Practical Export Marketing Skills & Generating Export Leads

In the next video I will tell you how do you start the process of exports marketing and what is the approach I have used in this course to share with you some rare skills in the domain of exports marketing.

I'm Dr Vijesh Jain I'll be delivering this course to you, based on my 30 years of import and export experience in the industry, research, training, and academics. Friends, I have run my own company, an export company and presently I'm into services exports. I have my own services exports. So friends throughout my export career I have realized that the main skills which are required in the export business are very practical. These skills actually cannot be learned from books. These skills can only be learned through practical experiences. So Friends, what I will be doing in this course, I'll be sharing with you different types of knowledge, different types of skills, different types of tools, different types of sources for getting information, and the different types of experiences that you get in export marketing. So my approach will be very different from the typical approach of going on marketing concepts.

I'll be talking about some marketing concepts, definitely, but not in the way it is traditionally taught. So what I will be doing, I'll be sharing with you some of the incidents. I'll be sharing with you, some of the case studies I will be sharing, which I worked on in the sense that I did some work in some company and that I converted into a kind of case study, wherein I will tell you how I went about getting business or promoting a business or getting international orders, what problems I faced and how I managed those problems. And very importantly, how do I start contacting buyers? How do I start talking about my products and services? How do I create initial interest? When you are contacting the buyers for the first time, they are very much wary about your genuineness your capability, or about ability to complete the orders, or they will have several questions in mind. They will have N numbers of apprehensions about you when you first contact them.

And the point is that when buyers give their requirements digitally or in any form, they give you a requirement. You come to know about some leads. So several people are ready to respond, they are ready to give their offers to the buyer according to the requirements. The point is, how do you attract the attention of these buyers? So there are different things. One is, first, how to create the lead. How to identify the market, how to identify the buyers, and, of course, how to identify the exact Import requirement of a particular buyer? So that is one part of it. The second part is that you have the lead, which may not be exclusive to you. That lead may be available to many of your competitors. The point is, how to convert that lead into a genuine practical interest of the buyer in your offer. So that is also a skill, export marketing skill, which has to be learned, and that in bookish terms we say business communication. So so-called business communication.

But business communication, when we talk, it is very general. What we want to talk about the business communication is the business communication for generating interest in the buyer about your offer. So how do you do that? So I'll be touching upon several practical aspects, several practical information, several practical tools and techniques of export marketing, and the practical methods of bringing buyers towards your product range. So these will be my objective. These will be my goal in this course. And I will try to give you the examples and case studies that I have gone through. I'll be taking mostly those kinds of examples and case studies that I have dealt with. So I may not tell you the exact name of the company which I dealt with by may change the name of the company for training and education. I would not like to share with you in all the cases, the exact names of the companies, but with whatever name the incident and case will be real cases, very practical things. And I'll be touching upon those skills, techniques, and tools which are relevant today.

I will not talk about things that were of Yesteryear or that were relevant in the past. So that will not help you. I'll be talking about more about the digital channels. I will talk about the participation in international trade fairs, which are needed for you can participate after identifying the countries where you can market your products and services. And very importantly, how do you identify the right countries to participate or to target? And how do you find out the list of buyers or the prospective partners, business partners in different countries, so there are a whole lot of things which is there in export marketing, and with these skills, you can conquer the international markets. It is not difficult. You have to have very good knowledge about your products if you have good knowledge about your product. You can impress the foreign buyers. And I will also tell you what goes into the minds of international buyers, what they normally look for when they want to deal with prospective suppliers, especially from developing countries like India, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia. So what goes in the minds of the international buyers? What are their expectations from the prospective supplying partners in these countries and to what extent does price matter, to what extent do the things that are other than price matter? So these are the different things which I'll be discussing in this course. And Friends, there is one more area which I would like to cover in this course, which is very much part of the export marketing skills, is the operational part also.

What are the operational things that you should know about export marketing, which is in terms of the sales and distribution of your products? Because of this sales and distribution, the cost of making the goods available to the end-users and the importers has a strong bearing on the possibility of getting business. How do you manage these operations? That is very much part of the export marketing skills. Because even the minutest of things, a very new thing, a very innovative thing if you can do it, it has the potential to reduce the unit price of your goods drastically. So I will give you some examples of what are the facilities available, for example, for the Indian exporters on the operation side, that means the distribution side. What is government support available or any third-party support which is available? How do you reduce the cost of your offering and make your product available in a particular market? How do you bring down that price? Because if you can bring down the price, it can drastically change your offer. It can drastically make your offer much more attractive to the international buyer.

For this reason, I'll be discussing with you the operational part also, which is very much part of the export marketing skills. So with so many of these kinds of practical tools and techniques, methods of doing exporting, Friends, I am very sure that by the end of this course, you will feel very confident about the process of exporting, getting buyers, getting orders, getting information, and understanding the market and the consumers in the international market. So that is my purpose. That is my goal for this course I would encourage you to watch all the upcoming episodes in this course and try to write down some of the tips and techniques that I share with you.

Choose only one that is best

Hello friends. Welcome to this very exciting course on learning practical export marketing skills and generating trade leads. In this course, I want to start with the opening case study. So that we can take off on this course what this course is all about. I want you to understand that through this case study. In this case study I have titled Indian Brands in International Markets Finding Their Way into Overseas Market. So this is a very unique case study. I will talk about it. I will give you the background of this case study and what this case study is all about which I'll just discuss with you. And then I'll put up some questions for you that emerge from this case study. This is based on real information that is there in recent times taking the example of India and Indian companies and their foray into overseas markets. So let's go into this case study. Now the background of this case study is like this in recent years Indian brands have been making remarkable strides in the global market. So this is happening. There are several reasons there there is no single reason we will be trying to understand those factors. So they are showcasing what? They showcase their strengths and unique offerings to a diverse International audience. Very different. India is a very different country. If you look at the culture of India its uh cultural ethos and diversity within India itself that diversity is also very different from the kind of diversity that exists in the international market. So International audience for Indian culture they're very unique. But still, these brands can showcase their strengths and unique offerings. This is very remarkable. That's why I took this case study and this is the background. And what these brands are doing? These brands are leveraging India's rich cultural heritage which comes from this diversity and its very diverse population. And it's cost-effective manufacturing capabilities. That's very unique about this country.

These brands these Indian brands have been able to carve a niche for themselves and they can gain recognition worldwide with this diverse International audience. So this forms the background of what I'm going to share with you the real facts the information that I'm going to share with you. That is going to be very very interesting. And we'll put up some questions based on these facts. So let's go into these facts and then we'll come to the questions part.

Before we go further let's discuss some of the factors that I have identified because of the remarkable success that many of these Indian brands can showcase. So the surge of Indian brands in global markets can be attributed to several factors. It's very difficult to enumerate and list all such factors it's not possible. But some of the very popular factors, very debated factors are in current times- India's growing economy. India's growth is remarkable.

It is the fastest-growing large economy in the world at present. So India's growth is one of the major factors that we can easily see as the reason for this success this is one factor only. And secondly supportive government policies. Indian government's policies are very supportive of international business, foray into global markets by Indian companies, and Indian Brands there are many enabling factors in government policies. Recently government of India has come out with a foreign trade policy for 2023 that is going to be there at least for 5 years maybe more also. So these are enablers. And the Rising popularity of Indian culture itself across the globe. So the global popularity of Indian culture is also very unique. This in the past had not happened. It is now the International audience is attracted to Indian culture which is so diverse and so different from what is there in many other countries. So these brands have strategically utilized some of these advantages I have not been able to list down all but some of these advantages that I just mentioned to create unique products and unique services that resonate with the global customer base. This is a fact this is observed in recent times by the best of the research companies and uh consulting companies and those companies who do global ranking of countries they have observed in recent times all these things. So these are some of the common factors popular Factor apart from many others. So that's the idea of this course we are trying to understand these factors and whether we can learn anything concerning practical export marketing skills concerning creating business for Indian firms, Indian Brands getting into International markets that thing is what what how it has to be done what are the secrets that we'll try to understand in this course

So talking about India's rich cultural heritage, which happens to be an interesting advantage because of the newfound attraction of international audiences to Indian culture, the rich cultural heritage of India.

So this one notable aspect of the Indian brand's success, I just told you, lies in this utilization of India's rich cultural heritage.

They are trying to exploit this rich cultural heritage to their advantage and to newfound attraction towards this rich cultural heritage of international audiences.

So many companies, what they are doing, they have tapped into traditional Indian textiles, Indian type of fabrics, Indian styles of different types of handicrafts in different regions of India, and very importantly, Indian Ayurveda and its principles for medicine to infuse some very unique and authentic products.

They have created some unique and authentic Indian products that are attracting international customers.

This is one very clear thing and this is happening.

So basically what is this?

This is we can say in modern languages, and modern management jargon, we can say that this is a differentiation strategy, that is helping these brands, Indian brands, to stand out in a highly competitive international market, in fact, a hyper-competitive international market, attracts international customers seeking a blend of Indian tradition and quality, quality because of Indian rich cultural heritage and these products are authentic products.

These products are unique, so obviously they are the results of the dexterity of Indian artisans from generation to generation.

Then to give you some examples of uh what I'm trying to tell you prominent Indian companies like Tatas Mahendras or Infosys are Big brands from India they have emerged as Global players in various Industries, not in one industry same formula they have used different diversified product range diversified business activities which they are competing head-to-head with renowned International Brands. So what they are doing is their emphasis on quality Innovation and value. I told you uh where this quality comes from and innovation from the rich cultural heritage they have innovated into very attractive products and value propositions. So their emphasis on these three things quality Innovation and value has played a pivotal role in establishing a strong global presence and earning overseas customers' trust from across the world. Customers can trust these brands and these brands are very well known I'll uh show you how many countries these brands are there I'll just talk about it. So these are the facts these are the examples that can be easily verified. So these forms this case Study, I'm just talking about uh uh not in a very theoretical way I'm just talking about these are facts we'll try to understand why these facts are there why it is happening what are the factors behind this kind of uh growth of Indian brands in overseas markets we are trying to understand that in this particular case study and when we try to understand the reasons about it and we raise certain questions we'll understand that what we want to learn from this course on uh uh successful and practical export marketing skills and uh generating International Trade leads. So these things we are trying to understand that what we should learn about and are there any uh concrete answers to these uh uh facts that we are talking about as the concrete reasons that step by step we do this thing and we reach this kind of growth. We'll try to see if we'll take a call on this later on in this course. So just let us discuss uh these examples let's discuss on these facts let's discuss on the things that are happening with Indian Brands and a very large country which India is and they can produce so many Brands. So I will not be able to give you the list of all the brands that are doing this but I'm just sharing in this particular case study certain selected Brands. This is happening with many many other companies. So some of these examples I'll elaborate upon and I'll take more examples in this particular Case study. Let's go further

So another thing to discuss about as one of the major factors that is uh supporting this growth of Indian brands in the international market is approach towards sustainability and environmentally friendly practices. So very importantly Indian firms are prioritizing sustainability and environmentally friendly practices in their manufacturing, especially manufacturing processes. In many other practices management practices also. In many things what they are doing they are trying to bring it and that's the need of present times. So a large country like India and its companies which are very well established and have a long history of success in the domestic market understand this and are ready to embrace these sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. So they are not shying away from their responsibility. It is not just the responsibility the result is very good for Indian companies, especially in global markets.

So this Eco-conscious approach actually of these companies has resonated with environmentally conscious overseas customers worldwide across the world, contributing to this success which we are talking about. And attracting a growing segment of socially responsible buyers. In international markets, the market is so large a critical group of socially responsible buyers is enough to bring success to these brands. So this is an economic and strategic point that I wanted to share with you.

So this eco-conscious approach is not only the question of responsibility and value proposition or morality question or uh uh value system of Indian companies, but it is also a business-friendly approach. Economically business-friendly approach to target socially responsible buyers which probably are widespread across the world. In most of the countries, you have a very critical mass of such customers. That's very important to understand. This is reflected in global rankings also whatever I'm saying is very much reflected in global rankings of these Indian Brands. The acknowledgment of Indian Brands' impact on the global stage is evident through their recognition in prestigious Global rankings. This is there for everybody to check. Companies like TCS - Tata consultancy services HDFC bank or Infosys or LIC - Life Insurance Corporation of India have secured positions among the top 100 global Brands standing alongside industry stalwarts uh and giant Brands like Apple, Google, Amazon, and even Microsoft. So this is there already there. So we are trying to see these developments and we are trying to understand the implications of these developments from these facts,

Another thing that I just talked about and want you to focus on is the versatility and Innovations infused by these brands in everything that they do. So Indian brands that have garnered international acclaim are seen encompassing diverse sectors showcasing India's versatility and Innovation on a global scale. So this Factor also stands out in companies like Tata Group with its diverse product lines Mahindra and Mahindra, Infosys, Amul, and Titan they have all established themselves as Global icons representing India's capabilities across multiple Industries diverse Industries. Whether it is manufacturing whether it is uh trading whether it is services that they provide for diverse products and services their capabilities are a testament to these Brands becoming Global icons and showcasing India's capabilities in diverse Industries with their versatility and Innovation. And these brands that I just discussed are going places overseas markets. For example, Tata group with its presence in over 100 countries and diverse offerings ranging from steel, and stainless steel to automobiles and services like IT Services, consultancy Services remains a stalwart in global markets. This particular brand is very well-known internationally. Similarly, Mahindra and Mahindra known for its rugged sports utility vehicles and tractors has successfully penetrated already in more than 100 countries.

