Guidelines for
Export Market
Research
S. Tamer Cavusgil
$. Tamer Cavusgil is professor of mar-
keting and director of the Center for
Business and Economic Research at Brad-
ley University, Peoria, Illinois. The author
or coauthor of four books and more than
50 articles, he taught previously at the
Middle East Technical University in Tur-
key and at the University of Wisconsin--
Whitewater.
The realities of today's business
environment require that foreign markets
be sought systematically and continuously.
But most reference literature on the subject
ignores the approaches that companies have
developed to assess their export market
opportunities. This article offers practical
guidelines based on in-depth interviews
with executives of 70 Midwestern exporting
companies.
hY and how do companies
W actually conduct export
market research? How do
they identify foreign markets poten-
tials? What sources of information do
they use? To answer these questions,
we conducted personal interviews with
executives of 70 companies in Wis-
consin and Illinois.
In all cases, the respondent was the
executive principally responsible for
the international business activities of
the firm. The two-hour interviews
covered a variety of topics, including
the history of the company's inter-
national involvement, the nature of
current international activities, the
scope of export market research in
the company, and major company
characteristics.
Approximately one-half of the firms
in the sample were manufacturers of
industrial products, 29 percent were
Business Horizons/ November-December 1985
27
producers of consumer goods, and the
remaining companies were primarily
export intermediaries. Annual sales
ranged from $200,000 to $3 billion.
About one-third of the sample em-
ployed less than 100 full-time em-
ployees, and 42 percent had more
than 500 employees.
The firms were at various stages in
developing international marketing
programs. A few had started export
operations in just the past several
years. The remaining firms had ex-
port experience ranging from five to
well over 50 years. The sample also
varied in the percentage of total com-
pany sales exported. Twenty-eight
percent of the firms studied had ex-
port sales that accounted for up to 9
percent of their company sales. The
remaining firms were divided almost
equally among the following exports/
total sales ratios: 10-19 percent; 20-
 "Few of us know even simple facts
about the geography, culture, and economics
of countries other than our own. Even fewer people
have at their fingertips details that tell
whether their goods will sell in a
particular market."
28
39 percent; and more than 40 per-
cent.
The Nature of
Export Market'Research
Market research is as impor-
tant in foreign markets as
it is at home. Market re-
search involves applying logic and ob-
jectivity to the systematic design,
collection, analysis, and reporting of
the data and findings. The informa-
tion gained from the research helps
reduce uncertainty, pinpoint solu-
tions, and d e t e r m i n e a p p r o p r i a t e
marketing strategies.
Few of us know even simple facts
about the geography, cuhure, and
econoinics of countries other than our
own. Even fewer people have at their
fingertips details that tell whether
their goods will sell in a particular
market. Therefore, export issues must
be carefully researched before the de-
cision is made to enter a foreign mar-
ket. Of course companies can bypass
marketing research if there is little at
stake. An example of this is a firm that
chooses simply to respond to unsolic-
ited orders from foreign customers.
However, when the risks are substan-
tial, it is essential to clarify certain is-
sues before committing greater
resources. In some cases, companies
know what specific markets they want
investigated when they sponsor mar-
ket research, and they provide suffi-
cient funds to cover field research in
each market. But very often they have
not decided on particular markets and
conduct the research ill order to find
out which are the most promising.. In
still other cases, they ask for research
on more markets than, given the
budget, can be investigated in depth.
Major questions the companies ill
our study addressed through export
market research include:
• In which foreign markets can
company products be sold profitably?
• Which countries offer the best
prospects?
• What sales volume and margins
can be expected in each market?
• Does the foreign market require
any modification of the product?
• What distribution channels and
arrangements should be employed in
selling to a particular country?
• How sensitive is the market de-
mand to product price?
• What should the landed price be?
Retail price?
• What p e r f o r m a n c e criteria
should be used to monitor company
activity in each foreign market?
Perhaps the most important con-
cern of export market research is the
identification of attractive foreign
markets for company products and
the assessment of sales potentials in each
selected market. T h e other major
purpose of export market research
relates to distribution--the identifica-
tion, selection, motivation, and eval-
uation of foreign distributors and
agents. For many firms these two tasks
are the most problematic, and many
marketers view them as the primary
challenge of export marketing. Al-
though substantial resources may be
expended for export marketing re-
search, managers note that they have
yet to develop a "perfect" procedure
for dealing with these two tasks. An
approach that appears suitable for one
market may not be satisfactory for an-
other.
