Key challenges and opportunities of Doing Business in the US

28 November 2022

For many companies an opportunity to access the US market is a real breakthrough – and a real challenge. The US market is huge, non-homogeneous and traditionally taking the lead in most product categories.

The US economy – some facts and figures

1. The US economy is the largest economy in the world
2. In 2021, the GDP of USA was $23 trillion
3. 2021 saw a growth of 10 % in the GDP
4. The country’s per capita GDP is $69, 231
5. USA rank 2nd in terms of world exports
6. The country’s major exports are Refined Petroleum, Crude Petroleum, Cars, Integrated Circuits and Petroleum Gas
7. The major export destinations for the USA are Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and Germany
8. The USA have the largest coal and molybdenum resources in the world
9. Another major export of USA are high technologies
10. The main industries of import in the USA are Cars, Computers, Packaged Medicaments, Broadcasting Equipment and Crude Petroleum.
11. The main importers to the USA are China, Mexico, Canada, Germany and Japan.
12. Major driving domestic industries include healthcare, tech sector, construction, retail and non-durable manufacturing.
13. Hundreds large corporations have their headquarters in the USA, including Amazon, Apple, Walmart, Microsoft, ExxonMobil

A thoughtful strategy for going to the US market will have a direct impact on the further development of your business, which is why it is so vital not to make any unfortunate mistakes when launching a business in America.

Commercial success in the US depends on three factors:

• a winning product;
• a comprehensive go-to-market strategy;
• a powerful promotion, distribution and sales network.

It has been reported that 42% to 56% of foreign companies fail in their attempts to win the US market. In most cases this was a consequence of lacking a clear marketing plan and a market experience.

Some of the reasons that lead to the failure of foreign companies in the US market may include:

1. Lack of understanding about the rules of the game in the US market.
2. Underestimating the competitiveness of the market.
3. Failing to adapt to the pragmatism of the US market and misjudging the consumer preferences of Americans.
4. Insufficient investment in advertising, publicity and online promotion.

Mistakes in recruitment in the USA.

Poor logistics.

Insufficient knowledge of the American version of the English language.

Before launching any business operation in the United States, a virtuoso preparatory work should be done – namely painstaking market research with the help of a reputable tailor-made market ranking report.

Doing business in the US: Creating a winning go-to-market strategy

Here are the basic steps for starting a successful business in the US market:

1. Set clear objectives

The first thing to do is to define your objectives:

• Unique product or service for export;
• Business goals for expansion;
• Target market;
• Target sales level;
• Key promotional actions and methods;
• Budget.

2. Market research

The US oriented experts recommend focusing on the following market points:

• Market size and ranking;
• Consumer trends, habits, needs and perceptions of products;
• Domestic and international competition, pre-launch prospecting;
• Regulatory, certification, trade and other barriers and opportunities;
• US audience oriented online showcase + powerful digital advertising;
• Potential government support for foreign businesses to access the US market.

This information will give an indication of whether the target market is right for your business. Remember – the US is an ultracompetitive market that does not forgive mistakes, blunders and confusion.

What is a roadmap for going to the US market?

To be successful, every company should immediately think about how to drive new customer flow – in our case after starting operating in the United States. Having opportunities to attract new customers is defined as part of a winning US market access strategy.

How do you organize a full scope and extensive prospecting? How do you identify potential partners and distributors in the US?

Use a proven tool like EasyBusiness – with its help you will not only generate targeted lists of US prospects, but also start a process of smart alarming about changes in existing business partners’ data, as well as new potential customers joining the market. More than that – you will get in touch with them direct thanks to Kompass huge email database.

A roadmap for accessing the US market is a visual presentation of the work you need to do to launch a successful business in the US, as well as a timeline of when your goals will be met.

Booster digital solutions – an international online presentation of your company, designed to provide proactive information expansion into your selected market – can help you with the B2B visualization.

Accessing the US market

The access to the United States market should be based on the following key conditions:

1. The product must be fully adapted to the market conditions at the very planning stage.
2. The product must comply with the regulatory requirements of a new market. It will not be possible to sell your products if are not properly licensed in the USA.

Certification in the United States

If you decide to distribute your product in the USA, you have to be certified by the authority supervising international trade in the USA.

For example, Amazon is the largest global trading platform in the States and requires that products sold on its marketplace meet mandatory safety standards and certification requirements.

To sum it up

The easiest way to enter the US market is to export. This strategy allows businesses to keep their current business model and production line while sending goods to a foreign market for distribution.

If you are planning to start exporting to the U.S. market, you should do some brilliant marketing groundwork:

1. Research the market based on the Kompass market ranking report.
2. Identify competitors, importers, distributors and potential buyers using the EasyBusiness online prospecting tool.
3. Develop an international digital Booster presentation aimed to visualize your export potential online.

How else can Kompass help you?

Kompass USA database:

• Our database includes 15 M companies in the country

Kompass business portal in USA:

• The business portal contains 3,7 M users in the USA
• In 2021, it received 325K hits per month
• There are +3K product posts and video in US company profiles
• In 2021 US users sent 1,5K RFQs via Kompass.com

Going to the US market is no easy feat. It requires lots of efforts and a lot of preparatory work. Kompass offers a range of digital solutions to help you expand into the US market. Contact us for further information on marketing, digital visibility and online prospecting solutions to win the US market. We accompany your export missions based on your needs.

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