Using crowdfunding to test the market in Australia following Brexit
For many UK businesses looking to grow, expansion overseas is often the obvious next step.
Whilst in the past Europe may have been seen as the place to explore, following Brexit many companies are looking further afield.
It is clear to see why Australia is often regarded as a preferred choice of location by Uk companies looking to start their international journey.
Australia is the fifth largest economy in the Asia-Pacific region, and the 13th largest economy in the world.
It has had 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth and a GDP per capita (at current exchange rates) making Australian citizens among the world’s top 5 wealthiest.
ReadyFundGo – helping British companies test the Australian market place
Australia has always been a favoured destination for tech companies looking to test new products and ideas before moving forward with a full-scale launch in other core markets.
For instance, Australia is the country Elon Musk picked first to display and commercialise the Tesla Powerwall, and where the Citigroup chose to experiment its digital banking tools.
One way to test the market at a relatively low cost is through working with the crowdfunding platform, such as ReadyFundGo. ReadyFundGo is an Australian crowdfunding platform for business, helping start-ups get off the ground and existing businesses grow.
So, what makes Australia such a sweet spot for organisations looking to create a market presence or as a location to test a product before going to the US?
1. The same Commonwealth roots and similar consumer profiles
Using Australia as a test market for international expansion plans is a good starting point as customers are likely to be similar. Whilst there are cultural differences between two or more Commonwealth countries, in many respects, Australians are a good proxy.
If a product has worked well with British consumers then there is a reasonably good chance that it will gain acceptance in Australia. For companies testing a new product Australia is a good proxy for the US market too.
Australia can be a particularly good place to look to expand outside the UK. For instance if you are producing sporting and leisure equipment or goods, Aussie’s love for sport and the outdoors is a great market to explore.
Australia shares the same language, enjoys both a stable economic environment and reliable infrastructure. It has a comparable GDP per capita, and, most importantly, the population are open to innovation and trying new products.
As such, Australians can make fantastic early adopters of crowdfunded projects, be a source of invaluable insight and help predict whether new ideas have the potential to be successful elsewhere.
2. Low upfront cost with a reward-based crowdfunding campaign
Setting up a reward-based crowdfunding campaign with Australian crowdfunding website, ReadyFundGo, is a straightforward and inexpensive exercise.
You need to do some preparation and submit your project for review by advisors. You will need some marketing budget to reach your target audience but the team will help you follow the best practice and get ready for your launch to test the market.
There is clearly work involved in creating your campaign and identifying and building your target audience but it is still far easier and cheaper than making several trips to scope out the landscape, creating a rep office, developing distribution channels and begin production only to find that there is not a market for your product.
Instead, a relatively cheap test can be undertaken through ReadyFundGo’s reward-based crowdfunding platform in order to assess if further investment is justified.
3. Customer feedback with low-risk
Launching test crowdfunding campaigns abroad is an excellent way for entrepreneurs to receive feedback from early adopters and assess product-market fit without risking to damage their reputation.
Contact the ReadyFundGo team info@readyfundgo.com to learn more about the benefits of launching a crowdfunding campaign to test your idea or prototype in Australia.
We can help you at each step of the way to gather relevant consumer insights and take your venture to the next level.