Talking about another brand Infosys an Indian IT giant operating in over 50 countries has made significant contributions globally in this particular area. Another brand Amul renowned for its dairy products boasts a presence in more than 60 countries including their manufacturing plants in sophisticated countries like even the US, emphasizing their quality and affordability. And on the strength of these two things quality and affordability they can sell their products in such sophisticated Market Western markets. Same thing we can talk about all these factors that we have discussed and many others. Brands like Himalaya Herbal that has infused ayurvedic principles of Indian medicine and come out with versatile and Innovative products Titan watches, Godrej very highly Diversified Group then Bajaj Auto in the two wheelers industry as well as in uh three-wheelers and other Innovative vehicles, and Brands like Old Monk, Zomato and Royal Enfield and many many others that cannot be covered in this case study they all have made impactful strides in their respective domains solidifying India's presence across the globe. So this is what we are trying to drive upon in this particular case study we are trying to understand these developments and we will try to understand the reasons and the factors Behind These successes recent successes

Another thing we can easily observe and see is a commitment to Excellence when we talk of these Brands. The success story of Indian Brands brands in international markets not only reflects India's economic growth and entrepreneurial spirit. That is there in many other countries but also signifies India's and its brands that we are discussing about their commitment to Excellence Because without this Excellence the recognition that they have got in the international market is not possible. As Indian Brands continue to break barriers innovate and expand into International markets and new markets they are setting higher benchmarks for industry standards globally.

Because of this commitment to Excellence only. So these are some facts that we are trying to talk about about several Indian Brands. Many of those I might not have been uh able to cover in this particular study but these are some selective sets of Brands I'm talking about. But it is true for many other brands. Having said what I just shared with you in this particular small case study I can easily conclude that the growing prominence of Indian Brands and international markets stands as a testament to India's multifaceted strengths, cultural richness, and the Innovative Spirit of its companies and its Brands. These brands are not just competing they are thriving and reshaping Global markets affirming India's position as a key player in the global business landscape. So this is the fact this can be observed and it is going to go up and up in coming time. That is the main idea of this case study where I'm trying to talk about and understand the reasons and factors Behind These successes

So very important thing that comes in this case study are the questions that come to our mind that what are the areas we have certain questions in our mind and we will try to answer these questions through the learning of this course. That's my main idea. So for example if we divide these questions according to their subject matter if we talk of the market penetration strategies of these brands in International markets how do they penetrate these Indian brands what have been their strategies we'll try to learn and understand these strategies, Market penetration strategies. So how can for example leverage a country's cultural heritage we are talking of unique strengths that I discussed how it can aid in international market penetration of products and services. Is it possible? So can you provide more examples of successful strategies used by Indian brands of similar type in this context can it be generalized that using so-called cultural heritage and unique strengths is possible to generalize that any company will exploit these advantages and be able to penetrate International markets? So we'll try to find this answer. How strong is this case observing these facts in this case study? Secondly, about digitalization, I talked about global reach. What is the relationship between this digitalization of international business or all kinds of businesses or spreading the name of the brand and Global reach what is this connection? So in what ways has the advent of digital technologies transformed the landscape of international marketing and the generation of overseas business? Can we generate international business and international trade leads using these digital tools? Is it possible? So my question is that how can social media e-commerce and digital platforms be effectively utilized if it is true to expand Global Outreach is it possible to do International marketing and Export marketing using these tools? For export-driven companies and brands that focus on International markets is it useful is it worth doing? That we'll try to talk about and we should have this question in mind. And then third thing that comes to our mind concerning and what we talked about sustainability part sustainability question. And the relationship of this sustainability to generating a Competitive Edge that I just talked about these Indian brands have used sustainability questions to generate Competitive Edge internationally. So can we discuss the significance of adopting the environmentally friendly practices we talked about, especially in manufacturing processes for companies looking to export their products? Is it worth doing it? So how does sustainability contribute to gaining a competitive advantage in international markets? This question comes to our mind. So can we answer this question from the learnings in this course? That's the very important thing. So when we talk of practical expert marketing skills these things come to our mind. More questions come to our minds. Let's discuss those questions. They all come from this case study that I just shared with you. So we talked about these success stories and Global recognition Global rankings. So are we able to analyze the role of reputed Indian companies and Brands like Tata, Mahindra, Infosys, and others in establishing a strong Global presence? We talked about their success stories. What strategies have these companies employed apart from what I discussed to become household names globally? And gaining such a position in the global ranking? Were these success stories the result of a few factors that I have discussed or there are many other factors? That question comes to our mind. So what are these other strategies? And diversification and brand presence.

Choose only one that is best.

So Friends, welcome back to episode number two of this VJ Exports Mastery Course titled - Learn the Practical Exports Marketing Skills. So Friends today in this episode, I will start with a very interesting story. In this episode, I will share this story, which is a real story, and this story is very close to my heart, although it's a very, very old story. But why I'm sharing this story because it will serve as a very good foundation for you to understand how export marketing works, which is very, very important. And this story is also related to the very first year of my experience with exporting. And it was way back in 1989, which is very old.

But Friends, this story is still very important, very pertinent, and very useful even today, so I'm sure that you will find this story very interesting some of the names in the story I will not reveal, but you will get the gist of the story, which is very, very important. So Friends way back in 1989 when it was in the first year of my career in exports after I completed my MBA in exports and imports from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in New Delhi, I got a chance to visit Europe with my immediate boss. So he was a person with whom I went to for the first time in my life out of India, and the main agenda was to visit Budapest, although we went to some other countries also. But the main agenda was to spend at least three weeks in Budapest to attend and display certain samples and goods in an international trade fair and Consumer Products Fair, which is very famous in Budapest, and is held every year in September or around that. And it is called the BNV Fair. So Friends, for me, it was a new experience and I went to certain countries and then we reached Budapest and we had a quite large stall at the international trade fair in the Indian Pavilion, which was organized by the Indian Trade Promotion Organization, ITPO, because in most of these international trade fairs, India's pavilion is managed by International Trade Promotion Organization, which buys the space in the trade fair at highly concessional rates. The stalls, which are given to Indian exporters by Indian trade promotion organizations, are heavily discounted. And if you are a new exporter, in any case, you get market development assistance.

If you are a member of the respective Export Promotion Council, then the government of India provides you with almost half of all the expenses, including stall expenses travel expenses, or hotel expenses. So all the marketing expenses, which you do almost 50 percent, are paid by the government of India to promote exports from India. Of course, our company had a quite spacious stall where we had many types of consumer goods and items because our company, which I represented there at the BNV Fair was a consumer goods trading co. I was in, the consumer goods division of the company, and there, just next to my co-stall, there was a very, very small stall of another Indian person named, Mr. Dhillon He was just next to us and this person was new to exporting. So he did not have much knowledge about exports and imports, but he just came because he wanted to try his luck in the export business. And we became quite friendly because we had to spend almost three weeks at this international trade fair. So we were on very good talking terms. And this, his stall was almost empty. He had some samples of some grey fabric, cotton fabric, and a few things he had brought just to taste the waters. He just wanted to check whether he can do some exports. He was just exploring. And since he did not have much knowledge about exports, he could not bring many items and his stall was also very small. So he had not spent much money on the whole thing. So when we had been talking, he came to know, more about exporting and export marketing, and he was quite friendly to me. I shared with him some skills of exporting at that time because I was a graduate of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in this area,

So I had certain knowledge about the process of exporting, although I was also quite fresh in this area so I could not share much experienced knowledge, but some knowledge could help him. So what happened that I helped him in explaining how pricing is done, how export prices are reached, and what the different types of costs, you have to add before you quote the price to the international customer? So he was receiving certain customers in the trade fair and he was talking to them in some mixed-up English language. But he was not very fluent in English and was not very educated also. But he was a smart young fellow. And with my help, he could do some product costing of the fabric swatches, which he had brought samples, and he could get the interest of some of the international buyers and local buyers from Hungary, and Budapest also. So when this trade fair was about to end and we had been packing up and all these things. So I talked to this person, Mr. Dhillon, about how it has been and he was quite upbeat that, OK, he got some good buyers and all and he wanted to stay back for some more time to explore the market.

My boss and I had planned to go back to India after the trade fair and did not spend much time, maybe one or two days, just to follow up with some of the inquiries that we had received at the Trade Fair and what we had planned, that we can catch up with these inquiries later on from India. I also knew I was not very much conversant with the overall process, whatever my boss told me. So we agreed that, OK, we'll spend one or two days more after the trade fair and we will go back to India after that. So we came back, we did some follow-up work, we could do certain orders and business with some of the good companies in Europe and Hungary where my, mainly my boss was involved and my role was, not that much because I was new. So about two months after that incident, when we came back to India and two months after that, I received a call from Mr. Dhillon He had a house in Delhi, New Delhi, and he invited me to his house. So I went to his house and he told me that he spent almost more than one month after the International Trade Fair and he could make some very good contacts in Budapest and neighboring countries. And he also said that he has got some very good orders for cotton grey fabrics and different things. And he was focusing more on those items. And he was quite happy that I helped him in the pricing of the samples and how to talk to the international buyers. So he was quite happy and he acknowledged my contribution to his initial success, and that is how I came to know that he spent almost one month after the trade fair and he made some really good contacts over there. So that was a knowledge for me, that this is another way of dealing with the international buyers, that you go to International Trade Fair and you get some inquiries, you follow with them right there and spend more time in that country or neighboring country and go deeper like what Mr. Dhillon had done.

That was something very interesting, which he improvised. That was not my suggestion, but it was a learning for me from Mr. Dhillon that this can be done like this, and with his very limited resources, he had gone to this trade fair and somehow he managed there. I don't know how he managed there, but he managed there. And later on, I came to know that he established himself in Budapest itself, and he had his own office. He had his probably permanent house also later on. And he became very active both in India as well as Budapest, he was, later on, I came to know that he expanded his business very handsomely. After certain years I happened to visit Budapest, I came to know about him and I came to know that he was doing quite well.

So This particular experience of myself, so much long back, 1989. still, it is very much suitable. The learnings are still alive, and suitable, even in the present times that in export marketing, you have to be, near the buyer, possibly wherever possible, although the present time you have digital modes, you need not be physically present many times, but especially when you are starting new, you are a new exporter. Probably your physical presence, in the local market, and internationally, may be very important. That is one learning that I got from this story, and this is a real experience that I came to know. Another thing that I understood, and it was a learning for me in my initial years, is that it is not just the physical presence, it is also the focus on certain products and certain few buyers and a very narrow area. For example, in this case, Mr. Dhillon focused on especially Budapest and neighboring areas and a few customers who visited him at the trade fair and he followed up with them. He must have met several times these people, and he would have slogged a lot with them to get his first order. But he persistently, without major knowledge about exports, not even he was not even aware of how to do the cost of the fabric. But he was a good learner.

He learned things very fast, whatever English speaking, he had communication skills, and whatever he had, he managed that. And a smart person with good acumen, business acumen, this person became very, very successful. And as I know he is very active in Europe and he is doing great business in these countries. And he's a very well-established international trader in Europe. And of course, he has very strong ties with India. So, Friends, I started this course with this story, a real story because this story is also linked to my own story with exporting and importing my export career. At the start of my export career, I encountered this case study, this story, which is very inspiring, which is, which gave me a lot of insights into the process of export business.

And if you understand the story and go deeper, it has got some really interesting facts that a person without very strong training in exports with very limited resources and with the help of the Indian government, and Indian trade promotion organization, got a very small stall in a very simple and less costly international trade fair in a European country, at the right place, at the right time, and I don't know how he got to know about this trade fair and how he identified that he can go there with very limited resources and try his luck. And he tried his luck. He succeeded with very few items. He could make it big. So there are so many elements to this story, so many learning from different perspectives. And there is a lot to learn from this story.

That is the reason I started this course with this story to you. So in this course in the episodes later on, whatever I'll be sharing with you, you will be able to relate the story directly or indirectly with the experiences, examples, case studies, and concepts, which I'm going to discuss in the coming episodes. So, Friends, I am quite confident that this second episode will be very, very useful to you in understanding the contents of the coming episodes, which I'm going to share with you. So with this belief, I request you to start episode number three at your convenience. Thank you very much.

