Doing Email Marketing for Export Businesses the Right Way
Introduction:
Are you an exporter and looking to reach new customers and impress your existing clients using stunning email marketing?
This powerful tool can help you connect with potential customers all over the world, build awareness, follow up professionally, and ultimately increase your sales.
But we know that creating a successful email marketing strategy can be daunting, especially if you're new to the world of email marketing. That's why we've put together the ultimate guide to email marketing for export businesses.
First things first, let's cover the basics.
What is email marketing?
Essentially, email marketing is the practice of sending promotional messages or newsletters to a group of people via email. This can include anything from sales announcements to product updates to informative content.
So how can email marketing benefit your export business?
For one, it's a great way to reach potential customers who may not have found you otherwise. By collecting email addresses from authentic sources and sending them informative and engaging content, you can build a relationship with your audience and ultimately convert them into customers.
Email marketing helps you to keep in constant contact with your existing customers thereby increasing order average value or understanding real time market conditions, build loyalty, and protect from others stealing your customers!
But creating a successful email marketing strategy is no easy feat.
Here are a few tips and best practices to keep in mind:
Make sure your emails are visually appealing and easy to read. Use images and clear, concise language to get your message across.
Personalize your emails as much as possible. This can include addressing your audience by name, segmenting your email list to send specific content to specific groups, and using personalized recommendations based on their browsing or purchasing history.
Provide value to your audience. This could mean offering exclusive discounts, providing informative content related to your industry or products, or simply creating a sense of community through engaging content.
Monitor your email metrics and adjust your strategy accordingly. Keep an eye on open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to see what's working and what's not.
With these tips and best practices in mind, you'll be well on your way to creating a successful email marketing campaign for your export business.
Let’s deep dive into step-by-step approach to each area of email marketing strategy!
Why Email Marketing is Important for Your Export Business:
Email marketing is an effective way to communicate with potential and existing customers, and it can help you build brand awareness, increase sales, and build long-lasting relationships with your customers.
We'll explore the reasons why email marketing is crucial for your export business, and why you should start using it immediately.
Email is an essential communication channel:
In today's digital age, email is still one of the most popular ways people communicate. It's estimated that there are over 4 billion email users worldwide, and that number is expected to continue to grow.
By using email marketing, you're tapping into a communication channel that people are already familiar with and comfortable using.
Targeted marketing:
With email marketing, you can segment your leads and target your messages to specific groups of people.
For example, you can send different messages to people based on their location, age, or interests. This targeted approach is much more effective than sending generic messages to your entire email list.
Cost-effective:
Compared to other marketing methods such as exhibitions, country visits, or agents, email marketing is incredibly cost-effective.
You can reach a large audience with a single email, and you don't have to spend a lot of money to do so.
Builds relationships:
Email marketing allows you to communicate with your customers on a regular basis, which helps to build trust and establish long-lasting relationships.
By providing valuable content and personalized offers, you can keep your customers engaged and interested in doing business with you.
Measurable results:
One of the biggest advantages of email marketing is that you can measure the results of your campaigns. You can track open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to see how well your messages are resonating with your audience.
This data can help you make informed decisions about your marketing strategy and improve the effectiveness of your campaigns over time.
Building Your Email List for Export Marketing:
One of the key components of a successful export marketing strategy is building a solid email list.
With a strong email list, you can reach potential customers around the globe and share your products with them.
But how do you go about building a great email list for export marketing?
Let’s see usual practice and the Consult Kriba’s Reverse Sourcing Method approach:
Current practice:
Exporters looking for importers’ details use one of the below methods:
Visiting other countries:
Exporters regularly travel to other countries to understand the market, find buyers, provide samples, and get export orders. So, you can get email address and contact details from your in-person meeting.
This is a good and effective method but expensive.
B2B portals:
There are so many B2B portals that is available for the International Trade. You can choose the one, based on your preference.
But the memberships are sometimes expensive and too many competitions for the same inquiries.
Participating in trade shows/exhibitions/conferences:
Exhibitions, Trade Shows and Conferences are the best ways to meet people from same sector in the importing country. There are different signature exhibitions for various sectors.
Exporters and Importers equally aware and interested in participating in these events as it could help build a relevant network. But the pandemic forced the exhibition go virtual.
Virtual events are new to the international business who are used to network in person. It is good to collect relevant contacts through such events.
These events cost a good amount of money, time, and energy.
Writing to embassies/trade bodies:
Embassies and High commissions are the reliable point of contact for exporters. Every consulate has separate point of contact for trade and economy. It is a good option to write to embassies introducing your company and asking for importers contact.
