Benefits and Resources for Canadian Businesses Interested in Global Expansion

Small businesses in Canada employ 90% of the private sector workforce, make up roughly 97.9% of all Canadian businesses, and highlight the importance of culture and community through their existence in neighbourhoods across the country. While small businesses are truly the backbone of the Canadian economy, so few of them consider business expansion as a feasible option.

In Canada, fewer than 10% of small and medium-sized businesses export into new global markets, but those that do are more likely to develop a longstanding economic status. 

While small business owners are typically experts when it comes to their local customers, they are hesitant and less informed about the potential of expanding into new markets. Whether that’s due to a lack of information about processes, trends, cultures, or government funding options for exporting their product and/or services to other countries, there has been a shortage of support to help businesses take advantage of conquering new markets.

Benefits of Business Expansion into New Global Markets

Perhaps many small Canadian business owners assess the time, resources, and capital required to expand into new markets to be too much effort. Therefore, they may dismiss exporting into new markets as too risky if they feel uncertain about their return on investment (ROI). So, what are the benefits of exporting to new markets and how can a business find helpful resources to feel risk-free in pursuing a business expansion strategy?

Developing a business growth plan that includes expanding into new markets is a great step towards sustainable and achievable ongoing success.

Business Growth Benefits of Global Expansion Include:

• Entry into new markets: With access to new markets, a Canadian business has the potential to build and extend on their existing customer base.
• Access to local talent in new countries: Sometimes, skilled talent can be hard to find in certain Canadian sectors; expanding into new markets gives a business access to a fresh pool of potential workers with unique skill sets.
• Increased economic business growth: One of the main advantages of global expansion is an increase in business growth because entering a product and/or service into new countries creates space for a more rapid revenue surge.
• Staying ahead of industry competitors: Global expansion to new markets allows a business to access new customers and visibility that industry competitors may not have reached yet, or ever, and therefore provides a benefit of staying one step ahead.

Google’s Market Finder Tool for Global Expansion Research

To feel confident about creating a global business expansion plan, there are tools such as Google’s Market Finder that support Canadian businesses in identifying the top markets for exporting their products and/or services, suggesting the right digital marketing solutions, and assessing valuable metrics and statistics about a business’ specific needs.

This tool is a great example of a free platform that helps Canadian businesses build a global expansion plan by offering analytics, guides, videos, data, and tips that can make it easy for companies to assess their opportunities to reach out into new markets.

“This new tool aligns with Export Development Canada’s efforts to help Canadian innovators connect with markets presenting the best opportunities for them.”
– Carl Burlock, Executive Vice-President and Chief Business Officer at EDC.

Google’s Free Market Finder Tool: https://marketfinder.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en_ca/

Government Funding for Business Expansion

If you’ve assessed your business expansion opportunities and are interested in how government funding could help you export your products and/or services into new markets, please contact the Mentor Works team. We can help your business evaluate whether your project is a good fit for export grants and align your strategy to available grants and/or loans.

To learn more about global expansion strategies to build a strong business growth plan, download our free Canadian Guide to Export Expansion white paper for insights on trade statistics, market data, exporting news, and more.