Let's Go International

Once a company establishes itself in the national market and if it is ambitious enough, it would definitely want to go international and thereby expand its consumer base and sales.

There can be various strategies to go international. A company may want to enter only one foriegn market at a time or a no. of markets simultaneously. Based on number of markets to be entered, the strategies could be either waterfall strategy or sprinkler strategy.

Waterfall strategy is one wherein companies enter only one foreign market at a time, establishes itself there and then move to other markets. In this competitive era, this may be a slow pathway, but to understand the consumers of cross-national area, waterfall strategy is highly recommended. This is generally meant for products which are to be customized. For Example, Nestle sells highly customized products. Its products like dahi (curd) and ghee (clarified butter) are India-exclusive products.

On contrary, sprinkler strategy is one wherein a company enters several foreign markets in one stance. This strategy works well when products are standardized and needs no adaptation to local needs. For example, Gillette launched its Mach3 range of razors in 11 countries simultaneously.

As such, choice of entry strategies to foreign markets depends on company's objective and kind of products.