Here’s the first clue: in today’s online world, set out to be found! And that changes everything: less cost, less time expended, faster recruitment (days even…), more and better quality candidates (as they span a range of access routes to market). And finally a better business relationship as the potential partners are approaching you, rather than you chasing them, so you are in the driving seat. Change your 20th century rule book: don’t go out there using traditional “Find an Overseas Distributor” routes. Deploy today’s online technologies to be highly visible in your target markets and let those “best of” potential distributors find you. Set out to be found and identified as the company that they want to represent in your target market - their local market. Today’s 21st century rule book is all about letting your international online presence do the heavy lifting. So throw away those “Yellow pages” and put up those “online localized pages”.
For most companies, even those in the world’s largest markets like China and the USA, a relatively small proportion of their market is domestic. This means that the bigger slice of most companies’ business potential is outside their borders. And that, for most companies, means identifying, engaging, on-boarding, supporting, developing and manging overseas agents and/or distributors. Original equipment manufacturers and their international in-market agent and distributor business models have all changed, driven by the enabling technologies of online. However, the principles remain the same, namely: a sales agent finds you customers (and takes a commission), while a distributor is your customer, who then sells on in that market. Distributors typically specialize in a market where they represent several complementary products, buying the product and on-selling to their clients, adding a margin. They import and hold stock of your product. They share in marketing and promoting your products. Often they provide after sales services and direct or indirect maintenance services.
- The 20th C route - without online, finding overseas distributors was…
Many companies at the initial stage of the “find” process, seek the support and research help of their governmental national or regional economic development agencies (EDAs). These agencies provide various levels of distributor finding services as part of their export development and promotion programs. Most countries have fairly robust EDA export support programs. There are some obvious EDA service leaders where exporters have been very successful including the USA and Germany. Outside the supporting governmental hand, companies have many choices, including the well-trodden “private sector” routes to finding distributors such as via your trade associations (If your industry has a trade association in your country, it will probably have an equivalent in most other modern markets. Contact them directly as they often have lists of domestic distributors), your suppliers and end- clients (in-market suppliers and existing clients are usually happy to share information about in-market distributors that they work well with), check out your competitors online (it is always wise to check out who your competitors are in a new market. One way to see what routes to market they favour in a new market is to see which distributor they are using and why. Often the best local distributor is one that has worked with a competitor in the past) and of course never ignore trade shows (business increasingly takes place online, but trade shows provide a great venue for those indispensable face-to-face meetings. The difficulty is identifying and connecting with distributors at the trade show as they don’t generally have stands. Distributors are looking for companies, that is you, with great products. To attract these distributors, showcase your innovations, new product launches and success stories online, see below.…).
- The 21st C route - with online, being found by overseas distributors is…
Now let’s turn our attention to using online and enabling your potential distributors in your target markets to find you. In this online world, those distributors that you want to work with, those that are online, cutting edge, know their market(s) are searching for you. So help them. They are looking for forward looking companies that know how to use online, with great products, services and brands that they know will be successful. The local distributor knows their market, with localized knowledge and understanding, enabling them to best judge the market potential. So use them. Again and again we are surprised by the profile of distributors that come forward, requesting to distribute our clients products and services. Those that you would never expect or have found and might not have identified through the traditional “search” profile program. Reverse that 20thC process: let them search and find you. So make it really easy to let yourself be found. Create online “Become our distributor” web pages, with calls to action in your target international markets, in their local language and on their local social media platforms, adding landing pages, of course, in their language with qualifying criteria and generate serious numbers of genuine distributor enquires. If you create country specific websites optimized for their local search engines, this will also allow distributors to find you while they’re searching for business opportunities for their markets.
- Top #1, recommendation, look at localized online presence and social media as your solution to identifying, on-boarding and developing your overseas distributors
Check out this webinar we hosted in our GO GLOBAL WEBINAR SERIES: Website Localization for Distributors. Check out the insights and opportunities: for website localization, digital marketing for international distributors, identify and on-board international distributors, manage international distributors across export markets, B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer), Ecommerce and mcommerce.