Frequency of identifying and ana-
lyzing new foreign market opportun-
ities was characterized as "infrequent"
(40 percent) or "occasional" (28 per-
cent) by the firms we studied. The
complexity of foreign market re-
search was characterized as "very sim-
ple" (24 percent) or "simple" (33
percent). Only about 14 percent of
the respondents employed rigorous
techniques, such as regression or
econometric forecasting, in analyzing
foreign market research data. Simi-
larly, only about one-third of the com-
panies had formalized their research
activities with written procedures and
clear definition of responsibilities. Re-
search reports prepared by the staff
in this regard typically stayed at the
middle-management level, suggest-
ing that top management attached lit-
tle importance to export market
research.
Why is export market research gen-
erally more subjective and less precise
than domestic market research? Ex-
ecutives usually attributed the differ-
ence to the limited experience of
managers in conducting export mar-
ket research and the difficuhies en-
c o u n t e r e d in g a t h e r i n g relevant,
accurate, and timely information. The
nature and complexity of export mar-
ket research is very much a function
of a company's international involve-
ment and the risks it encounters.
When the amount at stake is mar-
ginal, managers prefer to make de-
cisions on the basis of limited research,
aided by 'Judgment calls." This is il-

lustrated well by Nicolet Instruments, ful when it is ongoing and systematic.
a Madison, Wisconsin, producer of Nevertheless, some companies viewed
sophisticated scientific instruments. export market research as an inter-
One executive puts it this way: mittent activity and approached it
"When we go into a foreign market on haphazardly.
an agent basis, we do not engage in any Essential questions in conducting
in-depth analysis since our investment is export market research so that it is
small. It may be a blind decision. I f the most beneficial to a company include:
agent sends someone here for training, we • Has management developed an
know he is committed and seriolo. When export marketing program with ac-
we make a direct investment in a foreign companying market research tasks?
market, there's more risk involved. We will • Does management understand
then engage in an in-depth analysis. Much that foreign market research is an on-
of our potential in that market is probably going activity?
established by a representative prior to that • Have procedures been devel-
move." oped to monitor, evaluate, and cor-
The stage of company internation- rect export marketing performance?
alization is also a significant deter- • Has the firm provided means for
minant of the nature and complexity timely warning of pertinent changes
of export market research. The ex- in foreign markets?
tent of international involvement, • Does the export market research
which varies from opportunistic to seek the most specific information
fully-committed exporting, dictates concerning the firm's products?
the nature of research and the types • Is mature judgment being ap-
of information to be gathered, t plied to the facts developed by the
Company executives consider" ex- export market research efforts?
port market research to be most use-
1. See S. T a m e r Cavusgil, "Differences
Among Exporting Firms Based on Their De-
gree of lnternationalization,'Journal of Business
Specific export market research
.tasks should be identified in the
framework of an overall export mar-
Research, June 1984: 195-208, and S. Tamer keting plan. The company should en-
Cavusgil, "International IVlarketing Research: sure that the necessary information
Insights into Company Practices," in Research
in Marketing, vol. 7, ed. Jagdish N. Sheth
for monitoring, evaluating, and cor-
(Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1984): 261-288. recting export activity is made avail-
Figure 1
Researching Foreign Market Potentials: A Sequential Process
Stage One
PRELIMINARY SCREENING FOR MARKETS IN ATTRACTIVE COUNTRIES
Key. Question To Be Answered:
Which foreign markets warrant detailed investigation?
Stage Two
ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRY MARKET POTENTIAL
Ke~ Question To Be Answered:
What is the aggregate demand
in each of the selected markets?
"qp
Stage Three
COMPANY SALES POTENTIAL ANALYSIS
Key Question To Be Answered:
How attractive is the potential demand
for company products?
Guidelines for Export Market Research
able to management through such
efforts.
It is also important for manage-
ment to recognize that export market
research is no substitute for judg-
ment. Market researchers should al-
ways attempt to understand the reason
behind the events and bare facts. In
order to understand future develop-
ments, they must know not only what
has happened, but also why it hap-
pened. They also should investigate
the implications of current and past
trends on their company and its sales.
F u r t h e r m o r e , export market re-
search should always search for the 29
most specific information concerning
the company's products. Market de-
mand for a tvpe of product, such as
medical equipment, should not be
confused with the potential demand
for a specific brand.
