Empower your export business with customer prospecting for export

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Hey, What's up, everybody? Welcome in thanks for being here today. Do you want to learn how to find potential customers for your export business? When developing your international marketing strategy, the route or routes into global markets are multiple and the route you choose will ultimately make or break your business when trading overseas. With that in mind, it's worth understanding the fourteen common export marketing methods that are available to small and medium-sized enterprises, plus the advantages and disadvantages of each channel. In this video, I will discuss fourteen international marketing methods to export that I have split into Traditional and more current Digital methods to export markets that weren't open to small and medium-sized businesses before the digital age. This is not to say that new is better than traditional because all methods to an export market are valid, provided you make a profit utilizing whichever routes to market you choose. And I advise, you have to watch my video about how to sell anything to anyone after watching this video. It helps a lot to grow your sales. You can find the link somewhere here and the link in the description. Hey, My name is Murat, here to help you start or grow your import-export business, make more money, save more time, and help more people too. And I'm really excited for you because there's a lot of opportunities to export your products anywhere in the world. The comments in this video are based on my own experiences of growing our own export sales, which led to our companies (SOLAR SOLENTURK and FUTURESIA Global) growing year by year. It's this success that inspired me to develop my youtube channel. So, there are comments from the trenches, from people who have actually created and grown business to business export sales. Now, before I dive into this, I have a bold request from you. One; Please give a thumbs up to this video here on youtube that helps the youtube algorithm boost this video and reach more people. And number two; Please do not forget to subscribe to my channel and hit the bell for more great quality content on how to build your own international trade business and make more money. Ready? Let's dive in. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of seven traditional export marketing methods. One - Setting up an office in the overseas territory: This is a high-cost, high-risk venture as you will be trying to manage a remote office, possibly several thousand miles away, and also in a different time zone The best way of implementing this route is to find somebody within your current organization’s home market. They will know your products and methods of selling, however, this person then needs to learn the different cultural nuances of the target market. There are generally two problems in sending somebody to head up the overseas office: Number One: It is not always possible to pull a trusted member of staff out of a role in a small and medium-sized business. And Two: Lots of people do not want to relocate to a new country. However, The benefit of having localized staff is that you have an excellent presence and appear as a committed local company. Establishing a base in an international territory tends to be a long-term goal for small medium-sized enterprises. Once you have built-up your experience of exporting indirectly, setting up a permanent presence could become a viable option for you. Advantages of opening overseas office: Customers feel you're committed to their market for the long-term. Easier to provide after-sales support. You present as a local committed company. Greater autonomy for doing business and recruiting staff. Disadvantages of Opening overseas office: Huge cost involved. The cultural clash between the home market and export office ways of doing business. Increased overheads and tax requirements. Substantial man-hours to plan the logistics and manage remotely. Number Two - Work with an agent or independent reps (popular in North America) An overseas sales agent would be 'the face' of your company in international markets. They introduce you and your products to customers and then invoice directly. Agents and independent reps are usually paid on a commission-only basis for introducing you to potential customers. Commission fees tend to range between two and a half percent to twenty percent depending on your industry sector. Also, if you would like to learn more about how to become an import-export agent, you can find the link somewhere here and can find it in the description. Advantages of working with an agent: You get an agent's extensive knowledge of your target market. They manage and control all local payments and documentation. Agents will likely have established relationships with potential buyers. You circumvent the recruitment, training, and salary costs of using your own personnel to enter export markets. Good agents will be in a position to identify and take advantage of opportunities. Having an agent on board means that you retain more control over the final price and brand image when compared with using a distributor. Disadvantages of working with an agent: The agent owns the customers and routes to the market. If you fall out with the agent it can be expensive to terminate an agent's contract as they have a legal right to be compensated. This doesn't hold with independent reps unless written into the contract. Selling through an agent means that after-sales service can be complex. Equally, keeping a record of stock inventories can be costly. You will potentially lose some control over marketing and brand image when compared with entering markets yourself. Managing an agent can be challenging. Three - Resellers, Dealers, Retailers, and Stockists: Stockists will sell your products across their stores - both bricks and mortar and online. Advantages of working with Resellers, Dealers, Retailers, and Stockists: Will buy, stock, market, sell, and support your product in their country or territory. You can choose between large multinational or specialist independent companies. Likely to have multiple stores in multiple countries. Products will be sold across all stores whether bricks and mortar or online. Often have complementary products particularly true for Dealers. Disadvantages of working with Resellers, Dealers, Retailers, and Stockists: Marketing and pricing