North America is considered to offer one of the world's largest markets for technology and services but there are several challenges that must be overcome in order to succeed. A failure usually costs a lot of money and affects the company's other resources which may take a long time to repair, so you have to be well prepared.

The "Check List" for future decisions may look as follows in an abbreviated version.

What business structure should be used?

• Where should an office be located? Is it less risky to go through a joint venture partnership with already established U.S. partners?

• If an operation is started, should you work with existing staff or new personnel with local knowledge? Who can help us with recruiting?

• Service and Support - Where and how should this be handled?

• Has the technology or service today the right licensing structure to be exported and eventually be able to sell to another party?

Where in North America?
Choosing the right geographical location for the establishment is difficult but extremely important. A recommendation is to comply with any partner or where competence exists, but to focus on the customer and offer local support is always the right thing.

Is the product - service ready for the North American market?
Documentation should be available in most languages. English for the American market, English/French for the Canadian market and Spanish for Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Is the product´s - service quality high enough?

Marketing Plan - Is it high quality?

• What are competing products - services like? How is our pricing compared with competitors and the new market?

• How is our product - service positioned against competitors?

• Is there a need on the market and what does it look like?

• Do we have the right customer references for this market? If not, perhaps we should start there?

Sales organization and support?
What is the sales process like? Should direct sales through own sales organizations be used or are dealers or distributors more appropriate?
How are consulting and training for the product offered?

Budget?
Is it large enough and can tolerate the deviations against the establishment and marketing plan?
The budget is usually the critical factor for success. A budget should allow for continuous error corrections and can be crucial for a successful establishment.

If "Time To Market" is a priority and considered important for the product launching, the budget can be the tool for achieving the objectives.

An establishment in North America requires solid preparatory work, a job that is difficult to implement without the right knowledge and experience from the new market. Investing in professional help and support is usually a good choice.

                                                                                     Cecilia Helland