The risks of internationalisation for SMEs: how to deal with them?

But what are the pitfalls?

Firstly, there is an economic risk: this is the same problem that managers face every day in the domestic market. It is linked to the volatility of demand for a specific product or service. This situation of uncertainty can have a negative impact on the company, generating sudden drops in turnover and loss of profits.

Within foreign markets, this situation is even more evident: the company often does not know the country in which it is acting and as a result may find itself operating in conditions of uncertainty. This is especially the case in developing countries, where demand may fluctuate suddenly due to the often-unpredictable economic trends in these areas.

A further aspect to be taken into account is the so-called technical risk: it is linked to the characteristics of the product marketed, which may not comply with the regulations in force in a foreign country (for example, due to the too high concentration of certain substances).

Another factor of insecurity may also originate from the behaviour of interlocutors in foreign markets: the attitudes of counterparties are in fact difficult to predict, and it is not always easy to evaluate the real interest in establishing a partnership. To make everything more complex, there are also the inevitable language barriers that can make negotiations more difficult, especially for those realities not used to an international context.

These problems are just a few examples of the brakes that can hamper the growth of a company outside its borders: SMEs are more exposed to risks and, unlike large multinationals, may not have the preparation to adequately study a foreign market, identifying opportunities and threats.

Matchplat aims to solve this problem with its services. How? Some examples might help to clarify.

Trend allows companies to know the evolution across time of import/export data related to a specific product: in this way you can know at any time what is the evolution of demand for the goods marketed by your company, intercepting the growth trends and thus reducing the economic risk.

Connect makes it easier for companies looking for foreign partners to start new collaborations: thanks to outbound call and mailing activities, our matchmakers will assess the interest of foreign companies to start a partnership, basing their search on customer’s needs.

The skills of our specialists make it possible to overcome the linguistic difficulties mentioned above, outsourcing the process of internationalisation of the company.

Later, once they have ascertained that the counterparty interest, they will connect the two organizations.

In this way, each customer will be able to get in touch with realities that are actually interested in getting to know him, so as to obtain a twofold advantage. On the one hand, to reduce the uncertainties linked to the behavior of foreign interlocutors; on the other hand, to be always sure to dialogue with realities accustomed to dealing with its products, thus eliminating any technical risk linked to the intrinsic characteristics of the offer.