You may receive response with importers details or some important links to find more details. The challenge is that some of the email deliveries fail. But the exporters should have a proper marketing system to connect with other importers to generate export inquiries.
Using agents/consultants:
One of the popular methods to get export orders is through agents and consultants. The difference between agents and consultants is that agents mostly work on sales commission and consultants work on fixed fee & sales commission.
Agents usually have buyers and for those whom they arrange commodities from exporters. They have the flexibility to choose the exporters. Consultants work for the exporters and find buyers for clients thus helping in expanding exporters business.
Though it might look like promising methods of finding buyers details.
Digital marketing (DM):
Digital marketing is something unavoidable in today’s scenario. Usually, DM is used widely for lead generation and brand building that in turn with proper follow up can convert into sales. Though DM seems to be useful in every type of business that exists, it requires a good understanding of the business, market, and technology to get results. Lead generation or brand building or driving traffic is website are not simply enough for the export business. It requires a good balance between understanding of technology, international market scenario and export business dynamics to drive results.
Friends/Family in abroad:
New exporters mention that they want to do export business just because they know someone in other countries. Contacts and networks are vital for the export success, but it should be a relevant network.
The contacts overseas are useful only if they are aware of importing procedure or importers or industrial connects.
Almost every exporter would have used one or more combinations of the above methods to find their importers.
Many exporters give up or struggle on finding their importers because of the challenges in each method.
Reverse Sourcing Method:
We, at Consult Kriba developed a method called the Reverse Sourcing Method.
It's simpler than you might think. Here are a few easy steps to get you started:
Reverse Sourcing Method simplifies the complex export business into 6 core functionalities and provide easy to use templates, tools, resources, and network to manage, execute, and grow your export business at a fraction of cost and time spent in conventional method.
One of the activities in Export Business core functions is collecting your importers’ details.
Below are the two sample tools out of the six tools from Reverse Sourcing Method:
Trade Map:
Trade map list the companies involved in imports and exports.
For example:
To find the importers for the terry towel:
Use the HS Code: 580219
Click on companies.
This list the product category and the number of importing companies available.
Then the importers can be viewed by clicking on the product category.
Snov.io
Snov.io is our favourite tool with its simplicity to use.
Login to Snov.io using your email address or social media account.
To find the contact details of your prospect
You can find the companies in particular industry in a country in the snov.io.
Click on the search glass on the left icons list
Choose company profile search
To search importers in Germany:
Once you have the company’s website, follow the steps below to find the contacts.
Click on the search glass on the left icons list
Choose single domain search
Type the company URL to find the details
Create a new list with a name.
Select the name & click on find emails
Create a database (at least 50 - 100) of your buyers with company name, contact name, email address and country.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator:
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium sales tool offered by LinkedIn that enables businesses and sales professionals to find and connect with potential leads and prospects on the LinkedIn platform.
It provides advanced search capabilities and additional features that are not available on the standard LinkedIn platform.
Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator can provide a range of benefits for businesses and sales professionals, including:
Increased visibility and exposure to potential leads and prospects
Enhanced search capabilities to find specific types of prospects based on a range of criteria, including job title, company size, and location.
The ability to save and manage lead lists and track prospects.
Access to additional information on prospects, including their recent activity, job changes, and mutual connections.
The ability to send InMail messages to prospects that are not connected to you on LinkedIn.
Integration with customer relationship management (CRM) tools to help manage and track sales activities and progress.
Science and art of email marketing for export business:
Email marketing is the perfect blend of science and art. It requires a combination of technical skills and creative thinking to create successful campaigns that resonate with your importers.
The science of email marketing involves understanding the technical aspects of email campaigns. This includes understanding how to segment your email list, create compelling subject lines, and optimize your emails for mobile devices.
It also involves understanding how to measure the success of your campaigns through metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
Segmentation is key to a successful email campaign. By segmenting your email list based on demographics, interests, and behavior, you can tailor your messages to the specific needs and preferences of your importers.
This increases the likelihood that your emails will be opened, read, and acted upon.
Once the segmentation is done, it is simple and easier to design your emails based on the importers’ segment.
There are 9 types of importers in the international market with different expectation.
Reverse Sourcing Method dives deep into marketing and sales with detailed information on types of importers.
Though competitive pricing and desirable payment term helps you to close the deals faster, the buyer needs to know, like and trust you. This can be achieved through an effective email marketing strategy.
Creating compelling subject lines is also important. Your subject line is the first thing your audience will see, and it can make or break your email campaign.
A good subject line should be short, catchy, and relevant to the content of your email.
