Obviously, some information channels are difficult for us to obtain, such as competitor’s bank records; some are very costly to obtain, such as the target market’s media and market research institutions; some information is incomplete and not particularly useful, such as some competitor’s websites or annual reports. Then we screen out the following channels according to the accuracy and completeness of the information, and rank them according to the effectiveness of the information that can be obtained:
Various inquiries received by the company in the past. Some customers may not have received enough attention or attention, resulting in the loss of these customers. Then carefully sorting out this kind of information is both realistic and effective. In addition, this also reminds us that we must keep records of calls, faxes and emails from various new customers. The company should have a special customer database to regularly sort out, update and analyze potential opportunities. This method can provide more Class A, Class B and Class C customers.
Target country market customs data. This information may be the most useful intelligence in international trade because it can contain the country’s importer information more comprehensively. Not only that, the import quantity, import frequency and even contact information of each importer are included, which is a rare customer information data. Customs data provides all Class A customers.
Directories of importers and companies compiled by professional international trade information collation agencies. This kind of directory has a relatively high credibility, because these agencies not only collect this kind of information for a long time, but also constantly update and correct this kind of information, and also consider the user’s convenience, so the accuracy and practicality of the information are also very high. At present, the oldest companies in the market are: Kompass and Dialog.
Lists of industry buyers provided by other professional information agencies. For example, the International Marketing Communication Network provides a list of importers according to the secondary industry classification. The importers provided are some accurate potential importers or importers with strong relevance. They are also of high reference value because they provide more Class B, Class C and Class D customers, and the prices are reasonable.
The next more professional and reliable source of customer information is professional websites in various industries. Industry websites collect well-known importers, distributors and wholesalers in the industry. If you are an exporter of chemical products, you can go to the chemical industry website to check customer information, such websites include www.chemnet.com, www.chemexpo.com, etc. Each industry has its own industry website, and all you have to do is find these industry websites.
China Customs Export Records. As more accurate information, there are comprehensive Chinese customs data for sale on the market. The advantages of this data are comprehensive, accurate, and rich in information. It can tell which foreign trade companies are more powerful, and even know the export information of some peers. The price of this type of data is relatively high. I personally think that if the price of the annual export data of each product exceeds 10,000 yuan, you should carefully consider investing. After all, in China’s current export share, the share occupied by foreign trade companies will be less and less, so this type of customer is not our key target customer, and we can also know some of these companies through industry conferences and checking Internet information. But this data is the best information for studying competitors. This method provides E-type customers.
Market research institutions in the target market. By finding market research institutions in the target market and asking them to conduct surveys in the market areas they are familiar with, it is a preparatory work before developing new markets. Some companies will send special personnel to the country to conduct surveys and contact customers after doing some market research on secondary data. This method mainly provides A-type and B-type customers.
Directly search for customer websites or information sources through search engines, such as various trade websites. This method will be described in detail later. Through the Internet, you can query the five types of customers: Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D and Class E.
Information provided by publications or websites of trade associations and chambers of commerce. The information provided by this method is often mainly Class B and Class C customer information.