How to find customers abroad: steps for exporters
Finding customers abroad starts with finding the company that really imports your product and the person who decides there. Here is how.
A list of sellers versus a list of buyers
Companies new to exporting often start with ready-made company lists or with trade fairs. Most ready-made lists tell you who operates in a sector. They do not tell you who really buys your product.
The information you need is this: which company imports this product, from which country, how often and how much? The answer is in customs and bill of lading records.
Product code and choosing a market
The first job is to pin down the customs tariff code (HS code) of your product. Trade records are kept by this code. Look at which countries import how much under the same code, and how that amount has changed over the years.
The biggest market is not always the right one. A big market has established suppliers and price competition. A market where imports are growing, that fits your price level and that you can reach logistically is often a better place to start.
Finding the real importer and the decision-maker
Once the market is chosen, you pull out the companies in that country that import the product regularly. A company that bought once is not worth the same as one that buys every month. Volume, frequency and the date of the last purchase are weighed together.
Then you find the person who makes the purchasing decision. A message sent to a general email address or the switchboard rarely reaches that person. You need the purchasing manager's name, title and direct contact details.
The first message and the follow-up
Sending everyone the same introduction gets few replies. The first message should open with an observation specific to that company: what they buy, where they buy it from and where you could make a difference. It should be short and suggest one next step. A sample and a price list work well for that.
Most replies do not come to the first message. When the follow-ups go out, and through which channel, is planned from the start: email, LinkedIn and WhatsApp can be used together.
Trade fairs, measurement and support
Trade fairs still work. The difference comes from knowing who you will meet before you go. If meetings are booked ahead of the fair, the stand does not depend on whoever walks past.
Track the work with this rate: meeting rate = companies that agreed to a meeting ÷ companies contacted. Part of what you spend on promotion abroad may be recoverable through state support. We cover that in how to get export support. We prepare the buyer list and the first contact in our overseas buyer finding service.