How To Find International Buyers For Export Business
You’ve probably wondered how to find buyers for your products since you started your export business and you have products ready for shipment.
Suppose you have chosen the export market for your products so far. Your search efforts to buy buyers – largely – will determine your target market and consumers. In some markets it is possible to use digital marketing resources, while many markets require a bit of personal touch.
In theory, it would be easiest to have a loyal clientele to start with, or to have an export product that is so good that it will sell itself. For many new companies on the market it is a big challenge, sometimes even impossible to achieve. So how do you search for international buyers?
Let’s take a closer look at these possible ways to find foreign buyers:
1. Business-to-Business (B2B) and buyer-seller platforms
A multitude of sellers use business-to-business (B2B) and buyer-seller platforms. A great way is to register on these platforms and include a link to your website-domain in your profile. It’s an effective way to become visible to a wide customer base. These platforms attract millions of buyers and sellers. One of them is Alibaba, which is the third largest retailer in the world after Walmart and Amazon. The platforms to choose from are Global Sources, DHgate, Alibaba, Tradewheel, iOffer. And there are also many Indian B2B companies that match exporters with buyers such as Indiamart, TradeIndia and more.
2. Lead nurturing and lead generation campaigns
Lead nurturing is the process of building strong relationships with individual customers with the intention of turning them into loyal paying customers. And generating leads is the process of gaining the interest of potential customers. A potential customer will be anyone who shows an interest in the company’s products or services, but may not yet be eligible for a purchase. These tactics also mean making every effort in the area of customer service, information and value. The most effective way to do such lead campaigns is to prepare a sequence for nurturing email marketing. This tactic will be advantageous and convenient because it can be easily automated and can be added to client-specific paths. You will be able to provide your customers and future customers with the best value. The data you collect from email marketing will help you plan the content of the message and future campaigns you want to set up.
3. Attractive and professional website for your business
To get started with investments in techniques such as search engine marketing, you need to build an attractive and professional website for your business and online store (if you operate a diverse range of products). The website is easier to present and share in many internet spaces. It will be your showcase presenting the range of available goods. Having a web domain opens up a lot of possibilities, including the use of Google Ads tools. We will write about it in more detail in the following sections.
4. Your clients in off time
A proven tactic for finding new customers and working on the market for years is to determine where they go in their leisure time. Including identifying the most effective ways to reach these customers when they are in this space without disturbing their relaxation time. In the case of physical locations, i.e. cafes, events, etc., you have the option of placing promotional materials (leaflets, posters). This can increase your reach.
When potential customers spend their free time online, the key will be to display targeted ads on sites they visit frequently. In order for this strategy to be effective, you need to understand your target group well (who they are, what they like to do) and learn about and apply the promotional techniques to which the group reacts.
5. Social media strategy
Developing a social media strategy will be crucial to developing your brand recognition. Many companies use the platforms such as Linkedin, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Facebook etc. They are widely used to build the company’s credibility and presence on the web. The list of platforms is long – so how do you choose the right ones? Clearly define the purpose of your social media activities and decide which channel of communication best suits your needs. One of the best options for finding people to buy your products and services, especially if you run a B2B company, is Linkedin. People are very active there and you can easily contact them.
6. Email marketing
Creating a newsletter as email marketing is also one of the best ways to get more customers. It works by sending promotional codes, newsletters, sales promotions or tailored offers to a potential customer via e-mail. This proves to be a very effective method and has a better chance of gaining attention than a quickly reviewed social media post. Customers engage the most with content that appears to be directly relevant to them. Therefore, the best email conversions come from personalized and segmented email funnels.
7. Create video content
The form of promotion through the film adds elements of originality, creativity and message for people who do not like or cannot read. Adding an appropriate background sound also generates remembering your content for longer. This form of communication takes the mundane and boredom of content that requires reading and can entice a wider audience. Audio description of films is extremely important, often companies add subtitles to the videos so that deaf people can watch the video but also read what content is in it if there are dialogues or sounds.
