Sales Strategy
Top Market Entry Strategies for Expanding Into New Territories October 07, 2025 (0 comments)
Ottawa, Canada--Expanding into new markets is a path to sustainable growth. As noted in a Shopify article, a market entry strategy is a structured plan for selling products or services in new territories or to new customer segments. It covers market research, a clear, unique selling proposition, and the blueprint for selling, marketing, and distribution in the target market.
[Image via iStock.com/David Gyung]
The article also highlights that market expansion diversifies operations—reducing reliance on a single region or customer base.
Types of Market Entry Strategies
According to the article, businesses commonly use six approaches, each with distinct costs, risks, and operational implications:
- Exporting: Selling in a foreign market directly (e.g., via ecommerce) or indirectly through local distributors. Exporting often requires less upfront capital than acquisitions but demands robust production and logistics planning.
- Licensing: Granting another company rights to use your brand or IP for a fee. Works best for brands with strong recognition; the article cites examples, such as an apparel brand licensing its design language to a complementary product maker.
- Franchising: Allowing partners to replicate your business model locally with access to your resources and systems. This is scalable but requires strong training and support—and profits are shared.
- Acquisitions: Purchasing a local company to gain infrastructure, reputation, and expertise. Effective but capital-intensive.
- Joint Ventures: Partnering with local firms to share resources, risks, and profits. The article highlights that this typically lowers capital needs but also reduces margins.
- New Product Development: Building new offerings for an untapped audience; for example, a fitness-gear brand launching apparel to reach a broader market.
Building a Market Entry Strategy
The Shopify article outlines practical steps to implement a plan:
- Conduct market research: Utilize both primary and secondary research to evaluate customers, competitors, collaborators, company capabilities, and the broader context.
- Clarify your USP: Define how you stand out in the target market.
- Choose the market: Select a region or segment with clear growth potential and fit.
- Select the entry mode: Align exporting, licensing, franchising, acquisition, JV, or NPD, considering resources and access.
- Create a strategy document: Align teams and support financing; update using KPIs like CAC and acquisition rate as conditions change.
- Use software tools: The article notes that platforms like tools can centralize localization, payments, and cross-border operations.
- Develop localized marketing: Tailor channels and spend based on market behavior and product economics.
Risks and Considerations
- High entry costs: Expansion may necessitate investments in product development, production, or distribution. So budgeting carefully is essential.
- Regulatory & logistics complexity: Tariffs, customs, and duties can slow or raise costs. As noted in the article, tools like duty calculators within e-commerce platforms can be helpful, although setting them up still requires time.
- Insufficient research: Entering with limited data risks misjudging competition or demand; use rigorous research to avoid costly missteps.
Learn more in this article by Shopify.