This article hypothesizes that, on average, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) that use a systematic methodology in selecting foreign target markets (what we call systematic market selection) perform better than SMEs using an ad hoc international market selection methodology. Using a sample of Greek exporting firms, we found that systematic international market selection is a significant determinant of export performance, even when controlling for decision‐maker and firm‐specific characteristics previous studies found to be related to export success. Implications for managers, trade promotion agencies, and future research are discussed.