Choose only one answer

Hello friends welcome back to the course. So in this section, my objective is to apprise you how the export marketing process can be done in a very practical way. No theory. It is just a demonstration of how this process has to be carried out. So to do this I'm going to take up a kind of case study based on my own experiences working with an Indian company and in an Indian environment what I'm going to demonstrate to you and what I am going to share with you that information can be implemented in other countries if you belong to any other country you will find similar online resources you will find similar types of portals and the sources of information that will be local local in the sense that it will be of the local type of that particular country but they're going to help you in carrying out similar export marketing process in your own country. So while it is an India-based case study this is the only way for me to share with you how to carry it out based on real events that are very important so no bookish knowledge. Pure practical demonstration of the things that have been done in a particular case in a particular product line in a particular situation. That situation is very revealing and very demonstrative. So that's my idea. So let's go into this section and uh let me share with you this complete case study uh that uh will surely help you understand how this export marketing process has to be done for whatever product you deal with whatever country you belong to and whichever internal markets you are targeting.

Desk research is the most important starting stage of the export marketing process. Desk research can save a lot of time, effort, and money in the later stages of export marketing.

In the last three episodes, I give you an introduction to export marketing the different types of skills, and how this course is organized I also shared with you one very interesting story which uh is a story which explains to you that on the ground when we talk of export marketing what are the realities what are the facts and the extent of the role of theoretical knowledge or the bookish knowledge which has a very limited scope in the Practical world but these theoretical knowledge Concepts do have some advantages to take certain decisions when you go for export marketing so nobody can deny that. But at the same time, the more important part of international business and Export marketing is the practical skills, practical case studies, and practice which you do which keep on changing from time to time. So you had an era where the practices were different now you have a different era when practices are different so in today's episode I'm going to discuss with you one very good example of how you start doing export Marketing in a very practical way and I will take the example of uh a particular situation which I faced long back in the early '90s and how I managed starting of the export marketing of those products and how would I do now. So that era is what I did and this era is what I would do in a similar situation if I had to start export marketing certain identified products what I would do now. So why I'm doing why I'm taking the example of the '90s to be implemented now is because the practices that I adopted in the early '90s to some extent are still relevant So we cannot ignore those practices of export marketing in that era even in today's era So that's why I want you to learn what I did in early '90s and what I would have done if I had faced the export marketing problem of the type which I faced in ' 90s what I would have done now how would I have tackled that situation now

So this will serve as a very good example for you and you will understand how do you start export marketing. So I will just share with you this situation which I faced in the early '90s I joined a Swiss company which was the competitor of uh Xerox company which you already know and Xerox was manufacturing toners and Developers for the photocopy machines and other office equipments black toner. This company was among the very few other companies who had the technology to manufacture black toners and even today it is one of the uh biggest companies in the world this Swiss company manufactures black toners for photocopier machines and Laser printers. So this company had set up a plant in India for manufacturing toners and developers with an Indian partner and uh I was inducted as the key person heading the export department and my job was to do export marketing of the black toners and developers at that time for photocopy machines. Selected models. So they were not very uh large range but there was a fairly good range of compatible black owners and Developers for certain photocopy machines like Canon Ricoh and other brands. So my job was to set up the exports division which would be able to export these products to different countries in the world and that was my job to start with the desk research to start, find out the markets find out the potential buyers internationally and start exporting.

So what I had expected from this role is that that for 3 to 4 months I will be doing some desk research I will contact some International companies who deal with toners I will start the dialogue with them after finding out which are the countries which uh actually can be potential for uh importing the toners and developers manufactured by this Swiss company in India. So what I had expected was that I would be doing this for 3 to 4 months and then I would be moving to these countries and talking to these people in person by visiting these countries and uh I will be able to forge ties with them and probably set up a regular distribution of these products manufactured in India and sold to these importers regularly. So that was my idea. That is how I envisioned this role. So as I had envisioned what I did I tried to find out all about my product I talked to the technical people I visited the factory of the uh organization which had my office marketing office and export marketing office in Delhi and the factory was located in one location Uttar Pradesh.

So I went there I talked to the head of the manufacturing Division I talked to the uh main technical people about how it is manufactured what is the function of black toner and how it works in a photocopy machine and laser printer so I tried to understand everything all kind of properties of the product specifications and uh what is the meaning of compatibility that this toner is compatible with a particular model or Canon or some other product so I for almost about 1 month I spent in understanding the product and understanding the specification and understanding the compatibility and the role of the product in the photocopiers or laser printer or whatever uses they had. The quality issues and uh what could be the problems which consumers can face in terms of performance of the product. So everything I wrote down in my diary I made very good notes about everything so for one month I was just trying to understand the product. At the same time, I also started to visit International Market information or market intelligence sources in Delhi and around Delhi. In the early '90s, we did not have a very robust online database International database that could tell me which are countries to Target and uh which are countries where my product would be more sellable what will be the right strategies to enter into a specific market.

So those data had to be collected in those times through physical sources which were available and the physical sources were like we had in Delhi for example Market information data available at the Indian trade promotion organizations trade library at Pragati Bhawan in Delhi so it contained a lot of market reports on different products. So I had to find out my product if there was any report or any information available in the ITPO library or in the Indian Institute of Foreign Library which had product reports and market reports of specific products. Then CII also had some Market delegation reports then FICCI at that time had a complete top floor in their main office near Bengali Market in Delhi which was devoted to Market intelligence data.

So I subscribed to their newsletter I also subscribed to their Market intelligence unit I went there and tried to find the data all those things to find out which are the countries which are the markets and how this business is done internationally. So all the information I collected from these kinds of sources ITPO sources IIFT sources CII sources, FICCI sources even FIEO had some data of that type and very importantly at that time we had certain private Services that were giving the Customs data.

So if we get that data from Customs using the ITC code we could find out from that data how much quantity in what form is being exported to a particular country but since India was not manufacturing this product in a very big way that data did not help me much because we had the Indian custom data and since the goods were not being exported from India so obviously this data did not contain too much information about this particular black toner and developer which was being manufactured again in Uttar Pradesh by Xerox. Xerox had a factory for the same product. So Xerox was doing some export but it was uh of a different type because it was the Xerox brand so they had been supplying to their own uh consumption in different countries so that did not help me much.

So I had to collect the data on the other countries' exports to different markets and what is happening So that were the two things which I did the first was to understand the product and the second was to understand how the goods of that type were being traded internationally what is the import Source what are the export source and whether there was some special hubs of uh trading that product like for example I give you an example in India we have the manufacturing of small diamonds which uh is very much concentrated in Gujarat and Maharashtra but the trading centers are not based in India the trading centers for small as well as the larger Diamond are based in Europe not in India. So similarly to the black toners and developers, I came to know that the biggest trading Hub at that time at least I'm not very sure what is the position now but at that time it was Singapore. So Singapore was the hub for the office automation equipment supplies and consumables it was the world's largest Hub where the sale purchase trading was happening and the second place where the trading was happening was Dubai and Sharjah.

This was the first information that I understood from all these efforts of going to ITPO or IIFT library or FICCI Library FICCI intelligence unit or FIEO unit and Customs data all this information which was collected through physical means at that time gave me an outline of the flow of black toners and developers in the world and all flow was moving through biggest TRADING hubs of these items in Singapore and Dubai So that was very good information for me. At the same time, I also came to know that the type of models for which we had been manufacturing the toners and developers or the models for which we had the Knowhow in the manufacturing unit in India to manufacture compatible black toners and developers were in countries like Jordan Kuwait Russia Bangladesh and of course, there were uh big traders in Dubai and Singapore which uh these Traders had their clientele all over the world and they knew where to sell and how to sell either in bulk form or in retail packing so that that was a very good data and information which I could collect from all these efforts and all this desk work or and communicating with the foreign parties about their interest in our products all these things took almost 3 to 4 months which were enough for me to collect all the product information Market information buyers information trading Hub information so with all these information I made a plan to visit these different countries.

Uh collected all the information on our products and collected all prices did pricing export pricing of the toners and developers either in bulk form which was the drum form like 20 to 30 kg Drums of the black toner powder and developer powder or in the retail packing the small purchase packing so both the packings and different uh uh forms of products I made the complete list of uh pricing of different models and uh the uses. And the targeting to the bulk purchaser or the uh retailers. So I also found out the nature of the consumers they could be the end users they could be the wholesalers they could be the importers they could be Traders and there was another category of buyers that we even today call OEM. OEM is an original equipment manufacturer. Now what is this OEM? OEM means in my case of this example of black toners for photocopiers or Laser Printers, these are the companies who manufacture the equipment like for example Ricoh or Minola.

At that time there was another company called Minolta which was manufacturing photocopy machines like Ricoh or Canon. So there was a possibility that in the bulk packing that is 20 kg or 30 kg Drums of the black toner, we could supply to these manufacturers of the photocopy machine who could brand our product in retail packing of their put the powder in their packing or the cartridges or in the refill pack whatever form and put their brand and sell the product. So they are called the OEM manufacturers.

So all this information is not rocket science and you don't need very big training for this.

This was in the early '90s when I had done all these things and uh complete with these all data I could visit International visit plan I went to Singapore I went to Dubai I went to Sharjah, I went to Abu Dhabi, I went to Kuwait. I went to Jordan because I why planned these countries because was in the desk stage when I was contacting these parties so many of these parties from these countries only had responded to me and they had shown their interest in buying the products. So I made a list of all the possible Traders and importers in these countries which I just mentioned to you and I visited all these countries and talked to them and tried to get first-hand information from the horse's mouth. By talking to these importers and Traders I wanted to understand if are they willing to give the kind of price that we are expecting are they willing to take the quantities regularly that we were trying to sell? And if they had any apprehension or if they had any reservations about the prices the possible quality issues of the product or the post-sale services and very importantly the time of delivery. How long after they place the orders for our toner either in drum form in the refill packs or in the retail packing to reach them? That is the supply chain Logistics time from UP Factory to Mumbai Port from Mumbai Port to the destination Port how long does it take and how long does it take for our Factory to process the export order? So these timings also I had already worked upon and I discussed all these things with the uh the potential Partners clients and uh some of them were okay some of them was not okay. So they gave their terms and conditions. So we had to write down I had to write down their requirements and their expectations from us in terms of price in terms of packing in terms of logistics and time of delivery and also payment terms. What are the payment terms? Is it through a letter of credit? is it through some kind of advanced system? or is it through on some credit lines? Usance lines? so those things also as an exporter as a marketer, you have to know and you also have to understand a little bit about the nature of contracts. What kind of contract you can reach between you as a seller and the Importer as a buyer?

In the next lecture, I will take you to the Indian Trade Portal as a case example and case study and show you step by step the techniques to find out potential obvious overseas markets for my products and those places offering certain competitive advantages vis a vis my competitors.

In the last episode, I discussed different ways of starting the process of export marketing initial phase of export marketing is desk research. And I had told you that by giving one example of uh the real situation which I underwent in the early '90s and I mentioned to you that not much has changed but there are a few things have changed. The starting point of the desk research has changed and I promised you in the last episode that I would take you to the India trade portal where I would start my desk research on examples of toners and Developers for photocopiers and Laser Printers. If I had to start export marketing from scratch in 2020 that is the current year I would start with the Indian trade portal. I will take you to the Indian trade portal I will make you aware of different uh facilities which are available on the Indian trade portal to start with.

And then I will show you how I will use the Indian trade portal to find out possible countries of focus for doing international trade in uh this example of toners and Developers for photocopiers and Laser Printers as well as the other types of information which will be very very useful at this stage of the desk research for export marketing. So without much ado let us go to the Indian trade portal.

As you can see here this is the Indian trade portal website where you can see Blue Banner which is a new service started by the government of India through the Federation of Indian exports organization FIEO which allows you to start your product export online store. So before I set up my online export store using this service very good service of the government of India through FIEO, I will first do the market research and the desk research. And once I have this complete research with me and when I have done the second phase of the initial research which is to meet the international buyers and get to know the difficulties of the buyers and the requirements of the buyers I will come back to the FIEO service wherein I can create an online store online export store for Toners and Developers for photocopiers and Laser Printers to get the direct orders from the buyers.

Because this is a very very important uh development that has taken place in this desk research is that now the digital channels have become very important. We are trying to find out the information from the Indian trade portal here uh uh for uh destination countries and other information similar service which is given by this trade portal in terms of setting up your exports online store is equally useful. So we'll take up that thing later. So as you can see here uh this portal is very comprehensive and uh I will show you what are the facilities that are available on this portal. So first I will show you that this website has data for 87 countries as you can see here and it provides basic customs duties most favored nation tariff, preferential tariff and rules of origin, and SPS measures that are sanitary and phytosanitary because they are kinds of non-tariff barriers SPS is the non-tariff barrier imposed by many countries.

