How Do I Market a Product in a Foreign Country?
By Pattie Simone •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
I sell products and am hoping you can share some marketing tips so that I can promote them locally in Uganda. It's a developing country. Any advice?The best marketing channels for your business will depend on the type of product you are selling. Without knowing the type of product you have, you need to consider whether you are manufacturing new products or if you are reselling someone else's, and the price point(s) for these products.
After that, identifying your target market can help determine which channels might be best. Consider these questions:
-- What demographic market(s) will the products appeal to? Mostly women, teens, men or a mixed audience?
-- Do your target markets live in affluent, more metropolitan areas or are they in less affluent communities?
-- What are the unique selling points?
Then consider where you'll be selling your product. Will you be selling it throughout the entire country or in specific areas?
From there, narrow it down further to determine where you are most likely to connect with this target market you're selling to. Are they active on social media outlets? Are they responsive to email? Does traditional editorial in newspapers or local magazines and radio reach them?
An easy and cheap way to find out this information is to conduct a survey. Ask people what papers and magazines they read, what radio station they listen to and what social channels they spend time on.
Answering these questions should give you guidance on your best next steps. Ultimately you should test a variety of outreach and advertising over email, social channels, public relations to print and online editorial outlets, among others, to see which work best.
Related: How to Create a Marketing Plan
Related: Six Tips for Building Buzz on a Budget
