If you are looking to establish your online business abroad or you want to grow your business abroad the main challenge is to find out the buyers for your product and services. Establishing business abroad is not easy because there are several barriers such as cultural differences, Language barriers, physical distances and many other challenges which need to be addressed. But nowadays we are living in the technical advanced world which helps in bringing us closer. The technology helps in approaching customers and doing business easily as compared to 20 years ago.
Various available import export courses online will definitely teach you the intricacies of the business but in this article, we will be telling you the practical ways of finding customers for your export business which will help you if you are a beginner and even if you have gained some experience in this business.
- Finding a Market – The main challenge is to find out the suitable market for launching your product with the help of Market Research.
- Finding Buyers – Finding buyers is also a big challenge because ultimately they are going to buy your products and services. Nowadays people are using online and offline mode for connecting with the buyers.
Finding buyers for your export business
As it is understood that for selling a product you need a market for it. The question is how a marketer should find a suitable market and buyers for his/her product. In order to find a suitable buyer for your product first of all ask these questions to yourself.
- Where is the Demand– You need to find out the demand of your product is prevailing where. Such as if you are an exporter of Basmati rice then you must be aware that Iran is the top most importer of Basmati Rice followed by Saudi Arabia. Similarly if you are an exporter of Seafood The United States is the top most importer of seafood followed by China.
The information of Export and Import are available on various government websites such as Agriculture and Processed Food Product and Export Development Authority.
- Stability of the Market – Stability is very important in a growing market. Make sure to check the stability of the market before launching your product. Again ask a few questions to yourself while checking the stability of the market.
- Does this country import what I export?
- If they do not import, is there any chance to import in future.
- Check if demand is seasonal or always in trend.
- How old the demand is. It has grown in the last few years or has persisted since long.
- The status of a rival supplying country if importers are getting the same items more easily while dealing with your rivals.
It is very important to focus on long term business such that instead of focusing on the country with large markets you can focus on countries with small markets but good growth in the future.
3. To Check the Profitability – It is very important to check that you are getting the right price for your product or not. Make sure that price should be reasonable but yet competitive. There are many factors which affect the buying of the product.
- Such as how much price buyers are willing to pay for your product.
- To evaluate the factors which helps in reducing the price of your product such as custom and excise duty, refunds, etc;
- To check to additional cost of your product such as freight, clearing and forwarding and terminal handling cost etc;
- To check the price of the rival’s product and to compare the benefits with your product.