So it is very very important to understand that what are the different types of barriers which can be tariff barriers and non-tariff Barriers. Tariff barriers are mostly in the form of import duties. Non-tariff barriers are in the form of non-monetary barriers like SPS barriers. And then there are technical barriers to trade as you can see here and they also are the form of non-tariff barriers. So this website gives you country-wise information on all these matters as you can see here. In addition to that you can search for your ITC HS code for the product which will do and we can find out the tariff, preferential tariff, and as I already told you SPS-TBT matters, about the GST rates which are applicable although GST whatever is the rate is refundable for exports and the government incentives in the form of MEIS, drawback interest subvention rates and the export-import policy conditions. There is so much information available on this uh Indian trade portal which is extremely useful for my desk research for toners and Developers for photocopiers and Laser Printers.

There is another area here which is of a lot of interest and that is the trade statistics as you can see here. So trade statistics refers to the different export as well as the import data of 87 countries which have been claimed on this website that they have this data. So from trade statistics we can find out how much exports and imports are happening for my product that is the toners and Developers for photocopiers and laser printers. So I'll be using this link to find out trade Statistics of the target countries which I decide. So before that, I have to find out which are the countries of interest for black toners and uh Developers for photocopiers and Laser printers.

I will first try to find out which are suitable countries where my company has an artificial Advantage Vis-a-vis the exporters from other countries. So those countries will be more suitable for me. So let us uh start the uh the research here on this. So here I will first use this part which is to find out the Tariff structure in different countries, SPS TBT information, and other government policy information for my product, and to do that I need to know the ITC HS code for my product.

Now to start with I have not done any research to find out what is the ITC HS code for Black toners for photocopiers and Laser Printers. uh So what I will do instead of ITC HS code I will write down the description of my product which is black toners for photocopiers. So I will just write it down and I will try to find out. okay. So here what I see there is a description given here which says that compatible black toner for Laser Printers and photocopiers. So it is there. And my HS code starting HS code is 370790. Why I'm saying the HS code is a starting HS code because it is six digits.

In the international market, the HS code can be quite deep in classifying a particular item in HS code it can go quite deep so when I say six digits it is not deep enough if it is 8 digits if it is 10 digits it can be even 12 digits in some countries so while six digits code will be standard all over the world, the 8 digit 10 digit 12 digits further deeper classification may differ from country to country. So that also I have to find out in my target countries how the deeper HS code number changes for my product and I have to keep track of the deeper code numbers. So that's very very important in the uh International Products Research it is very very important you start with six digits HS code number. Go for eight. Go for 10 and when you are reaching 10 depth from country to Country uh the last few digits will change in uh different countries. So that is very very important to understand. But superficial six-digit HS code would be almost the same in all the countries.

I can take my start from this six-digit HS code number. So that has to be understood very well now I have my HS code here so what I will do with I will start here I will click on export because my interest area is export. Interest if it had been Imports that I'm looking for the black toner to import in India and sell in India then I would have pressed the import button but since I want to export so I will press here export button. So when I press the export button I see that I see further depth in the HS code. So here you can see that the chapter for my product is 37. The category is 4 digit 3707. Item category, subcategory is six digits which is 370790 and then I do have the 8-digit HS code number which is recognized by Indian Customs which classifies subcategories into two different product categories sub-subcategories.

I have to be very very sure that among these 8-digit HS codes recognized by Indian customs which one is suitable for black toners for photocopiers and Laser Printers. So we have to read this uh particular subcategory in the first category it says chemical preparations for photographic use other than varnishes glues adhesives and similar preparations. It says it is an unmixed product for photographic use put up in measured proportion or put up for retail sale in a form ready for use. So my toner in the user's hand is unmixed. Users need not mix the toner because it already comes in the cartridge so it lies in this category.

And uh uh it is for photographic use because in the laser printer and the photocopy machine toner makes a photographic image and plastic properties of the toner with the pressure drum and the heating drum the image is fixed on the paper. So it is definitely for photographic use and it is with the example of Developers and fixers. So as per the description out of the two possible categories in the 8-digit format of the HS code, this seems to be the best candidate for for my toners. Nevertheless, we will look at the other categories also which say chemical preparations for photographic use other than varnish glue adhesives and similar preparations of unmixed products for photographic use put up in major portion or put up for retail sale in the form of ready-to-use.

In case any wording in my toner for photocopy and laser printer would not have fallen in this category then I would have put this in the other category so I need not go for this other category because all the wordings of the first 8-digit HS code matches with my line so I need not choose for the other. So it is very very clear that my HS code 8 digit is this which I can note down in a diary also it is better. So you will have an idea at least in the Indian Customs my HS code is this. You will find that this HS code of 8 digits will coincide with similar numbers almost same number in many of the countries you will find that 8 digit HS code will match in many countries.

We should try to First keep track of this number 8 digit number in those countries unless it is 10 digit or 12-digit number in which case we'll have to be more careful and we have to find out the right category in those countries so this will come later on in my research that how to select the Sub sub-subcategories in the 10-digit and 12 digit format of the HS code. So I will show you how to do that. Now here as you can see here uh out of these two a-digit categories the first one suits me. So I will click here and I will press next here

Choose only one that is best

So when I press next here, I get the option to try my luck to find out the suitability of the countries among the different 87 countries for which this portal has the data and for all practical purposes, all these 87 countries are the countries where frequently India has a regular dealing for exports as well as imports.

So beyond these 87 countries, I do not see that any kind of research would be required maybe in the later stages.

If there is one country that is outside these 87 countries, you get some information from the international market that there is some potential that may be a different case, but it is a very, very rare situation.

So these 87 countries' data will suffice. On this page, the portal gives me the first give me a list of the top 25 countries based on my selection of the product, which is the HS code like this, which is a 6-digit HS code data.

Can find out that these are the 25 top countries which are. Importer of that category. The category which I've chosen, these are the 24 countries which are the big importers of that category.

Now among that category, they may be importing toner or they may not be. So there may be some other kinds of products and chemicals which are being imported by them. So I cannot very confidently say that these are the 25 top importers of toners and developers, they are the top importers of the category rep by this HS code

So it is a category. It is not a product.

It is a category.

This category has many products which can be put in this category.

So these 25 countries out of the 87 countries are the top importers of the items that fall into that category.

So I think it is reasonably good information that these countries have been importing this category.

And at least from the import point of view, point of view, from the tariff point of view, since they are top importers.

So Indian exporters are finding them quite comfortable to deal with, which means the possibility of exports looks quite prospective.

So what I can do for my initial research, I can focus on these countries and not go to other countries, which here is shown in the region where is, for example, SAARC region or ASEAN religion or European countries which are part of European Union, or GCC countries, Gulf countries or Mercosur countries or EU countries or EAC countries or the other countries which are not listed in these trade groupings and the poor countries like Ethiopia and Mozambique, Senegal.

So my idea is that that at the initial stage, my interest is not to target regions.

My interest at present is to find out a few countries where I can start my focus, so what I will do.

So it is very, very clear to me that I have to first try my luck with these 25 countries and find out which one is more suitable for me. now, another thing I want to tell you here, and that mistakes should not be made.

That as it is, given that these are the 25 countries of this particular category of product which they import.

This list of these 25 countries is not in the order of the value of imports here.

The list is given alphabetically.

You can see here Bangladesh, Belgium, and Brazil, alphabetically.

So we are not able to see that out of these 25 countries, which is the biggest importer of this category of items.

So this information is not here.

We cannot find out the sequence of the countries from the point of view of the value of import, rather this list of the top 25 importers of my category.

But you are in there.

So what I will do?

At any given point, I can. choose to compare.

Why compare, because I want to compare countries. wise, that

Do we have any advantage in dealing with a particular country?

Do I have any landed price discount available for export from India so that I will have it natural, not natural, actually artificial, artificial advantage vis a vis my competitors if I have a bilateral agreement with these countries?

So what I can do, I can see here that I will for my general knowledge, about my initial research about toners and developers for photocopiers and laser pointers.

I will choose five countries to compare and later on I can change this set

So among these 25 countries, I can have different combinations of five countries to compare which one is better for us.

So, for example, I started with Bangladesh.

I choose Bangladesh and what I see here.

But it is very interesting that Bangladesh, which is our neighbor, we have got one, two, three, four, five agreements out of which few seem to be bilateral.

And if the advantage is there because of that bilateral agreement, definitely Bangladesh would find importing from India more attractive than any other country, including Singapore, possibly, unless BD has a bilateral agreement with Singapore also

So this is the list of the agreements.

So the more the number of agreements, the prospect of getting a better deal is.

So we'll come back to that later.

So I choose Bangladesh, I choose Brazil and I choose Singapore because I have the idea that Singapore is a trading hub.

So I will choose to choose Singapore.

I will also try my luck with Thailand and I will also try my luck with Turkey.

Now, I can see here, but easily that with Turkey we have only two agreements.

So chances of any special advantage with.

Turkey seems to be very remote.

So in any case, I will include this for comparison purposes, and with Thailand, we do have certain agreements, but they all seem to be multilateral with Singapore also.

We have several agreements and some seem to be bilateral.

So let us look at these five countries set of five countries, because I cannot choose more than five countries for comparison.

So at a given point.

So in this particular trial, I will use these five countries that are chosen and I will press next.

So here, the moment I press next, I see these five countries.

Table Here and.

What I see here, this is very interesting.

The possibility of our product.

In this six-digit HS code.

Varies from country to country, because every country has got the combination of. 8-digit 10-digit or even 12-digit HS Code numbers.

Where our product may be further identified with a deeper HS code

If you remember, I told you that we have to go deeper and deeper to find out. our item

So in these countries, what I see, what this table shows, is that in the case of Bangladesh, that is no problem because they have not gone deeper in the HS code.

So our toner will lie in this code only.

Now, in the case of Brazil, there are five possibilities for finding our product.

So when I bring my mouse here, what I see that all these categories, if you go to any of these,

HS code nos, automatically when I hover my mouse a

Description of the products comes in the case of Brazil, it is in the Portuguese language.

I'm not sure.

I think it is Portuguese language.

So I will have to get it translated, to find out that out of these five categories, which is our category.

So what I will do in Bangladesh, there is no problem.

I will press this in the case of Brazil out of these five, I will press the first one because I have to take the help of the translation of the description of each of these eight-digit HS categories.

HS code categories to find out where my toner will lie in the case of Brazil.

Now, in the case of Singapore also, there are two possibilities, like in India.

So both of these categories are the same.

What Indian custom has shown, if you remember, in the Indian custom also there are two categories 10 and 90.

And what we had found that our code lies in the first one.

So there is no need to find out.

We can still go for the first category.

So Singapore category in Indian category customs for this particular category matches

So there is no problem, there is no question of any dispute on this.

In the case of Thailand, they are using the 10-digit code.

Now also you can see that in the 10-digit code also here in the case of Thailand, we have the 10 number and ninety number in both categories.

And further, they are zero.

So there is no dispute.

Now, our HS code also matches with the Thailand Code

So there is no dispute here.

Now Similarly, in the case of Turkey, what we find here is that.

There is a lot of difference in the HS code here, why it is there because after nine zero instead of one and nine in Turkey, the code is 2 And 9

It is very, very obvious that the last one is not the situation, because the last one is another and because it matches with the Indian HS code which we had already rejected.

So our product should lie in these two categories.

So what I will do, I'll bring my models here in the case of Turkey and I will try to see whether the first one is our code or the second one.

So here it mentions developers and fixers already in the second.

Also, it is mentioning developers and fixers

So we will try to see what is the difference between the two.

Yes, so as we can see here.

In the first code, also uses the word electrostatic toner cartridge cartridges, so it means the first one is not only the developer but also the toner.

So there is no dispute now.

So our choice would be the first one.

So what we see is that in all the cases, what we see that the first choice happens to be our HS code of 10 and 12 digits in all these countries.

So what we have done, is we have chosen the right HS code, which is the overseas HS code, which is the HS code, recognized by the customs of those countries.

So now we have been able to find out the HS code in those countries, also Friends.

This is very, very important.

Once you know the HS code in these countries, you should note it down, because if you happen to export your product to these countries and to find the exact import duty, this HS code should be in your diary because the Indian HS code will not work Indian HS code will not help you.

You have to have the HS code of the. the particular country recognized by the customs of that country and this is the time when you can copy it so you can take a print screen also, you can save the print skin at this stage and you can keep it in your record or you can note down these items.

So now we already have this information to the.

So we'll press next get.

OK, so when I press next here, I get complete data of the five countries that under what agreement, what are the import tariffs?

So here we are talking about the tariff barriers.

We'll see the nontariff barriers later. but here what we are talking about is the tariff barriers in each of these countries,

Now here we have to look for those countries where we have artificial advantages for exporting from India.