of your products is out of your control. Likely to demand a discount. The volume of annual orders might not meet expectations. As a small medium-sized business, you're likely to be further down the queue in terms of priority and focus, so may not get the marketing effort or sales training that your product needs or deserves. Four - Find a Distributor: A distributor will buy your products from you and then sell them to customers via multiple third-parties. Distributors make money by purchasing your product and selling it on at a higher price. Advantages of finding a distributor: Access to all distributors dealers and resellers. No need for companies to set up offices in overseas territories, saving your money. Much of the risk is absorbed by the distributor. You only need to track the accounts of one distributor rather than several different customers. Disadvantages of finding a distributor: The activities of your distributor are out of your control, like marketing and pricing. As a company, you are unlikely to get the marketing and sales effort your products and brand deserves because the distributor will concentrate on the top five to ten selling lines that generate the majority of their income. You're likely to be further down the queue in terms of priority and focus. Distributors will expect substantial discounts when buying your products. Number Five - Go direct to clients or customers: You can go directly to businesses or the consumer by getting on a plane and visiting potential customers face-to-face. Advantages of going direct to customers: Keeps you close to your customers. You can set your own prices to maximize profits because there's no third-party involvement. Multiple channels to reach customers directly. Disadvantages of going direct to customers: Extensive amounts of paperwork and a requirement to support a sale through to completion, while providing after-sales support and managing returns. Responsibility for the entire export process rests with you, like marketing, selling, stock levels, and shipping. The difficulty of working across time zones with no local presence. Number Six - Attend International Tradeshows and Exhibitions: Visiting overseas exhibitions are potentially one of the quickest and relatively cost-effective ways to research new markets, local competitors, customers and test the waters for demand. They're particularly useful for products that need to be seen to be sold off for services that need face-to-face explanations. However, on a per lead basis, exhibiting overseas is generally expensive (based on our own experiences, exhibition leads can be eight times the cost of a lead generated through digital marketing) and they generally only happen once a year so it's a feast or famine of new prospects for your sales team and products. Advantages of Attending International Tradeshows: Puts a face to your brand. An opportunity to market products and services to a motivated audience who are interested in exhibits. An opportunity for market research and to check out the competition. Government support in the form of grants or supported exhibition space is sometimes available. An opportunity to network and establish key connections. Disadvantages of Attending International Tradeshows: Relatively expensive. Your success at exhibitions depends on the success of the exhibition itself. Lots of logistical preparation. Depending on the length of the exhibition, extensive man-hours are required. Generally, tradeshows are annual events, making marketing and lead generation disjointed. And lastly, number seven - Trade Missions: Trade missions, often supported by funding from the government, are overseas programs for companies looking to explore and pursue export opportunities by meeting with potential clients in their industry sector. They generally involve meetings with foreign industry executives, networking events, and site visits to facilities that may require your products and services. These can be cost-effective ways to research a potential export market, provided the trade mission is for the industry and territory that you plan to sell to. Advantages of Trade Missions: Access to high-level business executives. Opportunities for one-on-one appointments. Opportunity to network and connect with like-minded companies. The potential for media coverage. Disadvantages of Trade Missions: Very niche. The scope for doing business is limited. Trade missions tend to be overshadowed by political issues. The twenty-first century, Digital Methods of International Marketing Digital Marketing Overview: The options that open up for companies to export with digital marketing are growing every month, with new platforms and ways to build links with prospects and customers. Increasingly, small and medium-sized businesses recognizing the value of digital marketing and the opportunity it represents to reach customers directly in international markets. Arguably, generating leads has been the single biggest export challenge for small to medium-sized firms in years gone by. There are over three billion people already online and with digital marketing you can have a direct conversation with all of them. There has never been a better time for companies to reach out and develop new markets. Online channels offer a route into exporting that's not only cost-effective, but minimizes the risks associated with so-called old-school methods, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to test the water. For instance, more and more companies are leveraging the power of their website as a lead generation tool. With ninety percent of Europeans performing internet searches in their native language, the importance of having a version of your website in the local language of a target territory is crucial. Once potential customers have found your website, many are more than happy to communicate and trade in English as it is the international language of trade and has become key to reaching international customers online. With English is the global language of business, classified as the official language in an estimated seventy-five territories worldwide, it has become common practice for small and medium-sized businesses to perfect their online export marketing strategy for English-speaking countries and then replicate the model for other international languages. Why? Most export 'buying' is done in English, but 'selling' in international markets is done by localizing content. This gives your company more