Plan To Succeed - International Market Selection – Does Size Matter?
When going international many companies automatically go after the largest markets, but this is often a mistake.
When a company makes the commitment to expand internationally, one of the first, critical questions they face is that of market selection. Success or failure in the first foreign foray will often determine whether the effort should continue, or whether it is more prudent to sound the retreat and withdraw to the safety of more familiar surroundings.
In deciding where to start, there is often a tendency to equate market size with market potential. This is a fallacy sometimes referred to as the "Chinese Market Share Theory". With more than a billion people, all you really need is 2% to be hugely successful. Unfortunately, the largest markets for technology products, especially software, have significant hurdles that can make them quite a challenge.