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place service at the forefront of the criteria they evaluate when deciding whether to purchasegoods or services.All foreign markets are sophisticated, and each has its own expectations of suppliers and vendors.U.S. manufacturers or distributors must ensure that their service performance is comparable tothat of the predominant competitors in the market. This level of performance is an importantdeterminant in ensuring a competitive position, especially if the other factors of product quality,price, promotion, and delivery appeal to the buyer.You may decide, as part of your exporting strategy, not to provide after-sales service. Yourcompany may determine that its export objective is the single or multiple opportunistic entriesinto export markets. Although this approach may work in the short term, a buyer who recallsyour failure to provide expected levels of service will be less likely to respond favorably tosubsequent product offerings. As a result, for any such buyer, your market development and salesexpenditures may produce only one-time sales.Reviewing Service Delivery OptionsService is an important factor in the initial export sale and ongoing success ofproducts in foreign markets. Your company has many options for the deliveryof service to foreign buyers.Requiring the Buyer to Return the ProductBuild trust with yourlocal partners and lettheir service handlelocal issues. You’llsave time and money.A high-cost option—and the most inconvenient for the foreign retail,wholesale, commercial, or industrial buyer—is for the product to be returnedto the manufacturing or distribution facility in the United States for service or repair. The buyerincurs a high cost and loses the use of the product for an extended period, while you must absorbthe export cost of the same product a second time when you return it. Fortunately, there arepractical, cost-effective alternatives.Using a Local PartnerFor goods sold at retail outlets, a preferred service option is to identify and use local servicefacilities. Although this approach requires up-front expenses to identify and train the staff forlocal service outlets, the costs are more than repaid in the long run.Exporting a product into commercial or industrial markets may dictate a different approach. Forthe many U.S. companies that sell through distributors, selection of a representative to servea region, a nation, or a market should be based not only on the distributing company’s abilityto sell effectively but also on its ability and willingness to service the product. Assessing abilityto provide service requires that you ask questions about existingservice facilities; about the types, models, and age of existing serviceequipment; about training practices for service personnel; and aboutthe company’s experience in servicing similar products.If the selected export distribution channel is a joint venture or otherpartnership arrangement, the overseas partner may have a serviceor repair capability in the markets to be penetrated. Your company’sFind out what your partner(s)can already do locally. It maysave you time and money.Chapter 17: Selling Overseas & After-Sales Service197