Introduction
Export refers to selling goods that have been produced domestically to buyers who are in other countries. An exporter from Saudi Arabia, who is planning to sell incense to the Australian market, must first analyze the market conditions of the Australian market. This will give him a clear picture of the market. As a result, he will be able to determine its potential and how to capitalize on the opportunities.
Characteristics of the Australian Market
Geographical setting
In examining the geographical setting, the exporter will focus on the climate conditions and the surface transportation and communication. Australia has four climate seasons, which are explained as follows; spring, which comes between September and November. There is summer that lasts between September and February and autumn, which comes between March and May.
Lastly, there is winter, which is experienced between June and August. Spring and autumn are the months that Australia records a high number of tourists both local and international. Therefore, the exporter can capitalize on this to export incense to the country that will be used in entertainment joints.
The country has well developed transport and communication infrastructure. The country has 353, 331 miles of its roads paved, which include both inter-city and urban roads. This is a boost to the exporter as he will be able to transport his products to his customers in an efficient way. In addition, the country has 408 airports, of which 15 are international airports.
This will enable the exporter to meet his customer’s orders with speed. Communication is also very good. Most of Australians are able to use the internet; therefore, the exporter can receive orders from any part of the country and be able to deliver them without meeting physically with the client.
Social environment
Eighty five percent of the Australian population live in cities while rest who mainly consist of the Australian Aborigines live in the rural areas. The exporter can market to the population that lives in the cities through the major media like newspapers and television. Considering that, they are the largest segment the exporter is assured of reaching a relatively large number of the Australian population.
The customer can also design strategies to meet specifically the Aborigines’ needs, because they can be separated as a distinct segment. Therefore, it is possible to design products that meet their specific needs. The literacy standards in Australia are very high. On average, 70% of the population has a year five standard of education. This has both positive and negative impacts.
On the positive side, the exporter can easily advertise to this population through the English language, which is common to all literate people. On the negative side, the high literacy levels make the population to prefer products from the western countries as advocated by the celebrities they adore. Therefore, they are likely to reject products from Saudi Arabia.
The presence of Middle-eastern and Asian immigrants in Australia presents a favourable market for incense business in the country. Indians form a larger percentage of these migrants. Out of all immigrants from Asia, 77551 stated India as their birthplace. This is according to a census carried out in 1996 and the researchers projected that the number would grow by 3000 after every five years.
This presents a large market for incense, considering the fact that the product is highly used in India for different purposes. These include religious purposes such as temple cleansing and refreshing of homes.
Another factor about the Indian community about the Indian community that favours incense business is their drive towards entrepreneurship. Most of Asian immigrants have not been able to secure job opportunities in Australia due to the difference in educational systems.
Therefore, most of the Indian middle age people have ventured in to business. An exporter of incense in to Australia therefore, can partner with these potential entrepreneurs in promoting the business in the country. This means that the importer will have local distributors who understand the different uses of incense by the target market (Asian community). Hence, they will be ready to supply the product when needed.
Economic environment
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics of March 2010, there is a monthly employment rate of 9 percent, which is on a permanent basis. This means that a majority of employees in Australia have no need for job security, therefore, they can focus on meeting their secondary needs.
This is an opportunity for the incense business as the exporter can package his products to meet the secondary needs such as entertainment and leisure. Statistics also show that the Australian population spent over 140, 000 dollars on leisure activities in March 2010. This is a relatively high amount and acts as an opportunity for the exporter to position his products towards leisure activities.
Conclusion
From the analysis, it is evident that the Australian population presents a potential market for the incense export business. Most of the population has a high literacy level, which makes communication through the mainstream media easy and cheaper. There is adequate infrastructure in the transport and communication sector. This enhances the ordering of products by customers.
It also helps the exporter in efficient delivery as well as in advertising. However, some negative aspects that affect the export business are also present in the market. One among them is the high literacy levels of the population.
The literate population is highly influenced by the European culture; therefore, it will be difficult for the exporter to sell to them goods from the Arab world. In spite of this shortcoming, the exporter still stands a high chance of succeeding in the Australian market.
Bibliography
About Australia. Weather, Seasons and Climate in Australia. Web.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Statistics. Web.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year book, Australia, Issue 87. Canberra: Aust. Bureau of Statistics, 2005.
Dana, Leo, Paul. Handbook of research on international entrepreneurship. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006.
Department of Education, Science and Training. Literacy Standards in Australia. Web.
Jupp, James. The Australian people: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Lamb, Charles. W., Hair, Joseph F. and McDaniel, Carl. Jr. Essentials of Marketing. Mason, MA: Cengage Learning, 2008.