Optimizing your emails for mobile devices is also crucial.
With more people accessing their email on their smartphones and tablets, it’s important to ensure that your emails are easy to read and navigate on smaller screens.
Let’s get into the art of email marketing.
You can use 7 types of email formats for your effective marketing.
But few tips before writing next email to your importers
It's important to keep in mind that importers are busy people.
They don't have the time or patience to sift through lengthy emails that don't get to the point quickly.
With so many suppliers vying for their attention, they're not going to choose you just based on a single email.
Your email should be concise, easy to read, and should clearly state what you're offering.
Don't beat around the bush or try to impress them with fancy language.
Stick to the facts and highlight what makes your business reliable.
It's also a good idea to personalize your email as much as possible.
Do your research and find out a bit about the importer and their company.
Mention something specific that shows you've done your homework and that you're not just sending out a generic email to every potential customer.
Finally, don't forget to follow up.
Importers receive dozens of emails every day, so it's possible that yours might get lost in the shuffle.
A polite, well-timed follow-up email can be just the nudge they need to take a closer look at what you're offering.
Here are the 2 sample formats out of 7 from the Reverse Sourcing Method:
a. Ice breaker Email:
This is the first email to your prospect importers. At this stage, they are not aware who you are. The only common factor between you and the buyer is the product.
This email is an Ice breaker that is like introducing yourself to a busy stranger. So, it is better to keep it short and to the point. Be transparent and genuine while contacting the importers.
#Template:
Subject line: Availability of <your product> in International Market
Email Content:
I hope this email finds you safe and healthy.
I am a supplier/manufacturer of <your product name> from <company name>, <your country name>.
As we are actively expanding our international presence and network, I found your details from <data source>.
I just want to reach out to you to say quick Hi, so that we may have synergy to work together in future.
Competitiveness email:
This email is to highlight the importance of buying from you instead of other exporters from your country.
The products get exported from a country usually have a hub or key sourcing areas from that country.
Importers are also aware of that. Giving these details grab their attention to move to the next step (meeting or inquiry).
This email is to highlight your sourcing capacity. The place of sourcing, supplying capacity, reason for the product uniqueness from the hub (skills, infrastructure, cost of production, government policy etc), and delivery time.
For example: Handicrafts from Rajasthan
#Template:
Subject: Welcome to {product name from India}!
Email Content:
Hi {recipient name},
We're so glad to connect with you again!
We offer handmade crafts from Rajasthan <your product from hub place>, India.
As a company, we've been making handicrafts for more than 2 decades <highlight your business/industry experience> and we're proud of the quality and variety we offer.
<Hub speciality to be mentioned>Handicrafts from Rajasthan are an amazing way to bring colour and culture into your home.
The craftsmen and women of this region have been practicing their trade for generations and have passed on their knowledge of quality to the next generation.
The harsh weather in the region has given rise to innate richness in civilization and culture, making Rajasthani handicrafts an even more asset.
<product sourcing & delivery ability>We currently offer 10 variations in the same product range - all of which come with a certificate of authenticity and a guarantee on quality.
Our beautiful collections can be delivered within 3-5 business days from the purchase order.
We hope you find this email sparks your interest.
Regards,
It is better to send the emails weekly once on the same day and time. Preferably, Wednesdays or Thursdays (Post Lunch) are better.
Marketing has taken so many shapes in this century. Buyers are more informed than ever before. There is increase in competition and noise everywhere. Business struggle and spend a lot to get the attention.
But you don’t have to struggle if you understand the Reverse Sourcing Method. In current scenario, a buyer needs to be connected 7 to 8 times to get their attention. Genuine Importers don’t waste either your time or theirs.
You have to build your rapport with your buyers’ step by step. Starting with the common ground, little bit about yourself, dive into your unique selling proposition, highlighting the competitiveness, sharing case study/success stories and then meeting request.
Conclusion:
Congratulations, you've made it to the end of this informative blog post on how email marketing can benefit your export business. By now, you must have realized the immense potential that lies within this powerful marketing tool.
However, we understand that implementing email marketing successfully can be challenging. But worry not, because Consult Kriba is here to help you out!
We offer a range of services that can help take your email marketing efforts to the next level. From choosing right software, planning stunning email templates, creating engaging content to measuring the effective outcomes, we've got you covered.
So, what are you waiting for? Don't let your competitors steal the spotlight. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your export business goals. You can reach us at +919600174934 or email us at reach@consultkriba.com.
Remember, the earlier you take action, the sooner you'll start seeing results. Let's work together to make your export business a roaring success!
