How to Get Orders for Export Market & Buyer Research
Export market entry is an amazing thing, but it is accompanied by a fairly large number of challenges. One of the biggest questions is:
Where do you source your buyers from? This is one of the most-loved and valuable ways of business management as understanding where and how to get orders is vital for the company. For clearer understanding let us discuss some of the steps one can follow to look for customers in the export market as well as understanding the role of buyer research.
Understand Your Target Market
To make a plunge into the export world, it is necessary to find out your niche market. Who are your customers? What do they need? These are some of the important questions which, if answered, can assist in development of strategy.
For instance, if you are in the business of exporting fresh fruits, you might spotbetter markets in those countries where fresh fruits are consumed frequently but produced rarely.
To do this you can follow some of these steps You can begin by developing some kind of baseline data. Investigate those markets that have high potential for your product and those countries which are already importing the product from other parts of the world. This will help you to know the competition level and market prospects.
Example: Before exporting textiles, consider which market has a developing textile business or a need for a chosen fabric type. This will help you know where to target in order to impress the other person.
Consequently, gauge the buyer’s preferences using Export Data.
After that, knowing your target market, you need to identify them, who the buyers are. That is why the access to detailed export data can be the game changer there.
Siomex is an example of import-export data provider; it can assist you in identifying potential buyers for highlighting the products imported, the consumers’ identity, etc. Such data can be useful for time and energy-saving because you do not have to attract the attention of completely cold clients they are already potential buyers of a particular product.
For example, if you are exporting electronics, you wanted to know which companies within your target country is importing electronics and Siomex can assist you with that. One can contact with these companies since the need of suppliers may be a requirement for their businesses.
Example: Siomex can be of much help if you are in the business of exporting rice since there are countries which import rice though it is produced in their region. In your effort to contact these businesses, you stand a better chance of getting an order.
Build Relationships and Networks
It is very crucial to develop good relations when you are searching for export orders. Never aim only at selling your product but try to create this kind of image of your company.
Some of the buyers are loyal and would wish to order products from a supplier they can trust hence, ensure you initiate the relationship.
Some of the ways of developing these relationship may include, attending an international trade show, manner of networking, or manner of trading fairs. The above events are chock full of qualified buyer traffic in search of suppliers. You can present your business and the products you sell, give samples to the buyer and even swap phone numbers and address.
Example: If you are marketing spices, then do well to exhibit in a world food trade show. You will be able to interact with other distributors and retailers from different countries who are sourcing for new sources of supply. At least you can remain in contact and develop a friendly relationship so as to be ready for whenever he is ready to order.
Leverage Online Platforms
Technology has therefore exposed other methods that companies can adopt to source buyers in the world market.
There are several features, many of which are incorporated in various online applications, enabling exporters display their products in order to attract buyers. Businesses come across sites like Alibaba and Global Sources as these sites assist the businesses to search for new suppliers.
It does not take time to set a profile on these sites and makes it possible to get buyers all over the world. The one thing to remember is that your profile must be filled out, business like, and provide all the necessary information about your products.
Example: For instance if you are exporting organic honey, ensure that you come up with an account that has pictures of the honey, a description of the honey and the certifications on the honey that may be of an added value. When you are out there looking for organic products to purchase, there are high chances that you are going to find the profile and get in touch with the provider.
Cold Outreach to Buyers
Sharing your product by cold emailing and calling can be useful to introduce your product to the customers. Despite this approach may look a little bit overwhelming, then it is perfect to target those who have no any previous experience with your business.
To increase the effectiveness of your prospecting, it is appropriate to use the data obtained in the course of buyer research. Make your emails more relevant by referring to the particular buyer, the products he imports and in what way your product may be suitable for his/her business.
Example: To better understand, let’s assume that you are exporting leather products. You went for a company that deals with importation of leather products.
You can even email them with a message such as, “Hi, I noticed that your company uses only imports high-quality leather products, which I think our leather handbags would be perfect for, we’ve been in the leather business for over ten years, so please let me know how we could come to some sort of business partnership. ”
Other approaches include coming up with Samples as well as Competitive Pricing.
In order to attract the buyers one has to provide free samples of these products. There are always customers who would wish to confirm the quality of a product before they contract the supplier for bulk supply. Samples also make the buyer have more trust in the product they are buying as they consider it to be risk-free to try.
Pricing strategies can also be a way of attracting buyers through the fact that it is cheaper than most similar products’ prices. Make sure they are reasonable enough with reference to competition rates as well as the services or product you offer. Being cheap is not the key, but to be cheaper than others but not too cheap that will make the quality of your service below standard is the way to go.
Example: In case of selling coffee beans for export, ensure that you have forwarded a sample pack of your finer beans also offering the price for a whole sale. This assists them to look at the quality of the products and contemplate for an order to be placed.
In addition, there should be a follow-up and maintaining consistency in that strategy.
None of the export orders could be secured, however, without following up on the leads generated by export marketing. Regardless, it does matter if first contact with the vendor is initiated at a trade fair, by e-mail, or in a platform, one must stay connected. Finally, buyers are usually very busy in their work or other personal activities and a simple reminder can help quite a lot.
Consistency is key. Whether you do or do not get an order at least having regular contact by phone or in person indicates that you are still interested in doing business and the buyer has not forgotten about your company.
Example: Once you have sent samples, you should come up with an email to remind them politely and ask for their response and whether they want to purchase. At times this small gesture may be the push that an individual needed to change or make a certain decision.
Utilize Buyer Research Tools
Also, with the help of such instruments as Siomex, the search for buyers is significantly facilitated. It will help in identifying real businesses from fake ones which helps you spend more time in the right businesses.
The research about the buyer is an important aspect that should in any way be underestimated. It enables you to know who your target market is and what you want to offer them so that you can help them out.
Example: Siomex allows to accumulate the information about which countries are importing your products, and which companies are currently seeking suppliers. This is of particular benefit as you are able to get orders and expand your export business easily.
Conclusion
Getting export orders does not have to be a mystery it can be achieved by various ways.
By identifying the target market, using export data from tools such as Siomex, developing good relations, using the Internet, and providing samples, one is able to locate those customers who will do business with the business. Bear with it, be consistent and you will find yourself witnessing growth of your export business.