General

Nowadays, domestic trade is very seriously affected by internal competition, and many businesses have turned to overseas markets. In summary, the core point of all foreign trade professionals is to find key potential customers. Today, I will share with you 10 methods for finding customers in foreign trade on the market. Only one method is rarely known!

Foreign trade looking for customers 1. Customer referral

For this type of customer, the probability of a transaction is very high because their customer is familiar with the other party. As long as they recommend it to you, it indicates that they have this need. As long as they do a good job of product introduction and packaging, they can basically grasp it. However, in order to have such high-quality resources, the prerequisite is to have a certain network of people. Often, one wants to infiltrate that circle, and the maintenance cost is high.

Finding Customers for Foreign Trade II. Finding Customers for Exhibitions

The benefit of attending an exhibition is that it allows customers to see your products up close. For example, the domestic Canton Fair and the China International Fair all communicate with customers face-to-face for marketing, which is much more efficient than visiting and telemarketing.

However, in summary, exhibitions also have their disadvantages. Real large enterprises, foreign distributors, agents, individuals, and so on rarely come to China. Most of them cooperate with domestic intermediaries, which cannot guarantee quality or profit. The customer coverage is not wide enough, the prices are high, and there are certain thresholds, making it difficult for domestic small and micro enterprises to do so.

Foreign Trade Customer Search 3. B2B Platform Customer Search

When it comes to B2B, many people will definitely say that Alibaba is well-known internationally, and the threshold is not very high. Small and medium-sized enterprises can do it. The core point of doing Alibaba is that everyone has equal competitive opportunities, and it depends on how they attract customers.

But there are too many merchants doing Alibaba, and at this time, the competition is about operations. The cost of a professional operation team is also very high, so it is not friendly enough for small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, once settled, the subsequent maintenance costs are quite high, the pond is too small, and the competition is very fierce. Although there are many inquiries, there are very few who can truly make a deal.

Finding Customers for Foreign Trade 4. Searching for Customers through Search Engines

This method is believed to be used by many experienced foreign trade professionals, such as Google, Yahoo, and other foreign trade search websites. Similar to domestic Baidu, searching for keywords on them will find customers with similar needs. From this, you can find the contact information of these customers, and then make phone calls to communicate and chat with them.

But when we use it for a period of time, we will find that logging into the external network requires crossing the wall, and the efficiency of searching one by one is very low, nor can we guarantee that the above customers have not been developed.

Foreign Trade Customer Search 5. Customs Data

This is a commonly used method for everyone, because each country leaves data when passing customs. At this time, company information, email, and contact information can be found through customs data. Customers are relatively accurate, and the conversion rate is also high. But the only drawback is that customs data cannot be updated in real-time, which has a serious lag.

Finding Customers for Foreign Trade 6. Finding Customers through Domestic Purchasing Websites

For example, China Manufacturing Network, Foreign Trade Forum, Fubu Forum, Foreign Trade Circle, and so on, there are many foreign trade companies and purchasers who will post in it. At this time, they can directly contact the purchasers to send development letters. The cost of such development is very low, and customers come with relatively accurate information.

Foreign Trade Customer Search 7. Offline Customer Search

For offline customers, it is easy to establish a sense of trust through communication, making them visible and tangible. The disadvantage is that it is a waste of time and requires a certain amount of energy. Moreover, those who engage in foreign trade are subject to geographical restrictions. For those who are just starting to engage in foreign trade, it is difficult to have such resources and connections.

Finding Customers for Foreign Trade 8. Building a Self built Station

Many foreign trade merchants will have their own self built websites, which are not limited by platform rules and do not charge commissions. They are very flexible with few competitors and can be customized according to their own needs, which can meet the development needs of a company. A well done website often requires a professional operation team to optimize and promote it. The promotion method is relatively passive, and there is no platform supported traffic, so one can only find their own channels for promotion.

Foreign Trade Customer Search 9. Foreign Social Media Platforms

It can be said that it is an essential customer source channel for every foreign trade business, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedln, etc. These are foreign traffic points, with daily activity of up to 3 billion on Facebook. Using these social platforms to promote one's own products will not have geographical restrictions, high exposure, low customer acquisition costs, strong customer interaction, and is also the primary choice of foreign trade professionals.

Finding Customers for Foreign Trade 10. Using Customer Acquisition Software to Find Customers (Few People Know)

Many people who have done Alibaba International Station know that the cost of customer acquisition is very high, so many people will find this customer acquisition software to develop customers. The software can accurately search for users through big data based on different keywords in each industry, collect real-time customer data, including email and personal contact information, and also publish product advertisements on major social media platforms with just one click, The user's willingness to actively add you is very high.

I have been working in foreign trade for 6 years, as a clothing wholesale company. I have been using software to find customers and have sold at least 30 orders every month. If you also want to know, please leave a comment below the article. What are the best ways and methods to communicate with us.