Neste final de ano de 2011, caracterizado por uma forte crise económica e financeira e por grandes incertezas sobre o desempenho da economia portuguesa em 2012, a aposta na internacionalização está no topo da agenda de um grande número de empresas, sobretudo das pequenas e médias empresas nacionais. Neste sentido, abaixo apresento um conjunto de sugestões que me pareceram muito bem conseguidas sobre como seleccionar e como entrar em mercados internacionais, apresentadas por Clive Drinkwater, quadro da UK Trade & Investment, agência de promoção das exportações e do investimento do Reino Unido:
"Market Potential
- Size of the market, in both volume and value
- Market growth – getting in nearly when growth is about to happen will help enormously
- Barriers to Entry
- Competition – what are your competitors doing? What substitute products/ services are available?
- Price levels, standards and quality expectations
- Demographics in market
Geography
- Are any trading blocs applicable?
- Will distance affect shipping costs?
- Will you have to resort to airfreight rather than seafreight to ensure speedy delivery
- To provide quality service, will you have to consider stocking in market? Consignment stock and issues around bonded warehouses may need to be addressed.
Legal/Regulatory Factors
- Are there import controls in the market?
What is the position on import tariffs? How high are they and can you build them into your pricing structure? - What legal systems apply? In the UK we use a common law system and this is common in many other Commonwealth countries but also in USA. A code law system is more commonly used by European countries.
- Is there a separately defined commercial law or code?
- How do IPR laws get interpreted in the market?
Political Matters
- How politically stable is the market?
- Is there any likelihood of state intervention and what could you do to minimise the possible adverse effects?
- How is economic growth in market?
- What is the environment like on trade restrictions?
Cultural and Language Issues
- Is English widely spoken or understood?
- Do you have language skills that you can utilise?
- Are there any shared cultural backgrounds?
- Have you fully understood the demand factors in market?"
E se pretender aprofundar um pouco mais algumas destas sugestões, veja também o artigo "5 Keys to Growing Your Export Sales, de Jill Jusko, publicado na revista "IndustryWeek".
Em síntese, o grande desafio que se coloca às empresas apostadas na internacionalização passa fundamentalmente pela correcta selecção dos mercados e pela escolha da forma mais eficaz de entrada nesses países, tendo sempre presente a necessidade de redução dos riscos, o aumento das oportunidades de negócios e a sustentabilidade da presença da empresa nesses mercados.