So in the case of Bangladesh, we have an artificial advantage because of the South Asian free trade area tariff which is zero percent, which means if I export from India, my toners and developers to Bangladesh, the import tariff by the Bangladesh Customs will be zero.

So this is the artificial one for me.

So this is our good preference Bangladesh?

Now, let us go to the case of Brazil.

Now in the case of Brazil.

We do not have any bilateral agreement.

So there is an artificial adv, we have we have a multilateral agreement, which is because of the World Trade Organization, WTO and the WTO adv is available to all the WTO member countries, which are 180 countries.

So we will not have any artificial adv

Because of this, the World Trade Organization will get the MFN Tariff which is 14 percent but this 14 percent tariff applies to anybody exporting from any country in maybe Singapore, maybe  Indonesia, maybe China, any country that is exporting laser Toners, Toners, Developers or photocopier machine Toners.

So this is not a good selection for us.

While Brazil, Brazil is not Bangladesh is a good selection.

Good choice.

Let us go to the let us go to the other country's cases.

Now, if we look at Singapore with Singapore, we have a bilateral agreement which is visible here.

That is the ASEAN India free trade agreement.

And we have another agreement, that is the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore.

And we also have an MFN tariff, which is zero percent.

So in the case of Singapore also, we do not have artificial advantages because the MFN tariff is zero.

So our bilateral agreement tariff is also zero, which means there is no artificial adv Singapore,

MFN tariff will apply to all the countries, which means if Singapore imports from India or any other country, it will impose only zero percent import tariffs.

So here again, despite having two bilateral agreements, we do not have a natural adv.

So Singapore is also not a good choice for us from the point of view of artificial adv

But we cannot ignore Singapore probably because Singapore is likely to be the big trading hub of Laser and photocopier machine consumables.

So we cannot discount the importance of Singapore from this point of view.

But from the point of view of the artificial advantages, we do not have any advantages here.

Now, coming to Thailand, if we take the example of Thailand, we do have an ASEAN-India free trade agreement.

So we do not have any special preference.

We have an ASEAN India trade agreement not applicable.

We have an early harvest scheme tariff which does not apply to this scheme rules of origin are not applicable.

But again, in the case of Thailand, it is a similar case.

Like Singapore, the MFN tariff is zero.

So any country that exports toners for photocopiers and printers will be treated with zero percent import.

So we do not have an artificial adv, although we have the MFN duty like Singapore.

So if Thailand happens to be our important buyer from the point of view of the total value of import of this category, as well as my item in that category, I have to further research how much my particular item is being imported by Thailand.

If I can find out category-wise, it is among the top 25 importers, but I do not know my item in.

How much is being imported in Thailand so that has to be further researched?

But what I come to know here is that Thailand gives zero percent import duty. in the case of Turkey MFN tariff is six percent and we do not have any other.

So out of these five countries, what we see our best choice for because of the artificial when this happens to be Bangladesh, now Bangladesh.

When compared with Brazil, when compared with Singapore, Thailand, and Turkey give us an artificial adv, being our neighbor.

We will have zero percent duty while many other countries, including China and many other countries in Europe or any other continent they will not have probably will not have this adv what we have with BD.

So this is one example, of what we can find out that out of these five countries from this angle, this perspective, Bangladesh seems to be a better choice.

So we can do this exercise with many other combinations of five countries as we did in this case.

And we can jot down the list of countries that provide us with artificial advantages.

So at the end of this iteration of a different set of countries, we should be able to find out at least five or six other countries where we have artificial adv like we could find out in this particular example, one country, and that is Bangladesh, where we have artificial adv.

So similarly, by doing this process again and again among these 25 top importers from India of this category, we should be able to find out at least four or five countries where we have some artificial adv, like in the case of Bangladesh.

So this is the idea.

This is what the tariff barriers we are not talking about tariff barriers, which are TBT or SPS barriers

So what we find here there is a very interesting thing, which I want to tell you.

In this page, this particular page of the India trade portal, Nowhere, is a mention of SPS and TBT policies in these countries, at least in these countries, it may be there in some countries, but at least in these 5 countries, there is no mention if there would have been a nontariff barrier on our item that.

The button would have come here on this part in front of that country, and this would have allowed us to press that button, to find out if there is any non-tariff barrier SPS or TBT that is the technical barriers.

So it is very clear that at least in these 5 countries, we do not have any non-tariff barriers

So that is another good information for us that my product line does not attract any nontariff barriers in these countries at least.

But it is likely that if it is not there in these countries, it is not likely to be there in many other countries.

Maybe in the case of the U.S., it is possible because the U.S. is very, very particular about technical sophistication, and maybe some European countries.

There are maybe SPS or TBT barriers, maybe there.

So that has to be checked.

So if there are non-tariff barriers, you need to click that button and you will find out the policy, and the requirements and you just meet those requirements, which may be not difficult to meet.

So this is the method I would use to do my desk research.

So this is how we will be able to not only list the countries where we have the artificial end run, but we will, also be able to write down country-wise, what will be the import duties.

We will be able to calculate the Landed price very easily so that adv we have already got how to find out the Landed price

So now the only portion, that remains for us to see, is that out of these 25 major importers, is there any way to find out?

What are the exact quantities out of these 25 countries they are importing from India?

So that information has to be found OK.

So in the next episode, I will explain to you how to find out among these top 25 importers which are the countries of interest, that are importing major quantities of this category items.

I may not be able to find out exactly for the toner, but there is one important thing here, in the case of some of the countries, we have even 12-digit numbers.

So possibly in some of these countries, if we can find out the value of imports in the 12-digit

HS code category, there is a strong possibility that it would be referring to toners

But in most cases, you will find that the 12-digit HS code would not be available because of which we may not be able to know from the data how many toners for photocopiers and laser printers, these countries will be importing.

So we will have to.

That is the reason I told you last episode that this research cannot give us the complete picture.

It cannot give the picture of what we would have got from the data we get from the IIFT library or ITPO National Informatics Center the the FICCI and CII delegation reports or intelligence reports.

So in those reports, there is a possibility of knowing exactly for toners and developers some of the figures.

But from the custom data, unless we have the data for the 12 HS code exact.

I just could we cannot find out for our product what is the quantity.

So that's the reason we cannot depend on one source.

We cannot depend on one Indian trade portal to find out the complete picture.

So this desk research cannot exactly remain on the desk.

We have to move.

We have to move to the IIFT library, we have to move to CII.

FICCI, Thomas Register, Thomas Register, basically will not give us the data, but Thomas Register will give us the names of the parties, names of the companies, and big traders who would be interested in doing business with you for the importation of the toners and developers.

So friends, in this episode, I will stop here and in the next episode we will try to find out the quantitative data possibly for our product category in the top 25 countries, which I mentioned Thank you

In the next video, I will explain how to use the International Trade Center portal to analyze the international trade statistics for your product line using the ITC - HS code.

Hello. Friends

Welcome back to episode number nine of this VJ Exports Mastery course titled Learn Practical Exports

Marketing Skills Friends.

I'm Dr. Vijesh Jain

We are continuing on this.

Very important export mastery skill course.

In the earlier episodes, I discussed with you the.

The initial part of the desk research, which is.

Required to be done in the present times.

By taking the example of one product line, that is the toners and developers for photocopiers and laser printers.

Friends, in the earlier episode, I took you to the Indian trade portal, where we found out the ITC code number of our product, which is the toners and developers for photocopy machines and laser printers.

And we researched the advantages of exporting to certain countries from India if we have any special advantages to identify certain countries with obvious possibilities of.

The artificial advantages of being able to export our products to these countries, so in that particular research, we focused on the top 25 countries that are importing that product category.

And we could locate a few countries where we have the advantage, like Bangladesh and Singapore being a trading hub, so it is a natural choice for us.

Now in this episode, friends.

I will take you to another Web site.

That is the international Web site where you can find the import data.

Of our ITC HS code Category six digit HS code category, we can find out which are the top importers how much they're importing and what is the trend of their imports in the last several years.

So I will show you how you can find out that information.

So what will happen with that information will come to know which are the main countries we can focus on and what we can do once we find that some top 7-8 countries are importing that category from the world as well as from India.

So we can also find out how much they are importing from India.

So that information we can also find out.

Based on that information, we can come back to the Indian trade portal and do the market advantages or market preference research, as we did in the last episode.

So these possibilities are there.

So you have to keep on trying from different sources what information you can get.

And not to forget that the other sources I had discussed you very traditional sources like Indian trade promotion organization, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, American Library, or CII reports, FIEO reports, FICCI reports, and intelligence data.

All those information sources have to be tested and tried to be very sure that the identification of the markets, which we would like to do in the second phase of this export marketing strategy, which is to visit the countries, to meet the clients there, because many times what happens that when you send the communication, many people respond.

But that response may not be based on factual data, which means they may be simply an expression of interest.

It may not mean the real business.

So you must visit those countries and those companies which have potential.

So this information, whatever we are collecting from Indian trade and from the new source, which I will show you today, whatever data, whatever the countries list and the policy framework, whatever we are learning, we need to note it down

We need to analyze it.

Based on the responses we get from the interested importers, the importers in different countries, we have to take a final call about which are the places to visit and which are the places to have meetings, arrange meetings, and discuss with them the possibility of business.

So those things are interrelated and the idea is to minimize the waste of money and resources.

And a waste of time. it is very important that you hit the bull's eye at the right time and the right place so that the final results are good.

So friends, let's go to this new website. So friends

We are here at the International Trade Center website, which maintains the robust data international data of the ITC.

HS code-wise, category-wise data and year year-wise data country data, and even product-wise data of both importation as well as exportation.

The data is spread over several years, starting with 2001 to 2020.

So as you can see here this is the website of the International Trade Center and will try to find out the information about the importation values of our product.

What we found out was a 6 6-digit HS code.

At least we will try will also try if we can get 8-digit or 10-digit data, which may not be free.

So at least I can see here what is written here.

So what it says is that there is a trade map that is free to use and it provides trade statistics and market access information for export documents.

The map covers yearly data of two hundred and twenty countries and territories and 5300 products of the ITC HS system.

Now there is one very important part here, but what it says is that the limited version of the trade map is accessible without registration of your yearly product flows up to the digit level of the harmonized system for monthly product flows at HS 2 digit level.

So if you are looking for the exact data of the eight or 10-digit HS code, you have to get registered.

And that is a paid service, but it is available.

So we will try that without registration, how much data we can collect?

So for your demonstration purposes, I'm showing because I would not like to register in this and let us see up to what level we can find out the data for our product.

OK, so we have come to this particular page and as you can see here, we have this data available.

For all the chapters.

So what we are looking for is the chapter number 37.

Which is photographic or cinematographic goods, so this is our Interest Areas 37 chapter.

And within that, we can try to find out.

So our six-digit HS code is three seven 07.

So chemical preparation for photographic uses.

So this is our interest

And here in this one three seven zero seven, we can see that we have the top countries, which are China,

Taiwan, the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, the UK, France, and Russia.

OK, so this one.

Is their import data?

Now, let us look at the country level, so, for example, the importation is from India.

If we look at the importation from India now, the data changes that we have 2015 16, 17, 18, and 19.

So the biggest destination for our HS code category happens to be China.

It can be seen here, then in Japan, and 3rd in Singapore.

So Singapore, as I already mentioned to you, is emerging as a very big importer, followed by Taiwan and then Hong Kong and then the U.S., then Korea and then Germany. Malaysia Belgium.

So these are the top countries, China, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, US, Korea, Germany, Malaysia and Belgium.

So for our category, that is 37 07, up to four digits, which is chemical preparations for photographic uses.

It describes that particular category where our toner and developer lie but Friends this three-seven zero seven is just a four-digit HS code and it contains a hell lot of different items of a similar nature.

So this information cannot exactly give us our toner and developer from the point of view of our product line, that is toners and developers, which are the top countries to find out.

The eight-digit, 10-digit HS code data you need we need to register to the site and that is paid information on the site.

So by registering on this website, you will be able to find out this information.

Similarly, you can also find out the export data of this category all over the world.

So the biggest exporter of this particular category in 2019 was Japan, followed by the Netherlands, then Korea, the USA, Germany, and China, then Taiwan, France, Hong Kong, Belgium, the U.K., and Singapore.

So these are the top exporters of our category.

Also now another thing is that my co being a manufacturer of this item, I can also try these big exporters, because if they are big exporters of these items, they might not be making the exact item. what I'm making and since they already have the clients because they're already big exporters.

So I can even try these countries, clients in these countries who are the top exporters.

Like I give you the example of Singapore because I told you that Singapore is a big toner

And developers hub. so there is a possibility that among these countries, which are a very big exporter of these items, there is a possibility that many of the exporters from these countries may like to buy regularly from us big quantities and export to their clients.

