To figure out this problem, we must first study the behavior of buyers and understand the ways in which buyers publish information about purchases and cooperation. Grasping the various characteristics of business opportunities from the source and rules will guide us on how to obtain business opportunities.
Based on research and visits to many foreign customers, we have concluded that customers usually publish and solve their procurement needs in the following forms:
Observe where the products that sell well in the market come from and who makes them. For example, an American customer now finds that a certain Chinese textile product is selling well in the market, so he may first investigate who the Chinese manufacturer of this product is and seek opportunities to distribute this product. However, for Chinese exporters, it is rare to obtain business opportunities from this channel of customers, because most of our country’s suppliers are OEM manufacturers, that is, private label manufacturers, so most products only have “Made in China” and no information about the manufacturer, and even fewer have their own brands. Therefore, foreign customers generally cannot know which manufacturer produced this product. But if a manufacturer uses its own brand, it is easy for the manufacturer to obtain new customers. It can be seen that product packaging is a powerful advertisement for private label exporters.
Tell your partners and ask for their help. If the customer knows that the product is made in China, but does not find the manufacturer’s information, then he is likely to first ask his purchasing representative office in China, then the foreign trade company with which he has a cooperative relationship, and finally his other partners in China, asking them to help find the products he needs to purchase and recommend suitable suppliers.
Query the supplier database accumulated by his company, such as suppliers currently cooperating, suppliers he met at exhibitions, suppliers who took the initiative to contact him but did not make a deal at that time, etc. Find out whether there are suppliers who are familiar with the products he needs to purchase or provide similar products, and then seek their help.
Check some industry magazines and publications to see if there are any clues on them.
If nothing is gained through the above methods, and this American company has never purchased products from China, then he is likely to give priority to querying industry websites or company databases, such as clothing industry trade websites, toy industry trade websites, etc. Experienced customers have accumulated more industry website information and are more likely to find industry websites with rich exporter information. If the customer has not accumulated information about this website, he will generally consult acquaintances or obtain information from such websites through search engines.
If the customer does not find the supplier and product information they need on such websites, more active customers may post purchase information on such websites, explain their needs, and hope that suppliers will take the initiative to quote.
If such websites are not found, or the customer’s needs are more urgent, the buyer may then directly query the supplier and product information through the search engine.
If the customer does not find the information he needs through the search engine, he will go to the world-famous comprehensive trade website to search. Generally, companies engaged in international trade will also know some comprehensive international trade websites. But it should be noted here that a website that is very well-known in one country may not be well-known in another country.
If the information you need is not found on the trade website, active customers will also choose to post procurement information and ask suppliers to quote.
In addition to trade websites, customers may also choose the yellow pages.
In some countries, the Internet is not very developed, so customers may finally send a fax to the trade promotion agency or chamber of commerce in the target supplier’s country to inquire.