You Must Participate in Foreign Markets to Understand Them

Observing a foreign market from the outside is not enough to gain the necessary wisdom to compete effectively. Only active participation—selling, competing, and serving customers within that market—can provide a true understanding of future trends and competitive threats.

The Dangers of Myopia:

A company that is not active in a foreign market is susceptible to being blindsided.

• Competitive Surprises: They will be caught off guard by the cost structures, quality levels, and manufacturing strategies of foreign competitors (e.g., the U.S. auto and semiconductor industries being surprised by the Japanese).
• Missed Technology Trends: They will miss the emergence of new technology trends that may be developing more quickly in foreign markets (e.g., teletext and digital telephone networks in Europe).

The Benefits of Participation:

• Early Warning System: Being active in a competitor's home market provides critical time to understand their strengths and develop counter-strategies.
• Access to New Ideas: It provides insight into new applications and market needs that can be applied globally.
• Ability to Compete: It allows a company to be on the scene when a protected market opens up, making it more difficult for local suppliers to gain momentum.

If you are failing in export markets, you must understand why. The reason for your failure overseas today may become the same reason you will fail at home tomorrow. This is a key reason why you must Be International or Fail.