credibility, establishes trust, and increases the likelihood of a sale. It is this desire to be approached in your own language, and the fact that ninety percent of all searches start in the person’s native language, that having a web presence in the local language is essential if you truly want to make progress in export markets. To enhance their visibility in local search engines, as well as localized websites, companies have established a localized social media presence or had themselves listed on a local stockist’s or distributor’s website. Meanwhile, partnering with online international lead generation companies and selling on high profile sites such as. eBay, Alibaba, ExportWorldWide.com, Amazon, or Direct Industry. Have proven to be popular routes to exporting for small and medium-sized enterprises. Advantages of digital marketing as a route to exporting: Full autonomy over your route to market. Almost instant search engine visibility. Your export marketing strategy is manageable from one central point. A low-risk, low-cost entry into export markets. Identify 'hot' markets much quicker. All geographic limitations are removed. The internet is twenty-four seven. Disadvantages of digital marketing as a route of exporting: Competitors could potentially replicate your international digital marketing strategy, but this is true of all marketing channels. The challenge is to always be two steps ahead of your competition, so start today while your competitors are still thinking 'what should I do?' Despite being twenty-four-seven, worldwide time zones could be problematic, for example establishing immediate contact with leads. While not discounting so-called old-school routes to exporting, digital marketing is arguably at the forefront of breaking into overseas markets, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. The appeal of online is that it’s cost-effective, low-risk, and is an arena in which small to medium-sized firms can win new businesses, rather than vying for a share of the market dominated by multinational corporations. However, digital marketing can complement other routes to exporting. Number One - Own international website in English: Your own international website in English can target prime English-speaking territories such as Australia, Canada, and North America, to name a few. It’s an opportunity to present your products and services that are successful in your domestic market in new, English-speaking markets to test the waters at low-cost and low-risk to you. Localizing the content increases your credibility with ‘local’ customers. Developing a ‘replica’ of your website means you will increase the chances of being found via online search engines. Equally, it’s an opportunity to develop fresh content and keywords as part of a search engine marketing strategy that will boost your search engine rankings. Advantages: Boost your search engine rankings Easy to replicate a site for other English-speaking nations. Cost and time effective to setup. Present old products in new markets. No overseas office setup is required. Disadvantages: Management and maintenance of multiple websites can be time-consuming. English-speaking territories are extremely competitive markets. Number Two - Own dedicated website in local language and localized for territory: Seventy percent of the world doesn’t speak English, while fifty-seven percent of websites contain only English. Therefore, one of the key advantages of developing and optimizing a website for local languages is that you can reach a segment of the international market that others aren’t. Plus, having international sites in different languages increase your credibility with customers in your target market and boosts your online presence while helping you to develop new content and use new keywords to boost your search engine rankings. Advantages: Ninety percent of internet users in the European Union search in their native language. A low-risk entry point into export markets. Entering into multiple markets reduces dependence on your domestic market. Disadvantages: Managing and maintenance of multiple sites can be time-consuming. Long-term costs for translators and hiring native language speakers. Number Three - Minisite of your English website: Having a mini version of your English website gives you most of the advantages of a full site in English speaking territories, but is easier, quicker, and cheaper to build initially and can be expanded on an ad hoc basis. A mini-site usually consists of a ‘subset of the products and pages of the main international site,’ and are often easier to navigate. A mini-site could also be used as a subdomain [an Internet domain that is part of a primary domain] as opposed to a national, top-level domain. Advantages: Can be expanded as and when needed. Easy to manage and maintain. Easier, cheaper, and quicker to build than 'complete' websites for entry into overseas markets. Easier to navigate and user-friendly for international visitors. A lower-cost, low-risk entry point into English-speaking export markets. Disadvantages: Doesn't fully represent your products and services to International customers. Number Four - International Business to the Business marketplace in multiple languages: International B2B marketplaces such as Alibaba and Direct Industry are online virtual exhibiting sites that serve to complement any existing domestic and international websites. They’re an opportunity to showcase your business to new markets. With features such as multilingual content and unlimited uploads, such channels help to boost your online presence and generate more leads. Advantages: Works alongside existing websites to generate international leads creating additional marketing channels. Quickly identify market demand and interest for your products and services in worldwide markets. For companies without an international site, they’re a ready-made platform to reach new markets twenty-four seven, three hundred sixty-five days a year. Easy to get started. Tried and tested the export model. Disadvantages: Some require heavy service user input. Some aren’t export-specific. Some platforms are limited to product-based businesses. Number Five - E-marketplace: Tying in with the digital marketing strand, there has been a boom in the use of e-commerce as a route to exporting. E-commerce refers to transactions made online. A recent study found that forty percent of respondents buy goods from another country based on