Expanding internationally can provide numerous opportunities to grow your business using acquisitions, joint ventures or strategic partnerships, but before you can decide which market to enter, you’ll need to do some research.
The data sources you use for your research will vary depending on location and industry and the specific information you are seeking. We’ve listed a number of helpful resources we use in our research of international markets and companies.
- Kompass – Kompass is a business to business directory and is a great resource for finding privately held, international companies.
- Trade Associations – Just like U.S. ones, international trade associations can be very helpful if you know which industry you want to focus on. They typically conduct their own research or have access to in-country market research.
- US Chamber of Commerce and the US Embassy Business Consulate Office – The in-country offices will have plenty of information for you. The Chamber of Commercial usually has commercial information while the Embassy will focus on the government.
- Region Specific Sources – For example, we’ll use Companies House in the U.K. or JETRO in Japan.
Using these secondary sources are just the first step in your research. Once you’ve conducted your secondary research, you’ll most likely want to conduct primary research in order to gain a deeper understanding of the markets and companies.
