Get To Know Your Customers' Customers
Mike Stokes
Retired Export Adviser. Author of "Positive Networking", "The Intrepid Exporter" and "Posh Claret"
Most exporters use people to represent them in foreign markets – usually distributors, re-sellers or agents. Remember that these people are representing you, your products and your brand, so don’t just leave them to get on with it. To fully understand how your trading partner is performing, and how they are presenting your goods to the market, it is important that you accompany them on occasional sales visits. Depending on their structure, ask to spend some time with their sales reps.
By doing so, you can check that your products are being presented in the way that you expect, you can get a handle on competitors’ activity and you can find out what your trading partners’ clients think of your products and your brand.
I always found that visits to my customers’ customers gave me a far better understanding of the markets and enhanced my own reputation. And I was able to fix a few little problems that I wouldn’t otherwise have known about.
?Other exporting hints and tips can be found in my book, “The Intrepid Exporter”, priced at ￡15