So that possibility remains.

So that is the reason why import data as well as export data analysis is very, very important.

Now, this kind of analysis, if done beyond four-digit ITC, HS code six-digit, eight-digit or even 10-digit using the same methodology will make our work very easy.

So this is what I wanted to show you today in this episode, it is very much possible to get this kind of data.

Now, here we can even try some other things instead of values, we can also go for quantities.

So if we look at it from the qty's point of view and the export information, we can see that the biggest exporters remain China, Japan, and Belgium.

So China was not the biggest exporter earlier in terms of value but in terms of quantity.

China is number one.

It means the price of China is very low.

That is the inference which you can draw.

So this information can also help you.

Who are your competitors?

So it is very, very clear that in this product category, the biggest competitor is China.

India, because other countries' price levels are likely to be quite high, so they may not be the direct competitor for India.

So because China is the biggest exporter, China is likely to be our direct competitor.

Similarly, there is a possibility that Malaysia also may be a competitor because they may be able to match the Indian prices.

So what I can find from this information is that China and Malaysia can be our major competitors, exact

HS Code, deeper HS code will give a better picture.

But I just told you the method of doing the analysis.

This is how you do the analysis.

Now, this quantity is in tonnes, as you can see.

Let me see if India's name is there in this quantity.

Yes.

You can see here that look at the list of the exports of our category, starting with China.

We have India.

Also, a very good place just behind Ghana and just behind UAE and the U.K., so India is exporting you can see in 2015 India's tonnage was this it got reduced for some reason, this tonnage is getting reduced, so India's position has reduced for this category.

So exact HS code will tell what is the actual trend.

So this is very interesting.

Now, one more interesting point here is that Ghana is not a traditional exporter of this item, only in 2019 did Ghana come in

So it means, for all practical purposes, India is a regular exporter of this item, this category of items followed by South Africa, Turkey, and Brazil.

So they can also be our competitors.

So, Friends

My idea of showing you this trade statistical analysis was that the more time spent on this trade statistics with the deeper ITC HS Code, the better information we will get.

This information is available online.

We need to have a paid account on this website, which is the International Trade Center's website, and it maintains the complete statistics of HS code to the deeper HS code level.

So it would be a very interesting kind of analysis desk analysis.

If you use this data, spend time, making graphs.

Try different factors, try value, quantity, country, product export data, and import data

So when you spend time on this website like this, it will become very, very easy for you to understand what is happening again, I'm telling you, it may not give you the complete picture, but it will give you a fairly good idea.

This International Trade Center Trade statistics as well as the Indian trade portal

So by analyzing these digital databases and digital data nowadays, it has become very easy, comparatively much easier to do export marketing, at least in the initial stages of desk Research. Thank you

So in this section using this case study of uh a situation based on my own real experiences I shared with you a complete step-by-step process of how you managed a particular situation. You can copy this idea for your products for your own Target markets based on your company which may belong to any country. That's the idea. So in this particular section, we started with desk research and initial research what was its role in understanding the potential markets and possibly uh the buyers also for your products. And later on how to carry out uh market research uh of the type that is beyond desk research so in this particular section, my idea was to help you understand how to carry out complete desk research based on online and offline resources what all you could do in uh making yourself confident about the markets and the possibilities of export of your products the starting point that I shared that's the idea of this section. I hope you will feel now more confident about it later on in this uh course in the coming sections things will become more advanced and you will have more ideas on uh how to do practical export marketing and generate export leads.

Choose only one answer

So friends welcome back to the course. As I had mentioned to you in this uh course real practical export marketing skills can only be learned from the experiences of the practitioners and the experts. So in line with what I had said uh this particular thing and I'm very much upbeat about it that uh the real learning can come from the experiences of the practitioners. So in this section I going to talk to Mr V B Kasi who is a renowned International Commodities Trader based out of Singapore and uh Hyderabad in India. He's going to share with me his experiences, his ideas, and his suggestions for upcoming exporters. How they can go about exporting successfully doing practical export marketing and generating trade leads? So the main idea of this course is to learn from these practitioners. So in line with that let's talk to V B Kasi in this section. Let's hear what he has to say about his life experiences in being so successful International Commodities Trader let's see.

In the next several episodes several videos allow you to listen to the experiences, practical tips, and techniques of Mr. V.B. Kasi, the renowned international commodities trader from Singapore. He was in India recently when these interviews were recorded.

Hey, Vijesh, how are you?

How are you, Kasi?

I'm good.

Yeah.

Okay, great.

How's the situation in Hyderabad today?

Better, better.

So things are getting under control.

Slowly.

Yeah.

I think it will subside.

The water will recede.

Yeah, it was a freak thing.

It doesn't happen like that.

Yeah, yeah.

Uh, we had been talking yesterday that, uh, we we need to graduate into international business more than exports.

Exporting and importing.

And that is a very valid point.

But remember, because remember the till now India was in a different phase of development.

Yes.

Going forward, I think India will have a lot of multinational companies coming out of India.

They will gradually start becoming bigger and bigger.

It's just the economy, the size of the economy that will change everything.

So Reliance, for example, I foresee in 3 to 5 years reliance will be in at least 30 or 40 countries.

Yeah.

Their operations operations will go.

They'll probably try to replicate what they do in India in some other places too.

Yes.

Including the telecom side.

Yeah.

So what then happens is that you also need the talent to go with it.

Correct?

Correct.

The Indian talent.

So that talent is not then restricted to India specific.

Yes.

Yes, yes.

That talent.

Yes.

It just has to be able to work in different markets and different environments.

So that is why what happened?

I'll tell you.

In 2000, around 2000 Singapore Management University was set up around that time.

Okay.

So before they set up itself we used to get their people from IE Singapore as it is called now, i.e. international enterprise.

Okay. Uh, earlier it was known as the Trade Development Board.

So they used to come to our office regularly, like once in 3 or 4 months, they'll come to some team small to 2 or 3 people will come.

And they were asking me then saying, what is it that you will need out of us from TDB?

Uh, beyond, you know, we do developing, promoting all that stuff.

So I said, uh, then they were also very instrumental in setting up SMU itself. TDB.

Right.

They said we need to create a strong talent pool of managers locally BBA, MBA, whatever.

So I told them that since you are asking this, I distinctly feel a shortage of talented trade people in India in Singapore.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

So when I mean trade, are you hearing?

I don't know.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think I'm able to hear.

Okay.

Yeah.

There is some.

Some small.

Yes.

We need we need to create.

You can keep on importing people from outside.

Yes, yes.

To do trading here.

Yes.

So trading center.

But there is the talent to trade locally.

Yes.

So I said, now that you are starting a BBA program in SMU, you should have a track for trading.

Okay.

And there are enough trading companies around.

Yeah.

Automatically obviously.

Come and teach.

Yeah.

And then practical experience companies are available for internship.

True.

True.

Trading track.

So I think they got some feedback also from a few other companies.

Okay.

Similar.

Then they came up and invited me to join them in the academic.

Uh, the advisory board for starting up the trading track program.

Great great great.

So they picked up a few people, one, 1 or 2 from each industry.

So I came from the trading agricultural trading background.

Okay.

Greenhouse.

So someone came from Sri Lanka.

Someone came from the steel industry.

Someone came from shipping.

So they brought together 6 or 8 of us into a team.

Yeah.

And we used to hold regular one-month, once in a month, meeting in campus.

So we used to have SMU, SMU campus, SMU, SMU office, office.

Okay.

They used to have 1 to 2-hour sessions for us.

So we used to give ideas and even sometimes even linkages.

Coro, coro, coro coro all that stuff.

There, there.

The big shot from SMU Singapore is very big.

I mean very big.

Very big.

Put together a whole program and they started rolling.

So when they rolled out, I also picked up people from that.

Okay.

Very nice.

from SMU.

That's good.

You know like, it was a win-win for both the parties for you also for them.

And you know ultimately you are getting the people the right talent with the right right training.

You are getting the people.

That is good.

So we did that and a lot of them worked with me.

I mean, I always had 1 or 2 SMU guys around me, okay.

Uh, in the team, and they all and normally what was the starting packages of these people coming from SMU generally. In Singapore, if they are completely raw with no experience, you will start somewhere around 3 to $4000.

Singapore.

Singapore dollar.

Okay.

That's that's good.

That's quite, quite good.

That's normal because it's not three 3500 will make anyway.

Okay. Uh, but if you, if you have some experience or you are very bright and you can straightaway hit the ground running, then you can go up to 5000.

Okay.

Very good.

Very nice.

Very good.

And then it's all a question of how you manage your that.

It's purely based on the performance and the results.

Yes.

And the sky is the limit.

So I must have contributed at least eight, 6, or 8 trading people to Singapore's economy in a way.

Yeah.

Maybe ten.

Almost ten.

Yes.

Now, one guy, not only from Singapore but one of our shipping owners.

Ship owner that Noble used to take ships from.

Okay.

They are a very big owner.

One of the biggest in the world.

60 ships.

Okay.

Right.

60 ships of each.

40 to 100,000 tons.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

So so so.

Mid-size 40-45,000 tons would be, you know, mid-size.

Yes.

So they so they had their son.

Business training.

Shipping.

Okay, so our shipping guys are.

They cannot be.

Yes.

I'm trading.

So.

We have this guy.

Why don't you take him for training for a couple of years?

See, that is how you make the network.

That is how you make the network.

Network with the right people.

I said I didn't mind taking someone, but I was going to treat him like absolute raw material.

Yes yes, yes.

You put your conditions.

No.

Ask him to first come and see me here.

Yeah.

Hong Kong, Singapore.

Young fellow.

Very, very smart, very intelligent, very good-looking.

Okay, so I said, I do not care who your father is, how many ships you have.

I don't know your wealth.

Mirror, mirror.

This is how I decide it all.

So he.

He listened to everything I told him.

My.

I might even leave the office at six because we trade in the night also.

Uh.

And that doesn't mean you run away either, right?

So whatever time it takes, you finish your work and then leave it.

Na na na na na na na.

I'm not going to even look at what time you left.

Correct?

Correct.

So.

Whatever you said, I understood.

Abhi yeh samjho ki.

You don't know who my father is.

You don't know?

So?

So now this guy came on the right track.

So he said no.

He didn't even say so.

That.

He never started like that.

Now he didn't come like that.

So my situation, he said.

Forget about my background.

Treat me like any of your trainees.

Okay.

Anything at me?

No problem.

Whatever time it is, I will finish it and go.

Right.

And I'm fully ready for whatever you want to do with me.

Training.

Right.

And that guy, I must say, did a fantastic job for me.

Okay.

Okay.

Learned a lot?

Yeah.

He became virtually like an advisor to me.

Only because he comes with a bloody business background.

Yes, yes, yes.

You know, he is in business every day, right?

So he was a great asset to me.

He worked two and a half years with me.

And he did not go and rent a massive palace.

I am a big shot and take money from my father. No

Yes, yes, yes.

He lived in a very small little apartment.

No car, no car?

Yeah.

He lived two and a half years like this.

Yeah.

So I'm saying that, uh, this is the attitude with a year and a half years later, he knew everything about our business.

Okay.

Very nice.

Oh, two years later, he turns up in Singapore to invite me, saying, our office, the shipping office

is grand opening now.

He's the boss.

He had a massive party.

Um, party?

Yeah.

So.

But I must say, the guy was very humble, very simple.

Humble.

So he was.

That is what I realized.

You know, that in exporting, you have to be humble because you are dealing with so many different cultures of the people, different types of, uh, people from different countries. Uh, unless you are a humble person, I think you cannot survive in international business.

This is my view.

This is my experience.

So I was just thinking, if you would be sharing some interesting moments of yours you had a very illustrious career working in Turkey and then Egypt and then coming to Singapore, you have almost the entire life of in exporting, importing international business, international trading commodities, especially.

You have spent a lot of time and you have handled several types of products and services.

So if you can just share, you know, any interesting moment, which also highlights the kind of skills which a successful person in international business and exporting and importing requires.

So would you be sharing such an event or some moment or some story from your past?

Yeah, thanks.

Yeah, I.

I spent about 30 years in international business and there are several, several several takeaways because everything that you do is a learning process.

So what happens in trading is and I believe this is very true, especially when I started coming out of trading and looking at other industries, and how they operate.

I realized a long time ago that a lot of developments happen in trading first

And then they get routed into normal day-to-day and, yeah, into normal manufactured companies, bricks and mortar, FMCG, you know, those sort of things.

Way back in 1988, when the fax machine was not even known to the world, it was just about coming out.

I was going to Egypt on a mission to take the office.

Right.

So we had a crisis in Egypt.

Our country manager was leaving a very experienced, seasoned country manager.

And my boss, the owner of the company, called me and told me to go there and take over immediately.

I said, when do I take over?

He says, like yesterday, very short notice.

I said, what do I need to know?

