, investors, exporters, service providers, diaspora leaders and innovators advancing Trade with Africa®. Toyin serves as trusted Adviser and Business Coach to Trade and Investment Stakeholders around the world.
Comments
Post a Comment