factors such as price, availability, and selection. As a result, there’s been a surge in companies offering you the best e-commerce platform money can buy,’ as more small and medium-size businesses recognize the value of cross-border selling through commerce. E-commerce routes into exporting require you to think about several key criteria including the platform you will choose, whether it will take a portion of profits and whether it can manage the size and quantity of transactions you want to make. There’s also the localization of your content and payment methods to think about. The most well-known e-commerce platforms are; Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, Shopify, Lazada, or Shopee. Advantages: Low operational costs. Faster buying and selling process. No geographical limitations. Twenty-four-seven buying and selling. No need for an international office setup. Disadvantages: Potential delays in the delivery of goods. Privacy and security issues. Lack of personal interaction. Requires internet access. Number Six - E-mail Marketing: E-mail marketing is bread and butter marketing. It allows you to tap into one of the most used methods of communication online. What's more, it gives you a direct link to your market. Email marketing is far from irrelevant, with nearly three-quarters of marketers preferring it as the single biggest digital channel for return on investment. Using this tool in the right way, you could be tapping into a much larger market than you might realize. To help you see the right way to use it, we’re going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of email marketing. Also, if you would like to learn more about email marketing, you can watch my video on ten rules for effective email marketing in the export business. The link is somewhere here and links in the description. Advantages: Highly affordable. Amongst the fastest forms of online communication. Your audience regularly checks it. Excellent tracking and reporting ability. Email marketing campaigns are easy to schedule and organize. Highly flexible and scalable. Could save you a lot of time. Disadvantages: Spam factor. Building a mailing list. Deliverability issues. If you’re going to use email marketing, use it right Email marketing can be a fantastic tool for converting new customers, keeping in direct contact with existing customers, and making a serious return on investment at little cost. However, you need to make sure that it’s in the hands of those who know how to use it responsibly. And Number Seven - Finally, the new kids on the block, M-commerce (mobile), and S-commerce (social – big in Asia): More recently, the emergence of social commerce and mobile commerce have provided additional commerce routes into export markets, particularly in Asian and far-eastern nations such as China, Thailand that have smartphones as their main internet access. Although these routes may appear similar to other web-based routes, they require a completely different platform, optimization, and approach. Social commerce is the marriage between social media and e-commerce, the next evolution of online shopping, where consumers fuel the purchasing funnel of your brand, buying, and selling of products and services online. In my experience, social is very difficult to get to work for B2B products. It is important as a ‘signal’ to Google and BING for their ranking algorithm, but as an actual generator of sales, social is not very effective. The one social exception is LinkedIn and the access that can be leveraged by using LinkedIn. If you want to reach your prospects, it’s critical to be where they are! Smartphones in hand, customers aren’t waiting for your company to decide to build a mobile website or app, so planning for mobile search and M-commerce is going to become more important. Advantages: Faster buying and selling process. Rapid and personal feedback. No geographical limitations. Twenty-four-seven buying and selling. Strong engagement with prospects and customers on an individual basis. Disadvantages: Requires internet access. Privacy and security issues. For S-commerce, a significant effort for currently poor returns. Overarching all this digital marketing is the opportunity for paid advertising to drive traffic to your website, mini-site, lead gen platform, or e-market platform. This comes in many forms – pay per click, display ads, re-marketing, video ads, and etc. All these ads can be placed on Google, Bing, Yandex, Baidu, Facebook, eBay, YouTube, and many more. Paid advertising is too large a subject to cover here and requires a video dedicated to it because it can be both an excellent lead gen tool, but can also eat mountains of cash with very little return. Why 21st-century digital marketing is such a good option for small and medium-sized businesses? Online channels have certainly made routes to exporting far more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises. Old school methods tend to carry a higher cost burden and risk for smaller enterprises. In many cases, companies don’t necessarily have the resources to launch a full assault on international markets using traditional methods. That said, old school methods can’t be written off completely and what will work best for you will likely be a combination of several routes to market and the buying practices of your target markets will affect this. Congratulations! You have officially learned the Types of International marketing methods and how to find buyers for your export business. Now start booming and make the world your business! Also, if you would like to learn more about international trade, you can watch my other videos here on my channel. Now, I really want to make sure you get this and prove it to me. I want you to do a couple of things for me. One; hook me with a thumbs up. One; hook me with a thumbs up. And number two; comment below with an I get it. I just really want to make sure you understand these methods, because they are the underlying foundation behind all the sales that you make. So comment below with I get it. Use the hashtag #TeamMurat if you are a part of Team Murat. And subscribe to my channel here. So go out there and make some sales, be confident, and realize that you can sell and serve at the same time. So yes, make sure you catch some of the other videos over here. We got some good stuff coming your way, so make sure you subscribe below, but also right here. So thanks again, click over here to keep going. Bye.