You said there are some files here in the office.

Read all of them.

And just go inland and do what is required.

So.

While we were leaving, he told me, OK, since you're leaving and it'll be easier, why don't you go and buy yourself a fax machine, OK?

I went to buy a fax machine in the office in Bangkok.

The fax machine was still new. already there are only 2 fax m/c.

OK, ok.

But he told me you take a fax machine so that from there it becomes cheaper.

Easier that you have a machine next to you that can communicate faster.

When I bought a fax machine myself.

And so it was complete freedom actually in a way that you are not an accountant is not coming to pay money or something.

You just went I went back or give the bill. reimbursed, took the plane went up.

So why bring this up? I think a lot of innovations happen in trading faster than in other industries because trading is a fast-paced environment.

Yes, there is no time to deliberate for hours together, make committees, and then figure out.

This is right.

So you have to move quickly.

And when you want to move quickly, you have to have that quick decision-making capability as to what is right or what is right.

And yeah, the boss.

It could be wrong, but doesn't matter.

But you have to make decisions quickly.

No decision is the worst thing that can happen in trading

In some cases in trading.

A decision is always very important.

Now, to make a decision, you need to know both sides of the equation.

If so, what to do to make a decision, you need to know both sides of the equation.

You can't be taking one side of the equation to try and come up with a decision.

So it all means that you also process things faster.

Yeah.

So you start putting them into boxes faster.

The concepts are there.

So you see a development coming at you because the world is changing so quickly and so rapidly.

Then you see a development that coming at you on the TV or news or channel or newspaper.

You immediately are taking a call on it saying Is this good or bad for.

Yes, immediately.

You're not waiting for the analysis.

That can happen later.

Yes.

On the face of it, it looks like this.

Now, can I do something in terms of acting on it to protect my interest, Build, my interest, or drop a business whenever any of these options open up?

So that is why I say that innovation is very, very essential in trading because the next guy is already

breathing down your neck from the back.

Yes.

The moment you falter the next guy is going ahead.

So competitiveness is extremely high in in the trading world.

It's a very cutthroat competition.

And it is it is always an edge of the seat.

You are continuously at the edge of the seat.

That means you are checking on the assumption that you made when you did the business.

Then you are in business, in whatever business you're in every day.

You are asking yourself, is my business relevant or not?

Will it be there tomorrow or not?

Or will it disappear?

If it disappears, why should it disappear or what else can I do differently?

So this is the background of, let's say, trading in a way, international business and trading.

So having said that, there are lots and lots of stories that I can elaborate actually during all my career of these many years.

But one thing that always interests me, impresses me, is the fact that I went to Turkey, OK, makeup.

It felt that Turkey was a very promising nation in the early 90s, that this early 90s.

So they said it's so firstly, it's the most secular of Muslim countries.

It's a bridge between Europe and Asia and has a very long trading culture.

And it's powerful in its way in certain industries.

So there's a lot of goodwill to start an office.

So I was the guy who was scared to go and start the office, so we went to start the office.

But what happened before this happened?

There was a tender for a business in Turkey three or four months before that.

So they sent me there saying, you know, there is a tender likely to turn up.

So we might as well be there on the ground before the tender opens.

OK, well, I did.

And I was waiting, actually, but while waiting, what did I do?

I went to the Chamber of Commerce, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, picked up a booklet of all the companies that their members, the members in those days, Turkish industry, maybe even today, is controlled by about 15, 20 big corporates, OK, they used to be in the domestic market as well as export markets, import-export, but they are big international houses.

So I went and I picked up all these companies.

I made random phone calls, and cold calls, and met one guy in each of these companies.

OK, you could get appointments

Yes.

Yeah, I went with my company's brochures.

I gave them my brochure, introduced the company, and took their brochure.

So I looked at all the products that they have.

So over that period, the first few days that I was using this time to meet these days, then the tender opened from Istanbul.Ankara

I went to Ankara and sat there with those guys.

We won the tender that finally. First shot

We got the tender and the competition because of all the big greenhouses, the Cargill's and the money, the EDM, whatever support we took in business.

Very good.

We got the so it was like I was a folk hero in the company.

Yeah.

You got a business straightaway at the beginning itself.

In the beginning, I got the business done.

The company said they had to open a letter of credit.

You need some follow-up contracts and all those things don't come back to Bangkok there.

So I went for two weeks to week.

So you sit there and make sure they open the letter of credit, the contracts are signed, and everything is followed up.

Go to talk to the suppliers, you know, everything.

So I spent 35 days in Turkey on that trip instead of two weeks.

OK, now, while I'm stuck there waiting for things to happen.

So I went to the bank that opened the letter of credit.

I knew the manager of the bank that is opening the LC

OK, ok.

You can go through the terms and conditions.

Do things your way

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

OK.

Are you getting used to some of these letters and all those things you're instructing them?

Yes.

No.

Along with the buyer anyway.

Yeah.

OK, so please go and contact us.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Coordination.

You know, we signed contracts with them so everything is perfect now.

I still had time they had to open L/C, so I had time to move with this book.

I went on something like 25, 30 companies, big and small, everybody any trading house, any small trader or.

Yeah, I said there's no harm in meeting people.

Yes.

Yes.

Talking.

I know the line.

Yeah.

I need to say yes.

Who's doing what do I need to work 35 days?

So that's when they said, OK, let's put up our office there.

OK, OK, so the start of the operations in Turkey, they said we just within the first week, three days,

I think after we landed that apartment, I was still getting my license, and all that worked out for the company as a liaison office.

So whatever a bank account is getting set up. In the meantime, since I have the fax machine I got, I used to get emails back and forth from Bangkok's head office.

So I got an inquiry saying we want to buy STEEL.

Right. Bangkok back in those days, A was going through a big boom in construction.

Bangkok itself was building up massively.

OK, so they were they were looking to buy some steel for construction as a business line, essentially, as they were looking at the construction companies locally and then needed steel.

They are acting as an importer.

They'll sell to them, bring it to them.

Are they intent to them, OK, I'll send it to you, but you buy from a large, large shipment, so they send me an inquiry.

So since I already did this homework of knowing all these before the game, I knew how to approach the companies.

I wrote a mail on fax saying, I need a code for this and this and all that stuff, shipment, whatever

I could give, I gave them.

Lo and behold, they were probably very happy, interested, and whatever that impressed me.

I got four offers within the next day.

Just one day.

One day I just sent an inquiry in the evening.

The next morning my Fax was continuously running and I had four offers from four different big companies, all of them.

So I looked at all this, made a table, and sent it to Bangkok, saying these are and they wouldn't write in the name of the company.

I can be anything else.

They have no idea

Yes, yes, yes.

Right.

So I gave them a list and the prices, the terms and conditions, and summed it up.

Send it to the other side.

The trader who was in charge of this business globally looked at the prices.

He fell off the chair

They were so attractive because they're very attractive.

I remember it was somewhere around two hundred and seventy dollars or seventy-two dollars or something FOB at the same time.

Then he called and he told me the first thing he told me was, do you start drinking early in the morning so that he could not believe your price competition would go up.

And I think that that price cannot be possible to do so.

It is still in the world.

I said it is here.

I believe you said.

Do you know what it Brazilian price is today?

The biggest exporter.

Okay.

Okay, okay.

So what is the Brazilian price today?

I don't know.

I don't keep track of all that.

He said it was three hundred and forty dollars fob.

My God, my God, my God.

So I said so be it.

But yeah, I have not one guy within the four range.

I have four guys.

has to be right, yes, it has to be right.

Four guys exist here and there is nothing like this is he kept asking questions.

No, no.

I think that may not be British standard.

It may not be ASTM

I think Turkish standard, you know, I think maybe the production process is lousy.

Maybe they don't do correctly the alloys.

You know, maybe the radiation issue is also there, something that happened.

So he kept asking questions and I kept bombarding these guys with questions.

So they reached a stage by

certain places.

I got the whole bunch of booklets from them, one still in the base of the next two days, I became a steel, virtually steel expert steel company.

I mean, I can tell you the difference between the ASTM and British Standard OK, just that and which one is better, which is not that is it.

But what is the difference? me

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Oh, yeah.

Then I satisfied with everything now, everything that they threw at me, I'm satisfied.

So finally we went back and pulled back and forth and after two days of negotiations, they even gave me a discount little bit or allowed to succeed where we worked.

OK, I've got a shipment in March.

This was in January, just two months, January.

I'm in January.

I'm in Turkey, setting up the office around 15 of January.

Yes, this is the shipment was in early March.

Well, then they will they said me.

How do we know they are producing this cargo?

Mm hmm.

So maybe they would have the cargo.

So they're still skeptical.

Very skeptical.

Hmm.

And our shipping department, which will have to fix the ship, intended to ship to pick up the cargo, was also skeptical.

You're putting out that.

You say you said you've got the wrong guys.

I don't feel that my gut is telling me that gut feeling.

Yes.

My gut is telling me they can't be jointly cheating.

Yes.

This is not the gun cartel.

Yes.

The cartel you're meeting with physically.

So you know what they are thinking.

What is it?

You get some part of their sincerity, their commitment.

Just so you know, finally, we said they said we'll send the ship, no problem, we'll fix the shipment.

And it said you got to make sure cargo is OK.

You don't want a situation. The ship is there and there is no.

These guys, I want to visit the factory and see the cargo.

And they said, OK, fine, give us two weeks or whatever, it's under production.

They did not have the production themselves.

They are trading our house.

OK, I guess this kind of.

But they're a local private company.

They bought it from the government steel factory.

Okay, so it was.

Yes.

Yeah.

This is fine.

We'll take you to the government steel factory.

Yes.

Yes.

I'm sure you recall.

So they made arrangements, flights.

They that everything was booked after two weeks or whatever it took.

We went flying to Iskendru, the other corner of Turkey.

Near Syria or support, and it's the biggest single

They made arrangements with the GM and the fact that a visitor was coming.

So there was good treatment to go around and look, I'm only twenty-seven, but yes is part of respect to me around.

And so they showed, you know, these are the bundles, this is all set for your company for export now.

OK, bring the ship to.

I said we were going in a jeep.

I said you're showing me a bundle how do I know these bundles are ours. It is no problem.

We'll get down. We want to check.

There was a tag on it and assured the company that we bought the gold market and said, oh, are you satisfied we can't be doing so much work just like the houses of bundles? the fifteen thousand tonnes cargo.

OK, so there's so many bundles lying there in the shed.

They showed everything we could and then the ship arrived.

So before the ship arrived guys, they started bombarding me already with questions.

I do not think they will birth.

But how is the port?

Is it going to birth at all. as in case there is damage to protect ourselves?

Yes, it happened.

I kept asking questions, and solving issues, one by one by one, because I went again at the time of loading back again.

Okay, you want a second thing?

And that guy also turned up OK, company, OK, he was we stayed in the hotel, put it on the boat, took three days to load it loaded and the captain also know they are loading it all.

We got all that loaded.

The ship sailed.

Got the B/L clean, and built a clean bill of lading.

I said have I completed what I told you or not I knew.

I think my reputation in the office in Bangkok was the highest of anybody because a kid goes to a very strange new of new country against all odds.

Everybody saying this will not work, will not work it.

He makes it happen.

Yes.

And finally, the deal is done and then executed properly.

Watch what they did the moment it was in him, they were negotiating with some of the local construction companies to sell it in Bangkok.

Let the ship then we because we don't want to please get the car.

Yeah.

So they were making High Sea Sales

The moment it sailed, the market in Bangkok was rising because there was a shortage of steel.

And yes, it is banging on our door in Bangkok.

Right.

So the boss took the decision.

No sales, high seas.

We landed in the yard and we'll sell from the YARD

They are still skeptical.

Yeah, no, I'm not.

He said it will take twenty days to arrive.

So he was expecting the price to go up.

So buy time.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

One month later, the prices went up.

One ship.

One ship.

Yeah, one ship they made one and a half million dollars, and my God.

My gosh.

Excellent.

It just came in.

I got it, I just went to them.

So as the vessel sailed, this trader came back immediately to me saying to bring more.

But could you continue with the same company later on?

I mean, with more shipments?

No, but by then I knew even more company.

Now there is a name in the.

Yes, a buyer is sitting there from Bangkok.

It is still Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey, right now.

So you are famous in Bangkok as well as in Istanbul, in Turkey. over the next six to eight months or one year, we shipped a total of hundred, hundred and twenty thousand tons to Bangkok, different suppliers. ended up at another supplier and who turned out to be absolutely the best of the best quality.

OK, OK.

My people in Bangkok told me after it arrived, they said this steel can be made virtually anywhere in the world.

It's that high-quality steel, OK?

And it was coming at a discount to all the major origins, including British steel and all.

So so this that was a big turning point.

So a lot of lessons in this case.

Yes.

Yes.

So what happens?

