Export marketing is very similar to domestic marketing except this time your company will be selling products to consumers in another country. It might seem the same at first glance but different trade laws, customs regulations, taxes, language and culture barriers, and market base change the game quite a bit.
Handling all of these can be difficult, especially for a smaller company that is still testing the waters. However, with some simple but powerful export marketing strategies the hurdles can be toppled one by one. Consider some of the following:
Pricing Strategies Abroad
One of the first things you need to consider is a strong pricing strategy. You are the outsider in a foreign market so you need to make sure that your prices are both appealing for the consumers but also competitive against other companies selling similar products/services in the area.
You don’t want your prices to be too low because you still have to cover fees for exporting such as customs charges and tariffs, you have monthly quotas limiting your supply, and you don’t want to force your competitors to price-match and start offering low prices to their customers as well.
Take time to consider what the sweet spot is. This is where surveys come in because you want to know directly from your consumer base what boils down as their comfortable spending limit for products like yours.
Also take time to study the data about your potential competitors. See what range their prices go from and study the analysis of their sales, losses, and more.
Online Marketing Strategy
The internet is never going away and more people are spending more time online than ever. Just about everyone has a Facebook account. Everyone spends time on YouTube and on their email. A strong online export marketing strategy is required.
First you’ll want to create a portal for your website in the language of the country you are exporting to. Planning to sell clothes in China? Invest in an English to Chinese website translation job and make a Chinese version of your site. The Chinese website will eliminate any language barriers that stand between you and your consumers.
Next, you’ll want to spend time getting your public out in the public’s eye. This is where it is vital to spend time with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Building a close relationship with local companies via guest blogging is also a great strategy to market your brand.
Click ads, email marketing, and local SEO strategies also play a big part.
For email marketing to access your global buyers, you may consider global importers & buyers directory as one of your online export marketing tool .
A Spin on Traditional Marketing
Billboards, posters, and pamphlets still play a big role in getting some buzz and generating word of mouth interest. If you want to you can add a little spice into it like adding hotspots around the city where people passing by will automatically get notifications and discount coupons via Bluetooth.
Source:
exportmarketing.net Editor