Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2012 might be over, but now is the time to go global. Janine Garner and Kirsten Basford present part three of a four part strategy series.
With careers spanning 35 years, Script Marketing founders Janine Garner and Kirsten Basford have executed local and global marketing strategies for the likes of Oroton and Jurlique.
The next step is a review of the country you are looking to export to.
This is a critical part of any export distribution plan and requires a thorough analysis of the country.
This will ultimately determine the opportunities and threats open to you as an Australian brand.
Obviously a visit to the country is ideal – your opportunity to review distribution channels, do a competitor shop, absorb the culture and watch first hand the shopping behaviour. Other elements to consider include:
• Population size of the country and the size and demographics of your target market.
• Cultural sensitivities such as festivals, shopping behavior, colours and public dress regulations.
• Language is imperative to research as it can directly impact the interpretation of your name and logo. It can also influence the choice of
colours used.
• What is the competitive landscape? What is the breadth of brands that you will be competing with? Don’t just look at the immediate competition either. You need to also look at the peripheral competition and think about share of purse. Consumers are savvy and have so many choices of where to spend their money.
• Where you set your pricing in the international market can be the most crucial decision that a brand can make. Where your pricing sits from a brand positioning point of view and how this impacts margin can be polarizing. You also need to consider what happens if rates change and the Australian dollar isn’t so healthy. Can you afford the Aussie dollar to go down to $0.50?
• What are the marketing options in the country? Where are your competitors currently investing their marketing dollars? What is available to you as a new entrant and what is the marketing culture? How can you compete and get cut through?