Researching Foreign Market Poten-
tials: A Sequential Approach
n most of the firms we studied,
I the process of analyzing foreign
market opportunities was fairly
unstructured. How important man-
agers considered foreign market op-
portunity analysis depended on how
important they considered exporting.
That is, if they placed a low emphasis
on exporting, they attached a low level
of importance to the analysis.
The process usually had evolved
from one person's handling the job
or a series of exporting "change
agents." Many companies employed
experienced international marketing
people who had a good grasp of the
potential for their industry in differ-
ent countries of the world. Others
found it difficult to hire or train in-
dividuals for international positions.
Since the number of world markets
to be considered by a company is very
large, it is neither possible nor advis-
able to research them all. Thus, a
firm's time and money is spent most
efficiently and effectively in a sequen-
tial screening process. This process,
illustrated in Figure 1, eliminates
many unsuitable countries from the
large number of available alterna-
tives. Although many of the compa-
nies we studied had not developed a
formal procedure for analyzing for-
eign market opportunities, some of
 the experienced exporters employed
an approach that tends to support the
value of such a sequential process.
Stage One: Preliminary Screening
The first stage in this sequential
screening process for the company is
to select the more attractive countries
that it wants to investigate in detail.
Preliminary screening involves defin-
ing the physical, political, economic,
and cultural environment. Among the
factors to be included in each cate-
gory are the following.
30
Demographic~Physical Environment:
• Population size, growth, density
• Urban and ruraldistribution
• Climate and weather variations
• Shipping distance
• Product-significant demographics
• Physical distribution and commu-
nication network
• Natural resources
Political Environment:
• System of government
• Political stability and continuity
• Ideological orientation
• Government involvement in busi-
ness
• Government involvement in com-
munications
• Attitudes toward foreign business
(trade restrictions, tariffs, nontariff
barriers, bilateral trade agreements)
• National economic and develop-
mental priorities
Economic Environment:
• Overall level of development
• Economic growth: GNP, industrial
sector
• Role of foreign trade in the econ-
omy
• Currency: inflation rate, availabil-
ity, controls, stability of exchange rate
• Balance of payments
• Per capita income and distribution
• Disposable income and expendi-
ture patterns
Social/Cultural Environment:
• Literacy rate, educational level
• Existence of middle class
• Similarities and differences in re-
lation to home market
• Language and other cultural con-
siderations
The export marketer will eliminate
some foreign markets from further
consideration on the basis of this pre-
liminary screening. An example would
be the absence of comparable or link-
ing products and services, a defi-
ciency that would hinder the potential
for marketing company products.
Stage Two: Analysis of
Industry Market Potential
Once several attractive countries
have been selected for further study,
the firm is ready for the second stage
of the screening process. This stage
involves assessing industry market
potential for each selected foreign
market. At this stage, the company
will want to determine the present and
future aggregate demand for the in-
dustry within the selected markets.
Factors to be studied at this stage in-
clude market access, product poten-
tial, and local distribution and
production.
Market Access:
• Limitations on trade: tariff levels,
quotas
• Documentation and import regu-
lations
• Local standards, practices, and
other nontariff barriers
• Patents and trademarks
• Preferential treaties
• Legal considerations: investment,
taxation, repatriation, employment,
code of laws
Product Potential:
• Customer needs and desires
• Local production, imports, con-
sumption
• Exposure to and acceptance of
product
• Availability of linking products
• Industry-specific key indicators of
demand
• Attitudes toward products of for-
eign origin
• Competitive offerings
Local Distribution and Production:
• Availability of intermediaries
• Regional and local transportation
facilities
• Availability of manpower
• Conditions for local manufacture
Indicators of population, income
levels, and c o n s u m p t i o n patterns
should be considered. In addition,
statistics on local production trends,
along with imports and exports of the
product category, are helpful for as-
sessing industry market potential.
Often, an industry will have a few key
indicators or measures that will help
them determine the industry strength
and demand within a foreign market.
A manufacturer of medical equip-
ment, for example, may use the num-
ber of hospital beds, the number of
surgeries, and public expenditures for
health care as indicators to assess the
potential for its products.
