General

What is the most important thing about conducting a transaction? Many people will say, of course, it's the customer, but in fact, it's not the customer. The most important thing is not the customer, but the quality of the product. So I'll ask again, what is the most essential thing? This time, of course, it's the customer. Without customers, there will naturally be no profit, and even the best product quality is useless.

In foreign trade, it is more difficult to find overseas customers than in our domestic trade. Many foreign trade companies have been struggling to find customers and are very struggling. Today, we provide four methods for finding customers in foreign trade, hoping to be useful to everyone.

The first keyword for foreign trade customer search

Usage 1: Select appropriate keywords to directly search for purchasing information posted by potential foreign customers.

Due to the rich vocabulary in Chinese, when choosing keywords, it is advisable to use synonyms or synonyms. In addition, when it comes to industries, it is important to pay attention to the industry terminology in English and the preferred expression for this product. For example, pineapple is commonly used as a fruit, but there are also many foreign merchants who like to use ananas. Understanding more relevant industry English can help you receive messages.

There is a trick to determine which synonym is more internationally popular and commonly used, which is to search on Google separately and see which one receives more pages - especially on professional websites. This can not only serve as a reference for future information searches, but also serve as a reference for vocabulary when communicating with foreign businesses in the future.

Foreign trade customer search usage 2: Enter keywords on Q&A websites to answer potential customer questions

When many people want to purchase certain products, they will now inquire about others' opinions online or request their recommendations for certain products. There are many examples of this, for example, if your customer wants to buy a camera, they may just check their comments online and the brands and models they are currently passionate about.

So going to Q&A websites to help netizens solve their questions and promote their products is very effective. One thing to note here is to try to register an account name using your own brand name, contact information, and B2C mall website as much as possible.

The second point of foreign trade customer search is the reverse method

In international traders, whether wholesalers or retailers, they both need to purchase and sell goods. This is the key to reverse law. Looking for merchants who sell on the website, although they have not posted purchase information, since they sell, they definitely need a source of goods. Of course, they must already have an existing supply channel, but that doesn't mean you don't have the opportunity - in fact, the opportunity is greater than you imagine, because even with a supply channel, most buyers don't mind finding more cooperative suppliers to reduce risk, compare or negotiate on the best. Moreover, many products have the same category but different styles, so you can definitely recommend multiple of your products to them.

Obviously, finding customers who sell products on their own foreign trade B2C websites or other websites is much easier than finding buyers.

Generally, most of the information posted online by this customer is the contact information of the department responsible for sales. When contacting them, it is important to try to obtain the contact information of their procurement department.

The chances of success in this reverse approach are much greater than imagined, by promoting products to customers and striving to become their source of goods.

The Third Horizontal Method for Finding Customers in Foreign Trade

In addition to highly specialized products, many products, especially handicrafts and household daily consumer goods, have a wide potential overseas customer base. When we receive information about a customer, even if the product they are purchasing is not something you produce, as long as the category is similar, it is still advisable to give it a try, whether it is the product with similar efficacy or material. For example, promoting metal photo frames to customers who are looking for wooden photo frames, and promoting painted glass plates to buyers of glass cups. Expand product extension horizontally and strive for trading opportunities.

It is particularly important to note that for foreign customers found through horizontal methods, promotional methods should not be rushed. Due to the customer's anticipated procurement project, their eagerness has actually caused resentment. It is best to provide advice and information in a relatively peaceful manner, only providing introductions and not rushing to close a deal, and striving for customers to proactively request further understanding is half the battle.

The horizontal method can be combined with the reverse method to expand the scope of finding buyers.

In addition, for certain products, the horizontal method can also be directly used for consumer customers. For example, when selling key chains or stationery, in addition to professional buyers, you can also lateral thinking to find possible users. For example, large enterprises or brand merchants often need souvenirs or promotional items, such as signature pens, keychains, business card holders, and other small products that are good choices. And most of these large consumers do not post any purchasing information on the internet. As long as you think of it, contact them directly and provide some samples, there is a chance. And these potential users usually publish detailed branch and department contact information on their website for easy search.

Vertical Method for Finding Customers in Foreign Trade

The vertical method is often used for the sales of raw materials and semi-finished products. To understand the ultimate use or deep processing purpose of your product, in addition to specialized raw material purchasers, look for merchants who have published sales information of these downstream products online and contact them. Usually, sales information is easier to find than purchase information, and contact information is also more open.