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here: Step 8: Preparing your
export plan |
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Preparing
your export plan
To ensure success in exporting (as, indeed,
with any business) you must plan your exports (or business
strategy) carefully. Planning and preparing for exports
is a complicated process. It involves undertaking a lot
of research and analysis of your firm and your intended
target markets (which has already been done), setting export
objectives, outlining your export marketing strategy, preparing
an export budget, outlining an implementation schedule,
and presenting and obtaining approval for the export plan.
The end result will be a formal (written)
plan of action that serves as a framework for the development
of your firm's export business. It outlines the identification
of organisational goals, target markets and the activities
that will enable your firm to achieve its objectives. It
will also indicate what resources you require and what
results you can expect from your firm's export endeavours
and will enable you to measure the success or failure of
your export endeavours.
There are many steps involved in the
export planning process and some experts structure the
process slight different than others - the exact structure
or headings that are used doesn't really matter. What does
matter is that you end up with a plan of action that you
have carefully thought through and that will guide in your
export efforts. We suggest that your export plan contain
the following steps:
- Synopsis of research already done
- Revisiting an export SWOT analysis of the firm
- Setting the export objectives of the firm
- Preparing an export marketing strategy for your firm
- Preparing an export budget for your firm
- Outlining an implementation schedule for your export
activities
- Preparing and presenting your export plan
- Obtaining approval of the plan
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