Internationalization - 3 key stages: strategy, planning and investment capacity

2022 is proving to be even better resultsWill 2022 be the year of Internationalization for Portuguese companies?

We challenged Pedro Magalhães, Director of International Relations at the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to take stock of the results of national exports in 2021 and the 1st half of 2022. In this article we will also learn about the 3 key stages that characterize organizations that are successful abroad and, of course, we will learn about the opportunities that come with Portugal 2030.

Few people would say that, having finished the 1st half of 2022, we would be witnessing unprecedented growth in national exports - the first quarter of 2022 was the best ever in the export of goods and services, contributing - a lot - to the tourism, and surpassing pre-pandemic values.

In terms of the first quarter of 2022, Portuguese exports of goods and services amounted to 25,518 million euros, which represents an increase of 30 percent compared to the same period in 2021.

Source: AICEP - Agência para o Investimento e Comércio Externo de Portugal

2022 is revealing even better results

At the end of 2020 (in the midst of the pandemic) I wrote an article stating that 2021 had everything to be a much better year than 2020, for international trade in general and in particular for our exporting companies. I was lucky to get it right. 2021 was a very good year and 2022 is proving to be even better results.

And this all happens with numerous conditions that greatly affect international trade – scarcity of raw materials, extremely complicated logistical and transport problems, lack of labor, high energy bills and an armed conflict in Europe, without ever forgetting the Covid-19 (still with significant effects in some countries). Now imagine the scenario of national exports without these associated problems!

10 key questions before taking the first steps in Internationalization

An Internationalization process is neither easy nor cheap since gaining trust requires time and investment. Therefore, we share 10 key questions that any company should ask before taking the first steps on this journey.

1. What are the motivations for starting to export (reactive vs proactive)?
2. Is my service/product exportable?
3. What barriers will I face (internal, partners, environment, etc.)?
4. How do I choose the market to export my products/services to?
5. What adaptations do I need to make (internal and external)?
6. How do I promote my products/services in international markets? What aspects do local customers value?
7. What is my USP – Unique Selling Proposition? How do I differentiate myself?
8. Do I have resources? And the ability/vision to “hold on” and wait for results?
9. How do I finance myself?
10. Who can help me?

Do you want to “take the leap” towards INTERNATIONALIZATION?
Know more here.

Portuguese exporting companies managed to rely on digital when necessary, but we are once again witnessing a return to personal contact, physical meetings, fairs, events, in-person business missions, among many other initiatives that guided the day-to-day life of international trade before the pandemic and which we miss so much.

This reinforces the well-founded idea that to be successful internationally we must necessarily have a well-defined strategy, effective planning and a robust investment capacity that allows us to be more competitive in international markets. Only in this way will we be better prepared for the countless contextual costs that exist and differ from market to market.

The importance of Portugal 2030

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has helped countless Portuguese exporting companies to do more business internationally, in a customized way that puts these same companies face to face with importers, distributors, partners and/or end customers. We enable our clients to save time, money and resources in the international business development process, in more than 90 different markets and as a result of a wide network of specialized consultants.

And these are also our various clients, from different sectors (metal mechanics, food, wines, textiles, footwear, IT, pharmaceuticals, among others), who have been successively asking us when new lines of financing will open to support internationalization. Financial incentives are a very important help for national SMEs, although we warn that they should serve, above all, as a means to implement an investment project aligned with the company's own strategy. Only in this way can they bring beneficial and sustainable results in the medium and long term.

We will therefore continue to wait for the new opening of applications, which we hope will be later this year, thus allowing Portuguese companies to have greater muscle when preparing their internationalization plans and, subsequently, approaching international markets. And, of course, counting as always on the support of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry!

Pedro Magalhães
International Relations Director
Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry