Before aiming to expand exports to overseas markets, many people say, “I want to do some test marketing first to see what kind of products are in demand in the destination countries.
On the other hand, there are also many people who, once they actually begin to consider it, “don’t know what method is best after all.
Singapore is said to be one of the easiest countries in the world to export to due to its low logistics and tariffs, so it is an easy country to try for your first overseas expansion.
Based on our knowledge and experience of supporting Japanese companies’ marketing in Singapore for more than 14 years, we have summarized the contents and merits of test marketing techniques that can be implemented in the Singapore market.
We have also provided information on what methods are suitable for whom, so if you are considering expanding into the Singapore market or developing your business in the Asian market, please take a look at this article for reference.
Four Methods of Overseas Test Marketing
There are four main methods of test marketing in Singapore.
- “Event Stalls” at events and fairs
- “In-store sales” at major department stores and retailers
- “E-commerce sales” in cooperation with online retailers
- “Pop-ups” in shopping mall event spaces, etc.
By conducting test marketing for a certain period of time using these methods, the following points can be verified.
- Whether the products you want to sell actually sell
- Whether there is a need in the Singapore market
- Are there any improvements that can be made to the sales process?
The method you choose will depend on your objectives, budget, and product target. Please refer to the following chapters for more information on each method and its advantages.
In addition to the methods listed above, you can also conduct research using “online surveys” or other methods before test marketing, but you will never know until you actually sell the product.
In fact, in some of the projects we have worked on, unexpected items often sell well in the field.
In addition, although test marketing can be done on social networking sites and online these days, it is impossible to know what kind of people are interested in a product or what kind of issues they face in their daily lives until you actually talk to consumers in real life.
For this reason, we recommend that you consider test marketing methods in advance, and then work strategically in this order: Make plans for overseas expansion based on the results of actual test marketing.
1. Event 0penings at Events and Fairs
Event stalls are overseas stalls at local events and fairs that are held regularly or irregularly.
This is recommended for businesses that wish to open a stall at a popular event in Singapore and sell to a large number of people in a few days.
Also, if you are unable to convey the use and value of your products unless people actually try them on their hands, opening a stall at an event is also recommended.
In general, you can participate in an event by contacting the event organizer and paying a fee.
Depending on the event, you may need to decorate your own stall, arrange for sales staff, and manage the storage of your products.
The advantages of “opening a stall at an event” are as follows.
- The organizer of the event will attract customers.
- Preparation is relatively easy.
- You can get feedback directly from consumers.
The organizer of the event will attract customers
One of the benefits of participating in an event is that the event organizer will attract customers, so you can concentrate on selling.
In Singapore, Takashimaya and Isetan frequently hold fairs on Japanese foods and services.
If you can participate in such well-known shopping mall fairs, you will have no trouble attracting customers because you already have a customer base.
Preparation is relatively easy
If you want to minimize preparations, you can sell your products as long as they are ready.
On the other hand, preparation in terms of decorations and arranging promoters is very important to attract customers.
Preparation is simpler because you do not have to prepare everything yourself from scratch.
Direct feedback from consumers
Since you can introduce your products to visitors at the booth and offer tastings and food samples, you can get reactions and feedback from visitors on the spot.
This allows you to get a concrete picture of whether there is actually a need for your products, what people are interested in about your products, and what needs to be improved.
In the projects we have supported, we have actually interviewed customers to find out what they are looking for and asked them what they think about the pricing.
This is a very meaningful opportunity to hear directly from visitors about the reasons why unexpected items sell well or, conversely, unexpectedly do not sell well.
For example, if the packaging of your products is not easy to understand or does not catch the eye in the first place, you will be able to find areas for improvement and take countermeasures before entering the market.
If you open a booth at a trade show with a proper focus on actually “interacting with visitors” on the real sales floor, you will be able to find hints for future overseas expansion.
Points to consider when selecting an event
- Whether or not you can sell to the appropriate target audience.
- Whether the organizer can properly attract customers to the event.
These points are one of the criteria for selection.
In particular, the age group and gender of visitors and what they are looking for differ from event to event.
It is recommended that you select an event after sorting out what kind of customers your company’s products are intended for.
The extent to which the organizer conducts marketing activities to attract customers is also a deciding factor when considering opening a booth.
If the number of visitors to the event is low, it will be difficult to measure the success of your test marketing efforts.
To get feedback from as many people as possible, check the ability of the organizer to attract visitors.
2. Over-the-Counter Sales at Retail Stores
OTC sales refers to the test marketing of products by displaying them in existing retail stores in Singapore for a certain period of time.
The “over-the-counter” sales method can be implemented by paying a fee to rent a display space and paying a portion of the sales to the retailer.
This is recommended for businesses that can take time to prepare, as it is necessary to start coordinating with retailers as early as possible.
If the retailer is able to purchase goods from Japan, you can also have the retailer purchase goods from Japan through their logistics.
The following are some of the advantages of “over-the-counter” sales.
- The retailer will attract customers.
- You get feedback directly from consumers.
- You can make your products stand out.
Retail stores will attract customers
The advantage of test selling at retail stores is the same as opening a booth at a trade show: retail stores attract customers and regular customers, so you can concentrate on selling your products.
Test marketing at retail stores that carry Japanese foods and products is an appropriate sales channel for test marketing, as customers will also come looking for Japanese products.
Direct feedback from consumers
As with event stalls, you can stand in the store and introduce your products to visitors, allowing them to taste and sample your products, and you can get reactions and feedback from them on the spot.
This allows us to get a concrete picture of whether there is actually a need for our products, what people are interested in about our products, and what improvements we can make.
In the projects we have supported, we have actually interviewed customers to find out what they are looking for and asked them what they think about the pricing.
This is a very meaningful opportunity to hear directly from visitors about the reasons why unexpected items sell well or, conversely, unexpectedly do not sell well.
For example, if the packaging of your products is not easy to understand or does not catch the eye in the first place, you will be able to find areas for improvement and take countermeasures before entering the market.
If you conduct in-store sales with a proper mindset of actually “interacting with visitors” on a real sales floor, you will be able to find hints for implementing future overseas expansion.
Make your products stand out
At the event, several stalls sell new products.
On the other hand, test marketing at retailers can be done by setting up a special sales section in the form of an “X Prefecture Fair,” which allows a municipality to highlight products from its own prefecture.
By coordinating marketing plans with retailers, you can also expose your own products and the products of your prefecture in stores and on social networking sites.
How to choose a retailer
Some retailers are local, some specialize in Japanese food products, and some have different store sizes.
Based on our experience in supporting test marketing at both local and Japanese retailers, we recommend that you work with a Japanese retailer for test marketing.
This is because local retailers are used by local people on a daily basis, and while they are certainly superior in attracting customers and sales, it is very difficult to prepare for a test marketing section.
In the case of Japanese-affiliated retailers/retailers specializing in Japanese food products, the target customers are those who are looking for Japanese food products, so they tend to be more receptive to new Japanese products and interested in them.
Also, since the selling price of Japanese food products is inevitably higher than that of relatively local food products, Japanese-affiliated/specialty Japanese food retailers are more likely to be purchased than local retailers, which are more likely to reach the customer base that comes to purchase Japanese food products.
When test marketing Japanese products in Singapore retail stores, it is recommended to choose Japanese-affiliated retail stores that specialize in Japanese food products.
3. EC Sales in Collaboration with Online Retailers
In EC sales, test marketing will be done on EC in cooperation with Singaporean e-commerce operators.
If the e-commerce business is able to purchase products from Japan, the products can be purchased from Japan through the e-commerce business’s logistics.
This is recommended for businesses that have already experienced test marketing at events, retail stores, and other sites.
The reason for this is that the location and travel expenses incurred when opening an event or pop-up store can be utilized for e-commerce marketing expenses and create a ripple effect on the Internet.
Specifically, we will encourage sales by implementing mechanisms such as setting up a special page on the e-commerce site, issuing discount codes during the period, etc.
In the case of test marketing through EC sales, it is difficult to sell all the desired products, so a list of products to be sold is provided to the EC operator, who then selects the products that are likely to be sold.
The following are some of the advantages of test marketing for “e-commerce sales”:
- Online sales promotion with e-commerce businesses is possible, and results can be confirmed numerically.
- You can tell the story of your producers and products.
- Ride the wave of online sales that will continue to grow in the future.
You can promote sales online with EC businesses and check the results numerically
Depending on the policy of the EC business, EC sales can even verify how many people visit the product page and how many are connected to the sale, making it easier to measure results numerically than with other prototypes.
In addition, since EC businesses manage customer data, they can send newsletters, special coupons, and other direct marketing activities to potential customers by sending newsletters to their customers.
In addition to this, e-commerce sales can also encourage the purchase of products through influencers and media.
In Singapore, Instagram influencers in particular and live commerce (instant sales) on Facebook Live are very popular, and foodies, or “foodists,” who specialize in food, have celebrity-like influence in the domestic market.
E-commerce sales is also a very compatible promotional method** with the Singapore market, where online services are generally used by a wide range of generations and influencers are highly influential, so if you are interested, please refer to the following article and consider it.
You can transmit the stories of producers and products
Japanese food is already very popular in Singapore, and there is an environment in which Japanese ingredients are available in all kinds of places.
However, it is not always easy to convey the producer’s thoughts and the background of the product offline, such as in stores.
In e-commerce sales, by setting up a special page or embedding a PR video prepared in advance, it is possible to transmit information on the introduction of your prefecture, your brand, and the story of your producers in a way that is attractive in terms of both quality and quantity.
Since the producer’s thoughts and the background behind the product are value-added, if the advantage of being able to publicize and spread information on the Internet through EC sales can be utilized, the business can be implemented not only for product sales, but also as a branding and PR initiative.
Ride the wave of online sales that will continue to expand
The amount of online shopping transactions in Singapore is increasing every year, and test marketing on e-commerce sites is expected to increase more and more.
Since many EC users are relatively young, EC sales have the advantage of being able to sell to a customer base that does not come to stores.
In addition, considering the future potential of online shopping, which is expanding in Singapore, we recommend that you accumulate the data necessary to further expand your company’s products into overseas markets.
4. Pop-Ups at Shopping Mall Event Spaces
In a pop-up, test marketing is done by renting an event space in a shopping mall and selling the products for a limited period of time.
This is recommended if you have a sufficient budget, if you want to ensure your company’s branding, if you want to implement a free plan, or if you expect to attract enough customers with your company’s brand power.
The appeal of this service is that you can create and brand your own original pop-up booth in your own company or in your own prefecture.
On the other hand, it tends to be more expensive than other methods because it involves venue rental and booth production, which are the most costly.
Rent an event space at a shopping mall or other location for a certain period of time to sell your products.
It may be rented for a weekend only or for a week. If you can pop up in a location with a lot of shoppers, you can promote your products to passersby.
On the other hand, if you are in a less crowded location, be careful, as you will not be able to attract enough customers to generate results unless you have a strong brand and the money to invest in marketing.
The advantages of test marketing with “pop-ups” include the following.
- Able to create your own branding with a high degree of freedom
- You can get direct consumer feedback.
You can create your own branding with a high degree of freedom
Since you can create a stand-alone, original sales booth, you have the advantage of having your own branding.
Since everything can be planned from scratch, you can freely create everything from booth design and decoration to display methods and tasting/tasting ideas.
In fact, it is common to see well-known cosmetic brands and new food brands holding pop-up events at shopping malls in Singapore to raise awareness, promote trials, and conduct sales activities.
Even if it costs some budget, pop-up test marketing is a great way to implement branding-focused initiatives.
Get feedback directly from consumers
As with event stalls and in-store sales, you can stand in the store and introduce your products to visitors, allowing them to taste and sample your products, and you can get reactions and feedback from them on the spot.
This is an opportunity to find out if your products are acceptable in Singapore.
Conclusion
Test marketing is the first step for your first overseas expansion. It is most important to use what you learn from the test marketing as material for future overseas expansion and to make plans for the future.
Also, while test marketing can be done by anyone, hiring your own overseas sales staff and a marketing budget are essential investments for starting an overseas expansion.
Singapore is no different in that it is a highly competitive market with low barriers to entry, so we urge you to take on this challenge with the determination to make a long-term commitment.