01 / International market development
A route into South Korea.
Built around the customer.
A new market changes the product, the economics and the work behind the sale. I brought those decisions into one market-entry programme for a US creative-products business.
Readiness before reach.
The opportunity
An export plan was not a market strategy.
The venture had a developed creative-products range and an ambition to reach South Korean customers. The first proposal was a broad launch across retail and direct sales. It assumed the product’s appeal would travel more easily than the work required to support it.
I reframed the brief around a narrower decision: which customer, channel and service model would make a first launch worth repeating? I owned the programme across local discovery, partner development, product evaluation and operational readiness.
A deliberate choice
Start with a setting where the product could be understood.
Rather than compete immediately for online attention, I developed a retail-led pilot with design-focused partners. Customers could experience the materials, ease of use and creative possibilities in person. The partner could explain the collection, observe objections and return useful feedback.
I built a partner scorecard around audience fit, demonstration quality, service capability and a viable margin. A large contact list became a focused set of relationships with a clear reason to work together.
Product fit
Assess the experience in local homes and stores, including instructions, packaging and after-sales expectations.
Partner economics
Define demonstration support, margin and replenishment before discussing a wider rollout.
Operational ownership
Agree who handles customer questions, returns and feedback. Make the service credible before scaling demand.
From strategy to programme
A pilot with decisions built in.
Each stage had a clear question, an accountable owner and a basis for deciding whether to continue.
Is the product right for this customer?
Use store conversations and hands-on product sessions to test the proposition, price expectations and service requirements before committing to a channel.
Commercial responsibility
Keep enthusiasm connected to a viable operation.
I coordinated a shared launch-readiness review covering assortment, product documentation, partner training, stock commitments and customer support. Commercial discussions could then address real obligations, rather than rely on a compelling presentation.
The work gave the leadership team a basis for choosing a bounded retail pilot over an expensive broad launch. It also created a repeatable partner brief, so the next conversation started with a clearer proposition.
What changed
A first market the business could learn from.
The initial expansion idea became a staged programme with a defined customer, partner model and operating responsibilities. The next investment decision could be made against explicit learning, rather than the size of the opportunity alone.
- A retail-led pilot instead of an undifferentiated national launch.
- A partner scorecard and commercial framework.
- Clear ownership of service, feedback and launch readiness.