Stage Three: Analysis of
Company Sales Potential
The third stage of the screening
process invoh, es assessing company
sales potential in those countries that
prove promising based upon the ear-
lier analyses. The issues that must be
addressed at this stage include fore-
casting sales volume, landed cost, cost
of internal distribution, and other de-
terminants of profitability.
Sales Volume Forecasting:
• Size and concentration of customer
segments
• Projected consumption statistics
• Competitive pressures
• Expectations of local distributors/
agents
Landed Cost:
• Costing method for exports
• Domestic distribution costs
• International freight and insur-
ance
• Cost of product modification
Cost of Internal Distribution:
• Tariffs and duties
• Value added tax
 Guidelines for Export Market Research

" . . . some type of primary data collection

usually will be undertaken in the foreign market,
sometimes with the assistance of market research
firms. One of the best ways to gather this
information is to visit potential foreign
end users and distributors."

31

• Local packaging and assembly
• Margins/commission allowed for
the trade
• Local distribution and inventory
COSTS
• Promotional expenditures
Other Determinants of Profitability:
• Going price levels
• Competitive strengths and weak-
nesses
• Credit practices
• Current and projected exchange
rates
Competitive information in the for-
eign market is often very valuable in
determining export prices and, hence,
export profitability. To help project
sales, factors such as quality, design,
sizing, and packaging should also be
compared to competitive offerings.
Much of the information needed for
the first and second stage of oppor-
tunity analysis can be g a t h e r e d
through desk research--for example,
documentary sources, international
business publications, and so on. In
contrast, the third stage, estimating
company sales and profitability, often
requires field research. Therefore,
some type of primary data collection
usually will be undertaken in the for-
eign market, sometimes with the as-
sistance of market research firms. One
of the best ways to gather this infor-
mation is to visit potential foreign end
users and distributors. Industry trade
shows and fairs are also useful in siz-
ing up the competition and in meet-
ing potential distributors. Adver-
tisements can be placed in tradejour-
nals. The firms in our study also value
surveys or direct mail campaigns to
end users or distributors.
Sources of Information
for Export Market Research
~"~ ompanies can obtain export
~[ j market research data from a
variety of sources. These in-
clude the U.S. Department of Com-
merce (DOC) and other governmental
agencies; international organizations
such as the Organization for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO),
United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD), and
General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT); service organizations
such as banks; export trading com-
panies, trade associations and world
trade clubs; as well as a multitude of
private research organizations and
their publications. 2
The U.S. DOC assistance programs
are varied to suit the needs of com-
panies at different stages of interna-
tionalization. These include business
counseling, new product information
service, agent/distributor services,
trade opportunities program, catalog
exhibitions, trade missions, and many
others. F i g u r e 2 identifies various
sources based upon the particular type
of information sought.
In our interviews, we found that
there is no lack of data on interna-
tional markets and marketing. On the
2. S. T a m e r Cavusgil, "Public Policy Impli-
cations of Research on the Export Behavior of
Firms," Akron Business and Economic Review,
Summer 1983: 16-22.
contrary, managers may be overloaded
with information and have difficulty
in sorting out what is relevant, useful,
timely, and consistent with other
sources of the same information. As
one executive noted, one has to de-
velop a sense of familiarity and his-
tory with a source of information and
be cautious about interpreting statis-
tics, especially those prepared by the
developing countries.
Even the U.S. DOC information
may not be satisfactory. An executive
of Nicolet Instruments indicated that,
while the firm receives well over half
of its information from the U.S. DOC
publications, it needs to "filter it out."
With these publications, he says, the
firm "becomes aware of the trends;
you get a number to start with." But
he adds, "You still have to interpret
it with a critical eye."
Many executives noted that they
often travel abroad to support the sta-
tistics and to meet foreign customers
and distributors. While they may be
costly, trips to foreign markets appear
to be the preferred way of gathering
foreign market information.
U.S. DOC sources of information
and assistance are likely to be more
satisfactory for smaller firms and those
new to exporting. In contrast, the
larger and more involved firms tend
to have developed their own more so-
phisticated information bases. These
firms also rely to a greater extent on
private sector suppliers, such as Busi-
ness International, Dun and Brad-
street, Predicasts, and the
international departments of major
banks.
