Market entry consulting is a professional consulting service designed to help companies identify and seize opportunities in new or existing markets to improve competitiveness and profitability. Market entry consulting can be applied to different situations, such as: companies want to open up new geographical or international markets; companies want to expand the share or penetration of existing markets; companies want to develop new product or service categories; companies want to respond to market changes or competitive pressures. Regardless of the scenario, market entry consulting needs to follow a basic process of analysis, positioning and execution.

The analysis phase is the first and most important step in the market entry consultation. At this stage, the consultant needs to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth study of the target market to determine the feasibility and attractiveness of market entry. Specifically, the consultant needs to answer the following questions:

目标市场有多大？它有多少潜在客户？它有多少现有竞争者？它有多少替代品或补充品？

目标市场有多快？它有多少增长潜力？它受哪些因素影响？它有哪些趋势或变化？

目标市场有多好？它有多少利润空间？它有多少风险或不确定性？它有哪些法律或政策限制？

How suitable is the target market? How well does it match the core competence and resources of the enterprise? How much is it consistent with the vision and goals of the enterprise? How much is it consistent with the values and culture of the enterprise?

In order to answer these questions, consultants need to collect and analyze a large amount of data and information, including market research, industry reports, competitive intelligence, customer interviews, and expert advice. Consultants also need to use a variety of analytical tools and frameworks, such as the Porter Five Forces model, the Boston Matrix,,SWOTanalysis,PESTanalysis, etc. Through these analyses, the consultant can produce an objective and comprehensive market assessment report that provides a basis for subsequent decisions.

For example, Champ Consulting once provided China market entry consulting services for a European high-end furniture brand. In the analysis stage, Shangpu Consulting conducted in-depth research on the scale, growth, structure, competition, and consumer behavior of the Chinese furniture market, and found that although the Chinese furniture market is huge and growing rapidly, there are also fierce competition and low-end problems. The trend of consumer awareness is not high. Shangpu Consulting recommends that when customers enter the Chinese market, they should choose a segmented high-end furniture market, targeting consumer groups with taste, demand, and ability to pay, so as to improve the success rate and profitability of market entry.

The positioning stage is the second and most critical step in the market entry consultation. At this stage, the consultant needs to formulate market entry strategies and programs based on the results of the analysis, including the selection of target customer groups, product or service range, price strategy, channel model, brand image, etc., to ensure the differentiation and advantages of market entry. Specifically, the consultant needs to answer the following questions:

Who is the target customer group? What needs and preferences do they have? How do they make decisions and purchase? What expectations and requirements do they have for the product or service?

What is the product or service range? What are its characteristics and functions? How does it meet the needs and preferences of the target customer group? What are its differences and advantages from competitors' products or services?

What is the price strategy? How does it reflect the value and cost of the product or service? How does it affect the purchase intention and ability of the target customer group? What are the differences and advantages between it and competitors' price strategies?

What is the channel model? How does it reach the target customer base? How does it deliver the information and value of the product or service? What are the differences and advantages between it and the channel model of competitors?

What is the brand image? How does it express the core idea and proposition of the product or service? How does it shape the cognition and feeling of the target customer group? What are the differences and advantages between it and the brand image of competitors?

In order to answer these questions, consultants need to combine the internal resources and external environment of the enterprise, carry out creative and strategic thinking, design a market entry plan that meets the market demand and competitive advantage, and provide guidance for subsequent implementation.

For example, Champ Consulting once provided Indian market entry consulting services for an American education technology company. In the positioning stage, through the stratification and segmentation of the Indian education market, Champ Consulting found that there is a large and fast-growing online education market in India, and one of the high-potential segments is online programming education for primary and secondary school students. Shangpu Consulting suggests that when customers enter the Indian market, they should take online programming education as the main product, target the primary and secondary school students who are interested and need to learn programming as the target customer group, adopt high-end pricing strategy, reflect the quality and effect of the product, and use the online and offline channel mode to expand market coverage and user acquisition, create a professional, innovative and interesting brand image, and form differentiation and superiority with competitors.

The execution phase is the third and most challenging step in market entry consulting. At this stage, the consultant needs to implement a specific action plan according to the market entry plan, including organizational structure, human resources, financial budget, marketing promotion, operation management, etc., in order to achieve the goal and effect of market entry. Specifically, the consultant needs to answer the following questions:

What is the organizational structure? How does it support market entry strategies and programs? How does it distribute responsibilities and powers? How does it coordinate internal and external communication and cooperation?

What is HR? How does it recruit, train, motivate, evaluate and retain the right talent? How does it build and maintain a good team atmosphere and culture?

What is a financial budget? How does it formulate reasonable and feasible revenue and expenditure forecasts? How does it control costs and risks? How does it assess the return on investment and the break-even point?

What is marketing promotion? How does it develop effective and innovative marketing strategies and campaigns? How does it use various media and channels to spread the message and value of a product or service? How does it attract and retain a target customer base?

What is operational management? How does it develop efficient and quality operational processes and standards? How does it provide quality and satisfactory products or services? How does it deal with customer feedback and complaints?

In order to answer these questions, the consultant needs to combine the actual situation and ability of the enterprise, carry out detailed and practical planning, formulate an executable and monitorable market entry plan, and assist the enterprise to implement and track.

For example, Champ Consulting once provided Thai market entry consulting services for a Japanese cosmetics company. In the implementation stage, through in-depth understanding of the Thai cosmetics market, Shangpu Consulting has formulated a detailed market entry plan, including establishing a localized organizational structure, recruiting and training a professional sales and service team, formulating a reasonable Financial budget and goals, design a diversified marketing promotion plan, including online and offline advertisements, activities, gifts, trials, etc, establish a stable and efficient operation management system, including supply chain, inventory, logistics, after-sales, etc. Champ Consulting also provides customers with implementation and follow-up support and advice to help customers achieve good results in the Thai market.

In short, market entry consulting is a professional consulting service that can help companies find and seize opportunities in new or existing markets to improve competitiveness and profitability. The process of market entry consultation can be divided into three stages: analysis, positioning and execution. As a professional market entry consulting company, Shangpu Consulting has rich experience and excellent team, which can provide customers with tailor-made market entry consulting services and help customers achieve market entry success.