The motor industry is littered with exporting mistakes that basic research could have countered.

General Motors couldn't work out why its Nova wasn't selling in Puerto Rico.  After all, "Nova" means star in translation.  When spoken, however, it sounds like "no va", which in Spanish means "it doesn't go".  Ford introduced a low-cost truck, the Fiera, into some less-developed countries.  Unfortunately, the name means "ugly old woman" in Spanish.  A top of the line model under the name Caliente suffered extraordinarily low sales in Mexico until it was realised the name was a slang term for prostitute.  These blunders are basic, but many companies have variations of them to retell.

So much opportunity, so little time, so much uncertainty.  Exporting should be relatively straightforward providing you've done your homework.  But the difference between knowing you should do your homework and knowing how to do it is what brings a lot of companies undone.

Too many organisations fly blind, failing to understand even the most basic of market drivers in the country they are targeting.  Too often, market research companies are approached out of sheer frustration in the midst of a very expensive but ailing export drive, rather than at the outset.

The logic of research-based exporting is so fundamental.  Accessing international markets is expensive.  Knowing what you're letting yourself into minimises risk.  There's no particular genius involved in understanding the basic principles.  But what amazes us is the amount of money expended developing new products, particularly in domestic markets, and the minimal amount spent on developing new markets, particularly overseas.

Our experience is that there is more often than not a greater risk in entering new markets that in developing new products where you already have established relationships with customers.

But the risk you take isn't simply confined to market acceptance of your products or services.  The best research will provide some understanding of competitive reaction.  And remember...Hell hath no fury like a competitor scorned in their own market.  Many a wounded Australian company has limped back into town having been savaged by a well-resourced competitor with little tolerance for audacious exporters from the bottom of the globe.

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