 As firms gain m o r e e x p e r i e n c e with Figure 2
exporting, they may become dissat-
isfied for various reasons with the Sources of Information for Export Market Research
quality o f available information. Be- ry/,,' q U.S. D@t. ,~
sides their potential errors, data ob- In.lbrmatio. Commerce Sources Other Sources
tained from different sources may be
contradictory. How does one know Foreign market Business America Business ! nternational
intorntation Foreign Economic Trends Dun & Bradstreet
which source is reliable? International
Overseas Business
M u l t i n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t i o n s are Chase World In formation
Reports
m o r e likely to d e p e n d on p r i v a t e International Econonaic Corp.
sources o f information. For example, I ndicatt>rs Stanford Research Institute
S. C. J o h n s o n , o f Racine, Wisconsin, International Trade
uses A. C. Nielsen data collected in Reporter
each foreign market. Syndicated re- Accot,ntiqg lirms
search data gathered from each mar-
32 ket a p p e a r to better suit their needs. Export market Cottntry Market Sectmal Market research firms
S e c o n d a r y sources o f i n f o r m a t i o n , research Survevs Advertising agencies
Global Market Surveys l~ublishing companies
such as Business International pub-
International Market Trade associations
lications or g o v e r n m e n t statistics, pro-
Research
vide more general information, such
as economic indicators, political sta- International statistics Export Statistics Ih'olile Pvedicasts
bility, and the exchange rate fluctua- Custom Service Statistics U.S. Foreign Trade Reports
tions. Llnited Nations
Data o b t a i n e d f r o m s e c o n d a r y Iruevnatiorml Monetary
sources are usually too broad to be l:und
usefdl for predicting c o m p a n y sales OECD, EEC, (;ATT
potential. In addition, f r e q u e n t polit-
ical and economic changes in many Overseas Customized Export Banks, chambers of
representatives Mailing last commerce, consulting
foreign markets may limit substan-
Workt Traders Data tirms
tially the usefulness o f projections for Reports
a country. Because o f these problems, Agent/Distributor Scvvicc
companies tend to s u p p l e m e n t quan-
titative data with the subjective j u d g - Sales leads Trade Opl~ortunities Banks, chaml)ers o1"
ments o f executives. Program commerce, consulting
Strategic and Industrial lirms
l:'roduct Sales (;roup State develol)nmnt agencies
PractiCal Approaches to Identifying Major Export I'rojects
Foreign Market Opportunities Program
Export Information
cademicians have e x h o r t e d Refercncc Room

A companies to employ tech-

niques such as input-output
analysis, income elasticity measures,
Reference data on
foreign lirms
World Traders Data
Reports
Banks, chanfi)ers o[
('Olll lllercc, consulting
lh-ms
econometric forecasting, and macro- State develol+ment agencies
surveys in international market re-
search? In reality, however, • Using existing distributors as a Distributors as a Source for
companies find little use for these the- source o f information about devel- Identifying Foreign Market
oretical techniques. Companies ap- oping market opportunities; Opportunities
parently develop approaches that suit
• Directing p r o m o t i o n to prospec-
their own needs for estimating for-
tive distributors or other customers; Companies, large and small, expe-
eign market potential. Five specific
approaches are: r i e n c e d a n d i n e x p e r i e n c e d , have
• Participating in overseas trade learned that perhaps the best way o f
• fairs and shows; identifying market potentials is to use
3. See, for example, Reed Moyer, "Inter-
national Market Analysis,"Journal of Marketing their foreign distributor/agent con-
Research, November 1968: 353-360, and St,san • Following m a j o r contractors tacts. Because o f their local market
P. Douglas, C. Samuel Craig, and Warren J. a r o u n d the world; and presence, familiarity with customer
Keegan, "'Approaches to Assessing Interna-
tional Marketing Opportunities for Small and needs, and contact with governmental
Medium-Sized Companies," ColumbiaJournal of • Using trade audits for assessing agencies, distributors are often the
World Business, Fall 1982: 26-31. market potential. best source o f valuable and timely in-

formation about market develop-
ments. Consequently, the more
experienced companies tend to shift
much of the opportunity analysis and
identification function to capable dis-
tributors and representatives.
In addition, they establish fairly
formalized communication channels
for a free and frequent flow of infor-
mation from those closest to the mar-
ket back to headquarters. General
Electric Medical Division, in Wauke-
sha, Wisconsin, for example, achieves
this through their formalized country
planning processes.