8. Partnership – complementary businesses
Complementary brands often choose a collaborative program to pursue new business. In this case, it’s about picking brands that have a similar customer base to yours, but don’t compete directly with you. Such partner programs are good ways to expand the group of people buying products or choosing your services. In buyers database prepared by datantify you will find over 100 m companies (with active emails, phone numbers and more) with which you can establish contacts and sell your product.
9. Influencer marketing
Think about the persona of the buyers of your products, what they need and what services they are interested in. Creating such an outline of the customer’s character allows you to define the target group more precisely, and then find the right influencers who deal with content that matches your product, brand or services.
Influencers will be tasked with encouraging purchase with discount codes and promoting your products. It is also important not to omit and share the content of influencers on your website and in social media, so that they know that it is a proven and trustworthy promotional campaign.
10. Leverage customer reviews
You will develop faster when you get more clients. To build trust in your brand, you need reviews and good opinions from customers satisfied with the product. Happy customers will attract new customers, so ask your existing customers to leave a review. Leveraging them on the site in the product reviews section is one of the best ways to find new buyers. Add these opinions and reviews on your social media pages as well. They have a great influence on the purchasing decisions of subsequent consumers. It will also build credibility for your business and leave feedback giving you the opportunity to improve and improve your services.
11. SEO
Another effective and used method in acquiring customers is maximizing your SEO efforts. In a highly competitive business environment, search engine optimization comes first. Search Engine Optimization as a method will not only help increase the visibility of your business, but it is a powerful way to reach consumers. Including relevant keywords and SEO activities on your domain will greatly contribute to increasing traffic to your website. More traffic equals more sales. Usually, the beginning of activities in this area is to create a list of keywords that potential customers in the search engine space use when searching for products. Based on the set of these words, prepare valuable content optimized for SEO. This content will rank according to these keywords. You can also use Google Ads to create ads that contain these keywords.
12. Trade fairs and exhibitions (networking and events)
Exhibitions and trade fairs are an ideal space for networking and building contacts with customers. This gives you the opportunity to interact with foreign buyers visiting your exhibition and other export and import companies. Such fairs and exhibitions are organized all over the world by various industry organizations. Usually these are industry specific but also general.
Usually, such events take the form of a collective space, e.g. a hall for sellers, buyers and other stakeholders. Sellers register their participation in advance to obtain a designated area for setting up their stand. Such an organized space is an ideal place to establish contacts and interest potential customers in your business. Ways to present your business are, for example, examples of your product, presentations and even the possibility of buying or placing an order for your product during the event. The schedule of upcoming fairs and exhibitions can be easily found on the web and in your respective Export Promotion Council.
13. Government Organizations
Rady ds. Towarów i Rady Promocji Eksportu. które są rządowymi organami a także ministerstwa, również mogą być doskonałym źródłem informacji o importerach. Te organizacje mają za zadanie pomagać eksporterom i z przyjemnością udzielą informacji o poszczególnych nabywcach i jak można z nimi nawiązać kontakt. Jest możliwe także pozyskać informacje handlowe i statystyki dotyczące eksportu różnych produktów w Twojej branży.
14. Market Research Companies
Companies specializing in trade-related services, including catalogs about importers in various countries, market research and analysis, offer exporters professional services. A summary report of such information about a given product, sector or service can be purchased from these companies. However, these are usually high costs for a single copy of the report.
15. Advice for professionals(Pro-Tips)
Social media platforms have their limitations, for example, they are restricted in some countries or have a slight presence there. Choose the type of platform for your business so that it covers the range of clients you need from a given country – e.g. in China, the internet marketing space differs significantly from those in the USA. In addition, some intermediary platforms may be unreachable and redundant by taking your margin. Generating too few potential customers there will be unprofitable. Conclusion
There are effective ways to get buyers for your product in optimal time, even if there seems to be no one-size-fits-all answer. But above all, do not forget that there is more to any marketing strategy if it is not based on a high-quality product. Make sure you are operating with a decent and desired product.
Nowadays, it cannot be ignored that the way we operate in the business world has changed dramatically with the participation of the Internet. Regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur or a beginner, you must remember about the presence of online space in building your business. Build your online presence and combine it with offline strategies. You will ensure the loyalty and trust of your customers.