To boldly go

Selling abroad, if done right, can allow two-way radio companies to significantly grow and diversify. However, it requires a great deal of thought, as Sam Fenwick discovers

The urge to seek new opportunities in foreign lands has shaped the sweep of history, and while the modern world is far more crowded and lacking in uncharted waters, opportunities still exist for those with the drive to seize them. That said, there is no doubt that the bar has been raised, as most pithily summarised by the inventor James Dyson: “In the past, the UK got away with selling things that weren’t unusual. Now it’s no use trying to export without having something that’s unusual and better.” It therefore makes sense to think long and hard about your ‘comparative advantage’ – what can you bring to a new market that will allow you to compete with established players, who are likely to have better knowledge of it and its local customs as well as strong relationships with the existing customer base? Innovative new products, strong technical and/or vertical specific expertise, and economies of scale, are the obvious candidates.