A few years back, a founder of a startup told me at a pitch event that ‘this product works in US / Europe very well, it will work in Asia’. Up to now, the startup is nowhere to be seen.
Well! What has been successful in one market is not a sure win in another. There are few things to consider when pushing out a product / service.
- Is the product / service being in demand?
- Is it being too new / innovative for the market? How much time and effort have to be spent on educating the consumers?
- Cultural-wise, will it be acceptable to the consumers? If not, how will you modify the product / service to suit the culture?
- Do you have good knowledge of the differences in the overseas markets vs the local market?
- Do you have the appropriate marketing tools to push out the product / service in your market?
- Are there competitors in the same market? If yes how would you differentiate yours from them?
Quite often, founders of many startups spot out products / services in other markets and they just try to push out similar things in their own markets. They are doomed to fail!