Are you considering expanding your foreign business to the Dutch market? Make sure you are thoroughly prepared! The first important step is to draw up a sound business plan, in which market analysis plays a crucial role.
Is the Dutch market a good match for your company and strategy?
Is there demand for your product or service?
And what about the competition?
In this article, our Business Advisory specialists discuss the six pillars involved in drawing up a good business plan and how we can help you with this process.
What is a business plan?
Your business plan forms the basis for how you structure your company. This might be a completely new company but could also involve expanding existing activities or rolling out new products and services.
A sound business plan is even more important when you expand across the border. Your new market may differ in crucial ways from the market in which you already operate. For example, cultural differences, market differences and local regulations may affect your strategic plans.
An advisor with local knowledge is indispensable, as they can provide you with insight into these points of attention. The Baker Tilly Business Advisory experts would be happy to help you draw up your business plan based on the following six pillars.
1. Market research
When you enter a new (geographical) market, it is prudent to conduct market research. We analyse the market for you and demonstrate demand for your products or services, which also ensures you know how to boost and improve this demand.
On top of this, our advisors examine local regulations and other factors that may affect your business activities and operations. It is essential to have a clear picture of local conditions and cultural or market differences in advance.
Finally, we perform a competition analysis. This is an important component of market research: it helps you to obtain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.
2. Strategy development
Once the market research has been done, we help you to formulate clear objectives and define your strategy. This strategy may differ according to region, depending on the results of the market research. A local advisor such as Baker Tilly is especially useful for discussing whether your products require local adjustment.
A so-called SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis can be a useful tool when determining your strategy. An added benefit of this method is that it lends itself well to being used again at a later date, enabling you to adapt in line with the growth of the Dutch company and keep a close eye on (new) strengths and weaknesses even after drawing up your business plan.
Using a portfolio analysis, we also map those activities in your existing (foreign) company that could contribute to synergy. This might include back-office services that can be organised centrally, for example.
3. Financial planning
Financial planning involves making a detailed estimate of costs based on local conditions. This might include costs such as (further) market research, legal expenses, distribution costs and operating expenses.
Your tax position must also be considered and we help you clearly envisage your financing options (and their implications). Examples include loans, investors or subsidies.
4. Personnel
We inventory the labour market in your sector for you and discuss whether this will impact your HR strategy. Employees in the Netherlands occupy a strong legal position and it is therefore sensible to include a clear HR policy in your business plan.
For example, you will need to decide whether to recruit new employees in the Netherlands or post employees from your foreign company to the Netherlands (temporarily or otherwise). A combination is of course also possible. On top of this you need to bear in mind your position as an employer, whether you can benefit from any favourable tax regimes, for instance for foreign personnel, and your local compliance obligations.
Your decisions have a variety of legal and tax implications and you will need to consider these when developing your plans. Our colleagues at Baker Tilly Employment Advisory would be happy to discuss these aspects with you.
5. Risk management
A business plan also focuses on potential risks, such as exchange rate fluctuations, political instability and market volatility. Both the new Dutch company and your existing foreign company play a role here. We help you to develop plans for managing these risks.
You will also need to manage your administrative and process risks. Our colleagues, such as those at Baker Tilly IT Advisory are ready to help you with this.
6. Monitoring and evaluation
It is important to set clear goals from the start. Unambiguous KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) enable you to monitor right from the word go whether you are accomplishing your goals and whether your strategy or processes require adjustment. Keep a close eye on changing market conditions too and make modifications where necessary.
Increase your chance of success with a sound business plan
The priority is to achieve your company’s objectives and this requires making the right strategic and tactical decisions, seizing opportunities, being able to oversee risks and setting up processes efficiently and effectively. Baker Tilly Business Advisory consultants are able to examine these issues thoroughly and use their analysis to provide you with the right advice and, subsequently, ensure it is implemented and embedded correctly.
Expanding a company or going international is a challenging process. Thorough preparation and a sound business plan increase your chance of success when expanding your company internationally. Our experienced experts can give you a comprehensive picture of everything involved in doing business abroad. In addition, Baker Tilly can provide a full range of services to help your company grow in the Netherlands.
Contact
If you would like to learn more about doing business in the Netherlands, drawing up a business plan or the services Baker Tilly offers, don’t hesitate to contact us!
The legislation and regulations in this area may be subject to change. We recommend that you discuss the potential impact of this with your Baker Tilly advisor.