Advertising Directed to Prospective
Distributors or Other Customers
Many companies have found it use-
ful to generate inquiries and subse-
q u e n t orders by advertising their
products in trade journals, directo-
ries, or other publications. Still others
engage in direct mail campaigns in
order to uncover potentials.
Managers are pleasantly surprised
to find that English-language Amer-
ican trade journals often circulate in
foreign countries and thus reach pro-
spective customers. Unsolicited in-
quiries often result from these
publications, as well as from favorable
word-of-mouth publicity generated by
satisfied customers.
Participation in Trade Fairs
A related approach to delineating
foreign market opportunities is
through attendance at foreign trade
fairs and shows. In some cases, thou-
sands of buyers from around the
world congregate at international
trade fairs for specific industry
branches. Companies in our sample
generally rated trade fairs high in ef-
fectiveness. With the assistance of the
U.S. DOC, even small companies with
limited resources can participate.
According to an executive at Re-
search Products Inc., of Madison,
Wisconsin, trade fairs are "probably
one way that anyone trying to make
assessments of foreign markets can
gain a tremendous amount of infor-
mation."
Following Other Suppliers Around
the World
A few of the companies we studied
had been able to expand their sup-
plier relationships with some of their
domestic customers to overseas mar-
kets. These customers typically are
large multinationals involved in con-
tract manufacturing, turnkey opera-
tions, or foreign production abroad.
Thus, it is often desirable to explore
the possibility of supplying multina-
tional customers in overseas projects.
For example, Snap-on-Tools, of
Kenosha, Wisconsin, regularly iden-
tifies large construction projects
abroad where American companies
are involved. It then contacts these
companies with an offer to supply
tools.
A similar approach is followed by
EduSystems of Fontana, Wisconsin.
This small concern sells complete
packages of vocational education
products to foreign governments. In
addition to providing all of the equip-
ment needed for a vocational or tech-
nical school, EduSystems plans,
designs, purchases, consolidates,
ships, and installs the equipment. The
company identifies new opportunities
by monitoring announcements of new
educational projects from funding
agencies such as the World Bank and
the Agency for International Devel-
opment, as well as by tracking the an-
nouncements of individual countries.
Then the company engages in a bid-
ding process to secure a contract.
Trade Audits
A technique that is especially suit-
able for consumer goods companies
is a trade audit. Parker Pen Company
of Janesville, Wisconsin, has refined
this approach and finds it very useful
in its international market research.
With trade audits, a company at-
tempts to size up the market potential
from the perspective of the channel
members. A senior vice president of
Parker Pen describes that company's
use o f trade audits in the following
way:
"With trade audits, it is important to
understand that we are viewing the poten-
tial from the eyes and the level of the retail
Guidelines for Export Market Research
trade. No more. We begin by listing the
key questions we want answered, and in
some cases it is an omnibus list: First, what
accounts are we in, and where aren't we?
What is our penetration of the market by
distribution channel (e.g., jewelry, station-
ery, gift shop, pharmacy and other out-
lets)? Second, how does the trade regard
us? What is our company's image in the
eyes of the trade concerning quality of our
products, discounts, terms, sales calls, de-
liveries, after-sales service, and other as-
pects? Third, what is our visibility in the
store? How well are our displays (space
and technique) versus competition? What
is the client's view of our advertising? Most 33
popular and most successful promotions?
Best and worst selling products? Fourth,
what are the characteristics of the gift mar-
ket versus personal purchase market? What
are the most important factors in buying a
gift? Gift box? Price? Clerk? Etc.
"We normally conduct trade audits us-
ing a team of 10 to 15 people and always
include people from the outside so that we
assure objectivity. This team will spend one
or two weeks combing major trading cen-
ters. They are given maps each day and
told to cover a certain number of square
blocks. Each is equipped with a standard
questionnaire. We have called on as few
as 300 accounts during an audit and as
many as 900."
In addition to providing the com-
pany with a realistic profile of how it
stands in a particular market (for ex-
ample, penetration of the market,
perception of company products, sales
terms, delivery, service), trade audits
can help identify competitive strengths
and weaknesses. To the extent that a
representative portion of the trade is
surveyed and objectivity in data col-
lection is assured, trade audits can be
reliable in estimating potential de-
mand for company products.
iven the increasing impor-
G .tance of international busi-
ness opportunities, com-
panies need to be more methodical in
their approach to identifying and cul-
tivating export market opportunities.
Systematic export market research can
facilitate successful international
business involvement. []