|
Developing your export import business using Internet
Content Is Crucial!Content is undoubtedly the most important element of a website. It is the defining factor for a website, that which ..... Since most of the businesses throughout the world have access
to the Internet, many astute entrepreneurs and trading companies
are using the Internet as one of the primary means for
developing their import and export businesses.
Already a big slice of global trades are taking place through
the Internet. According to Forrester Research, a major
marketing research company, worldwide online exports will
escalate to US $1.4 trillion in 2004, and cross-border
e-marketplace trade will exceed US $400 billion in this year
alone.
However, cross-border trading will create a division between
the companies that actively import and export using the
Internet and those that don't. Companies that are slow in
adopting the Internet will loose competitive edge to the more
proactive Internet-savvy counter parts.
If you are already involved in international trade or planning
to either import or export products, Internet could be your
primary source of gathering data, researching prospective
market, finding clients and, may be even, for doing your entire
business online.
First, let's look into the export side of the international
trade. Like any other business, exporting requires proper
planning. Well-documented and clearly written export
marketing plan will work as your road map to success.
The following steps are essential for any export endeavor.
Identifying products for export
Although, in any given time you may find numerous products
that qualify as exportable one, your chance for success will
increase substantially if your chosen product met the
following criteria:
- You have been handling this product for local market for
several years
- You have full confidence in the quality of the product
- The value of the product matches or exceeds the imported
similar ones
- You have guaranteed availability of this product for export
If you don't have a product to export yet, and you are
serious about export oriented business, consider checking
out your local trade shows to seek out an exportable product.
Local online marketplaces are good options for finding products
for export as well.
Identifying potential export markets for your products
To identify an export market you have to spend sometimes on
gathering necessary information.
Public RelationsIf you pay attention to only one traffic generating idea, this is it! Articles are by far my number one traffic generator for my sites at this ..... You will need export statistics of your country to see which
markets are presently buying products similar to yours. This
will give an idea which markets are viable for you to target.
Apart from checking the statistics from you own country, you
also should verify export statistics from several other
countries that manufacture and export similar products.
After analyzing this information, choose couple of markets
for further assessment. This time you will need more in depth
information on these markets.
Doing market research
Market research is imperative in order to identify export
potential of a product in a targeted country. There are two
ways you can research your targeted market.
By getting first-hand information from the targeted market
This can be done by hiring a research company from the
targeted market, participating in trade shows, contacting
prospective customers, visiting the market personally, etc.
Although, this method has a great advantage since you can
get exact information tailored to your need. However, this
might be very expensive and time consuming for most of the
first time exporters.
Getting information from the Internet and other sources
Thanks to the Internet you can get almost all the needed
information from various online sources. This includes:
trade data statistics, country profile, demography and
other market related data, list of prospective customers,
etc.
To take an informative decision while selecting a market
you will need answers to the following questions:
- How big is the demand for your product or similar products
in the targeted market'
- What is the ratio between domestic production and import'
- Who are the main competitors in this market'
- What is the growth potential of the market'
- How strong are they in comparison to you'
- What is the import duty structure ......
Read More ...
|
