Finding a foreign buyer could be one of the most challenging tasks that a company faces. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to find potential buyers, and this article will highlight 10 ways.
1. Catalog Sales
Catalogs have been around for decades and they still offer an excellent platform to sell products from all over the world as long as you make sure your products fall within their market niches. In other words, if you sell ceramic mugs it would be wise to target the giftware section instead of furniture, which is part of different catalog companies’ markets. Having said that, don’t limit yourself with permanent positions by thinking that you could never see a furniture catalog featuring ceramic mugs or pendants. Many times catalog companies will take on a new product line due to the demand and popularity of what’s trending, and remember: There is always room for creative solutions.
2. Export Management Companies (EMC)
Export management companies are often compared to purchasing agents but they actually do much more than that. They can help you find foreign buyers through their vast international network, which could be located anywhere in the world. The downside is that these services aren’t free and an EMC would charge either a percentage or a fixed fee for each transaction made by your company.
3. Search Engines/Networking Sites
One way to find potential buyers is by reaching out online where there are plenty of forums offering support groups with the purpose of helping entrepreneurs succeed in selling their products to foreign buyers. Some of them are free while others require a membership fee based on the number of listings you want to add along with your contact info. If you want to go deeper, social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube could also be useful when looking for potential customers or business partners.
4. Freight Forwarders
Freight forwarders can help you find foreign buyers by placing your products in their warehouses until they receive an order. They will charge a fee based on the weight and size of your shipment, but it could be well worth it if it helps you find a customer outside of your country when speed is of the essence. Besides, you shouldn’t underestimate freight forwarders when looking for potential buyers because many times they will receive orders from clients whom they’ve never received a request before: It’s called “business networking” and in most cases repeat customers are interested in working with companies that offer excellent service at competitive prices.
5. Trade Shows
Trade shows and trade missions are probably some of the best ways to find foreign buyers. It will take time and a sizable budget, but you could end up with a huge list of prospective customers that are ready to place an order if your company meets their requirements. Other options include attending trade missions in areas where there is a high demand for certain products because the attendees will be potential buyers from various countries located in the same geographic location. Besides, exporting may not always mean selling directly from your website or business premises: Sometimes it means working through distribution channels that would require you to work strictly with distributors located in different countries.
6. Make Use of the Global Distribution System
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when looking for foreign buyers because most distributors have access to the global trading system that enables them to identify potential buyers worldwide. This is a great way to start making new business contacts and increase revenues at the same time, but you need to make sure that your company falls within their market niches or they won’t be interested in dealing with you.
7. Trade Magazines
Trade magazines are a good option because there are plenty of websites offering access to international trade publications where companies list ads that offer products for sale or services rendered. However, most sites limit the number of posts they let you add without charging membership fees, which means that it takes time and patience when looking for foreign buyers as well as checking out similar businesses as potential partners instead of just restricting yourself to finding prospects only through the media advertised by your competitors.
8. Develop a Business Network
A great way to find foreign buyers is to find through payment buyers by building a business network within the country where your company is located and another one in the area that you’re looking for potential customers. This can be done through networking events, word of mouth, and by participating in expos and shows that allow you to talk to many local businesses at once. The perfect place for this kind of activity would be within the industry that your company operates because there are bound to be plenty of suppliers, distributors, and other companies involved in importing or exporting related products.
9. Study Your Targeted Market
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t take chances when looking for foreign buyers because it could turn out to be very costly if you don’t know what motivates them to put in an order. Always research your targeted market before placing ads on websites or implementing other marketing strategies, because buyer habits are different worldwide. For example, it’s not the same thing to sell luxury items to Europeans as it is to sell widgets designed for commercial use in the USA, Asia, or Australia.
10. Use the Internet & E-Commerce
The good news is that you can find foreign buyers through your website if you know how to target potential customers with the right message and avoid online scams by dealing only with people who have a history of buying similar products or services offered by your company. If you don’t want to pay for traffic, there are plenty of free resources out there where you can list your website and look for international trade opportunities without having to pay anything except the small fee charged by the hosting company where you registered your domain name.
Those are some tips on how to find foreign buyer for your export products, hopefully, they will help to make it easier so good luck! If you want to learn more about this topic visit us at ctftoolkit.com.
