Türkiye is characterised by its huge cultural diversity; European, Asian and Arab influences are visible everywhere. The urban areas in particular are modern and international: “The focus of many representatives of the Turkish business world is on Central Europe,” explains Suhail El Obeid, Türkiye expert at Switzerland Global Enterprise.
Despite the European orientation, it is important to have a good business partner by your side; one who can take care of sales, service, marketing and competition monitoring, is familiar with local conditions and regulations, cultivates relations in the country and speaks the local language. While younger business people in the cities have no problem with English and often even German, older CEOs of Turkish companies in particular often don’t speak any foreign languages.
Avoiding unwelcome surprises thanks to business know-how
To work successfully with a Turkish business partner, you need to know them well, especially their skills. Being able to assess each other's skills can help avoid unpleasant surprises. What exactly can the partner do and what is their network like? Swiss exporters would also be wise to know the market well, and in particular the conditions in the sector concerned. This includes comprehensive knowledge of the laws and regulations. This is important in order to be able to cultivate the market at eye level with the business partner.
In principle, the following Dos + Don'ts apply for any cooperation with a business partner:
Dos:
- Conclude clear contracts to ensure that you are on the safe side from a legal perspective. SMEs must apply for any patents and protect themselves against imitations. Imitation goods can be a problem in Turkey.
- Manage firmly in a positive sense Pride plays an important role in Turkish business, and the more you talk to each other, the better you will be able to get through crises.
- Spend time in Turkey, visit customers with your partner, cultivate your relationships. This helps avoid misunderstandings and makes the business relationship more resilient.
- Understand the difficulties a business partner faces, listen to them and engage in the business relationship. Mutual trust pays off, especially in Corona times, when travelling is virtually impossible.
Don’ts:
- Poor preparation before starting to look for a possible partner rarely leads to success. Suhail El Obeid recommends investing sufficient time in research before starting the search. Anyone who is not familiar with the conditions and regulations is too much at the mercy of the local partner. The better you prepare, the better the choice of business partner, because you will be able to ask more specific questions and are better able to assess the answers.
- Do not look for partners who are seeking a quick profit. Building long-term and sustainable business relationships is definitely worthwhile.
Where and how to search
Suhail El Obeid knows that it is not always easy to find the right Turkish customer and business partner. But in his opinion, trade fairs offer good opportunities for this. While this involves considerable time and expense, exporters can meet industry specialists at trade fairs, which is an excellent opportunity to make contacts.
Switzerland Global Enterprise also offers comprehensive assistance in finding the right business partner. “We assist in the search for a distributor, sales agent, supplier or end customer and in networking with them,” says Suhail El Obeid. “We also check how reliable the potential partner is. To this end, we work closely with the Swiss Business Hub, our branch office in Türkiye.”
As personal contact is limited due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions and will probably remain so for a while, S-GE now offers the option to ‘lease’ a local export manager in Türkiye on a temporary basis. He can perform all the activities, such as market and competition analyses, on-site customer visits, visit trade fairs and of course report regularly to the Swiss client. This enables a gradual yet operational entry, while keeping effort and costs manageable. If required, such a temporary export manager can also be taken on as a permanent employee on a long-term basis.
Further information on finding business partners with S-GE
Your own branch in Türkiye?
Whether or not it makes sense to establish your own branch depends on the SME’s goals. In Suhail El Obeid's experience, a two-phase strategy is often the best approach:
Phase 1: Companies concentrate purely on exporting and look for a distributor for this purpose.
Phase 2: If the export business has been successful over the years and the business has grown, the next step is to decide whether the company needs its own staff on site. In this phase, for example, it is important to ensure exclusivity, because in most cases a distributor will represent several brands.
According to Suhail El Obeid, setting up your own branch is quick and easy. However, whether it's a local business partner or a branch of your own, whatever approach an SME chooses, for the Turkey expert one thing is certain: “Anyone wishing to cultivate the major European markets, will have to turn their sights to Turkey sooner or later.”
