General

Recently, I have received many private messages, and more and more people are asking: I work in XXX products and have my own factory. I want to do export trade. Which platform do I use to find customers and receive foreign trade orders?

As far as I know, some factories in China have never done export business and have always been for domestic sales. However, seeing some factories in the same industry constantly taking on foreign orders and seemingly developing well, I also had the idea of wanting to export. It has to be said that the factory needs to continue its development, and branding for overseas trade is indeed a good choice!

What are the difficulties faced by factories in exporting foreign trade?

① Unable to obtain foreign customer resources on their own, they can only cooperate through third-party service companies;

② Disjointed from the international market, unable to directly obtain foreign products and market trends, can only obtain some information through trading companies

③ As a supplier, we are unable to communicate with direct buyers, resulting in extremely low profits;

④ The domestic environment is not good, not only is production constrained, but the cost of raw material procurement is also fluctuating, and the domestic business is severely delayed

⑤ Collaborating with others, whether with foreign trade companies or export agents, there is a possibility of business overlap, and there is a risk of customer resources being seized by chance;

But factories also have their own unique advantages in foreign trade: they generally have their own factories and production lines, as well as their own technicians and operators, who can fully control issues such as scheduling timeliness, delivery time, or product quality level. This is an irreplaceable advantage. So as long as we find stable and high-quality customer sources, doing export trade is not difficult.

How to handle foreign trade orders? Which platform is it connected to?

How to develop more effective customers in the fierce competition, especially when foreign trade companies and agency companies are eyeing, where is the outlet for small factories?

I will share with you common customer development methods on the market, hoping to be helpful to factories with export demand

1. Receiving orders through B2B platform

For example, Alibaba, Made in China, Global Resources, and so on are three well-known B2B platforms in the industry, with high traffic and relatively mature operations. Of course, if your product is a small commodity, you can also choose a professional B2B platform for small commodity trading. The operation method is: publish sales information → follow purchasing information → obtain good rankings through the website → search for target customers, increase exposure, actively explore customer information, and obtain foreign trade orders.

Cost, taking Alibaba International Station as an example: The minimum entry plan is: 29800 yuan per year+10000 yuan for direct train advertising=39800 yuan

If there are no professional operators who understand the platform, it is not recommended. Any platform needs to be operated, and there will be customers coming from the previous product

2. Receiving orders through SEO advertising placement

We are engaged in foreign trade and naturally cannot do without optimizing Google SEO to improve our search ranking. After establishing an independent foreign trade website, we need to start optimizing foreign trade websites. This process takes a bit longer and won't take immediate effect, so it's important to be mentally prepared.

Cost: Non standardized SEO services, at least 100000 to 200000 yuan per year, which is the most basic

3. Receiving orders through customs data platform

Customs data is the most widely used and efficient channel for quickly mining customers. By using product keywords, you can search for real data from global buyers with one click, match high-quality target customers, mine their contact information, and develop your own customers.

4. Receiving foreign trade orders through social media platforms

The main social media platforms abroad include YouTube, Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. Youtobe and Tiktok are similar to Tiktok and Station B, Facebook is similar to WeChat friends circle, Twitter is similar to Weibo, Linkedin is a bit like Renren, and it is more business oriented. You can comment on some popular topics and advertise below them; You can also join some groups with a larger number of people, but adding groups also has skills. Some groups have group leaders, which are more strict, while others are more relaxed.

5. Participating in large-scale exhibitions and receiving orders

In addition to some online promotions, we also need to promote offline. For example, attending exhibitions in certain industries is an excellent opportunity to obtain foreign trade orders. Whether it is a domestic or foreign exhibition, we can first choose to participate in those with heavier weights.

Having listed so many, it is not recommended for beginners or factories that are just starting to engage in foreign trade to set up a big stall, unless it is not cheap. It is recommended to use customs data to quickly analyze the market, understand product export trends, and easily find foreign trade orders.