What are the lessons?

You know, if you're looking at persistence and perseverance is very, very important in this business because you are faced with a complex, complicated situation.

Now, it's my word against the office that would be more likely skepticism because I'm a high skeptic.

You are building your credibility based on this, right?

Once you have that name, your name is very important.

So we call it as my world, my bond, my work, my bond, my work, my bond.

This means if I tell you that I'm going to do this business at this price place, let's say I tell you this, I'm selling you 15000 thousand tons at three hundred and twenty dollars for a shipment in May based on CNF, FOB, Or whatever the payment is, this delivery, this inspection is this deal done can't change.

You can't change that.

I'm not finished.

You haven't even written anything on a piece of paper already exchanged one word of mouth.

Yes.

Because you can only change this once in your life.

Yes.

There you change what you say you're out of business, OK, because the other guy will claim that this cheating guru, and your company will have to take action.

The next company will ask, why did you quit?

Why did you leave?

And if you keep doing this a few times, everybody in the market will know that this guy will not be trustworthy.

You will lose the position.

You lose reputation.

So a lot of traders, big traders in the world are a brand by themselves.

Their name is a brand.

They know by name, they'll say, oh, whom are you talking to?

So in this case.

Oh, yeah, this guy, he'll pull you along for a long time in negotiation.

So there is a branding.

So people know that.

Yeah, yeah.

But he will do it is ok.

OK, someone else can say no, no, don't go to that guy.

He can be very tricky.

Hmm.

So it's a market the market knows and these are companies, people, these are the individual traders because traders are the ones running the business trading houses to have traders, the senior traders who are truly businessmen.

Yeah, Erap, as we call them, intrapreneurs.

They are the organizing the industries of the organization.

Yeah.

They are not entrepreneur that intrapreneurs entrepreneurs are out there on their own.

Yes.

Yes.

Look for a company within the camp.

OK, ok.

You act like an entrepreneur.

OK.

OK, ok.

You are given a budget, given manpower given us and you are given targets.

OK.

OK.

Yes, yes, yes.

Yes.

Or sometimes you as a trader move from one company to the other taking your business obviously because the name is going the business going because the business is saying yes, this can make this haphazardly, other umbrella is only done, but you just have to discuss the modalities of the business. That's my business.

So much, so much.

So much of a listing.

Are you ready to do it?

Yes.

I don't mind moving from here to here

I get more money to change to.

So those are the most some other things.

Now what what is success?

You know, people say, oh, he succeeded and all stuff.

He failed.

He succeeded by the definition of success is different.

My definition of success is when preparation.

meets the opportunity.

And timing and timing.

That's why it's an opportunity.

Yes.

Now, I was in Turkey and I had a good idea of all the companies, my preparation was done then very suddenly.

So I could put it together very quickly.

That's why I succeeded.

But if they had sent me the inquiry and I'm roaming around the market for the next 15 days.

I don't know anybody.

Yes.

They'll also lose interest.

I will lose.

Yes.

True that they coincided together so successive drops of preparation will be very important for success.

So it is like saying you prepare the field.

And keep it ready, then you sow the seed also, but the rain has happened yesterday and happened.

It's all ideal.

The start going a bit like this.

Yes, but that's such that I think is very important.

And it is important to know your business well.

You have to know your business very well inside out.

Yeah.

You may not know everything, but you have to keep going deeper and deeper, understanding your business, what makes it work, what makes it not work, OK?

There's nothing in business that is foolproof.

Anybody, for that matter in the world has.

Yes.

This is what problems can come and create more problems.

Yes.

And where things can go wrong.

Which direction?

Yes.

At what point?

But the other way of looking at it.

One other thing that happened to me in terms of perseverance and persistence was that I used to go meet buyers in Indonesia, in Jakarta.

OK, so I met that guy, the purchasing manager, probably 20 times, and had to go to Jakarta every two months or so.

One and a half months.

Two months.

OK.

But the guy any time is very, very slippery.

So any time you go and say, when are you buying next?

Until next week or you will say, OK, fine, then I am going to send you prices every day.

Just let me know that they are ready to buy it and will give you whatever based on that.

So yeah, no, you come back and keep sending in prices after one week on this one so you call and say, yeah, you told me that this week you're going to buy what happened and say no.

I bought it last Friday.

Now what happened?

No, no.

Someone gave me a very good price.

I said, but you can indeed check with me and say, yes, yes, yes.

This went on for almost close to a year.

Oh, my God.

It's a very hard nut to crack.

So I said, I mean, I don't see a reason why he's not buying from me because I'm giving good places.

I'm doing business in the market anyway.

But then I started digging and obviously, the guy is on something.

Just favoring those guys and giving business.

So finally, even on one of those days, when I went that guy was sacked, was exposed, finally exposed and a lady took over as purchasing manager, she turned up for the meeting, explained to her saying that this is what happened.

That's why I could not do business with you.

But I'm more than happy to help and do business with you.

As you said I can't vouch for what happened in the past, but I will be very straightforward.

If your prices are right, I will do business OK.

But this happened because I kept persisting, persisting, persisting with this and sending them prices time deliberately put a little low priced.

And so we hit it.

And for the next one and a half, two years, she was continuously buying from us anything.

Yes, very good.

Business got built up.

She became more comfortable with me.

She used to ask for advice.

When do you think is the best time to buy?

Should be by now or later.

You know, this is my company.

This is happening.

So you get a bit of insight into their company.

Yes, yes. Yes.

Try and see what best you can do for them.

So all of the businesses are also, most importantly, any business export business.

Even more so you are providing a solution.

Yes, we need.

You know, I think your success providing a solution solution provider, not a solution provider, solver,

you identify what the problem is.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

And see if you can provide a solution not only good but can be very elegant more than if you got your competition will make up very quickly.

You have to do it elegantly, exceedingly well.

Yes, elegantly.

More exciting.

More exciting.

That means not here, but at this level.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

They want this.

But you give them this.

Yes, yes.

I mean, to put up a little more time on the competition.

Yes.

Yes.

Because that is trying to pitch here.

Yes.

And now you move to the next week.

Already he has to catch up with you.

You get a bit of space and try to see by the time he catches up and he will catch up.

Can you make it to the next level again?

Yeah.

By the time you gain time, you build up for even next level, an even higher level through.

This is how the business works in export markets, again, is important.

I went to speak at FPO recently, OK, in Nellore south of Andhra, FPO is of mango producers.

OK, well, mango producers, there are five thousand farmers who have come together to form the FPO.

OK, so have all kinds of problems because they, you know, they will have brokers coming, buying from them and they will say this quality is no good, that quality is not whatever.

So the prices always had problems and they had no say in the market.

OK, you to come to them and give some price to reject some, take some whatever, they could pick it out.

But yes, yes, there they are a producer of four to five thousand tons of mangoes.

OK, Insights.

So they formed an FPO.

Then they started doing better.

One of the friends that I know has started giving them advice on harvesting techniques.

OK.

You don't you don't get hammered and it falls to the ground and you damage the fruit.

So he did a bit of work on that.

OK.

And I was very nice.

And all that is a fruit.

That is not ripe.

Yes.

Yes.

So all these sorts of things, he invited me to come and speak to the farmers, OK.

And talk about what can be done to increase their price realization in the local language.

You spoke in the local language with them and spoke like love.

So I went there and they had a big annual meeting for farmers, the annual meeting of the FPO.

They were even building a cold storage at that time.

OK, OK.

So that they can store.

So I spoke to them about export markets.

OK, now this is important for some courses like yours.

Why?

Because I'm trying to tell them why exports are the.

Yeah.

The market is a good idea.

You don't need to think of it.

Huh.

So it's got very famous.

OK, that

So I told him.

The plan should be to export, some of your produce now, what happens when you export?

Export markets need the highest standards.

You learn when you are producing to the highest of standards that this is a food item, that is going into supermarkets in developed countries like Singapore or the US, your quality has to be of the highest in the world.

You are competing with the best of the best.

Yes.

Firstly, you have to be confident that you are producing the best of the best.

They said no problem.

Will produce, OK.

Now the question comes, your packing has to be good.

You can't just put it in any basket in this instance, and it has to be nicely corrugated boxes, nicely packed, everything not to write.

By the time they arrive, not too ripe before they arrive.

Yes.

This is all sorted out.

Yes.

Thirdly, you cannot have pesticide residues and insecticide residues that this man has said will take care of all that said, no problem.

You get it to the international standards

Post-harvesting, harvesting, and harvesting techniques.

He said this is taken.

You can get all we need to now design a box only for packing.

And if it may be in the cold storage, if need be for a few days and ship it out from here.

What did I tell them?

I told them you are competing with the best in the world.

Imagine that.

Produce 5000 tonnes of mangoes in the first year.

Let's start small anyway.

But eventually, if you can export 10 percent of your production bottom 20 percent, losing 10 percent of your production can be sold even at 10 percent less.

Your overall realization is less than one percent flatter.

By knocking off 10 percent from the domestic market, you are raising the domestic prices here to make up this money and more in their domestic market.

Thirdly, since you are producing and exporting to international markets, your domestic quality also improves just so your quality.

You put a sticker on it as a brand.

People will say, I want that one.

Yes, I don't mind being a little bit more mature on this.

So your thinking has completely changed from a domestic player to a global player.

You're not you're not going into any global market.

You are just supplying the available market as an exporter.

Yes.

This is so the mindset has changed of being a global player.

Not any more domestic player like you can say at eight seconds that you could challenge it.

So you create international standards.

So that is why it's very important to think when you are exporting in export markets that you should try and get your best going through because that will elevate not just your export if you're an export division of a company and not just an export, but the whole company goes up.

And your thinking changes the whole company.

So this is, I think, something very, very important for us.

That is very, very interesting because, you know, everything is interconnected.

You are selling some part of your production to the international market and you are giving little lower prices.

You are mixing it up with the domestic sale.

And in the the for for the rest of your life, your product quality is improved, and your price inflation is improved for perpetually for the future.

So that's very interesting, you know, and that is important as an export person export market that of a trader is that be very humble because the world is so big, it is changing so rapidly that the day you think you are a big success story or a big boss and you have arrived and you have done whatever you have done, the next day you'll fall through to the next year you.

So when you are humble, you also learn, keep learning and learning because everything is changing.

You have to learn.

What is the definition of literacy?

Right now there's a new definition learn and unlearn.

Re-Learn, it's true.

This is very important.

You learn maybe something, but you have to unlearn it quickly and relearn it because things are changing continuously and it brings innovation.

Actually, by this process, you bring in the innovation, you become progressive, you improve your quality, you improve your processes.

Yeah.

So what you did, and what you learned yesterday has no meaning to today.

You have to be ready for tomorrow again. so in our trading business.

Every day we get a profit and loss statement

So there will be terrible days when you feel completely down because yesterday was a bad day for you today.

You got the PNL.

So you could very well sink and not do anything good.

Yes, all I can say yesterday was yesterday.

Today is another day.

I'm doing something differently.

Yeah.

Tomorrow, even, and tomorrow, maybe it is very high.

Yeah, maybe that's.

Yeah, because tomorrow is high doesn't mean you feel you sitting on top of Everest again because you can be in the Mariana Trench the day after tomorrow.

So, yes, this is the best part of that.

And say, why did I make so much money yesterday?

Yes.

What is the reason?

Reanalysed now you make sure these lessons are carried forward correctly, but is this something that will work tomorrow?

And maybe the formula will change tomorrow, similar to what did I do wrong that I lost money?

Yes.

Yes.

Or maybe I didn't do anything wrong.

But the market did not work as I expected.

But I will still be.

Yes.

Wanted to work.

Yes.

What else is it?

Constantly reviewing what you do.

And to do that, you've got to be humble.

And you are humble.

Yes, it's done.

Yes.

Yes and yes.

And you're doing you're doing this with this genius.

In the next video, Mr V.B. Kasi explains the kind of workplace which can give great results in international trade, with examples of his own experiences.

Most of the time, these are very transparent, and businesses in the company that you work for trading are quite transparent within the company.

Yes.

So you sit around the table normally and around the desk, everybody's heard and seen.

You're talking to someone and the person can hear.

And it's an idea that the team knows what is happening.

Right.

We will also ask people to jump on the line and get off the line when something is required.

You say, OK, jump on the line.

So it is a transparent way of doing things.

And so everybody is learning fast.

I don't need to make them sit again and brief them.

What happens?

Yeah, jump.

Now you know what happened.

Do you have any better to tell me?

Yes.

Just like can you give the people also all the senior managers get PNL along division PNL

I can see my guy, what he's doing.

He can see what I'm doing.

Yes, yes.

Yes.

That's the 360-degree perspective is there.

So you will know that.

What is my big position?

I know what is his big position sometimes if I see something wrong happening on his side also because his business can get affected by what I'm observing and watch out for him to do the same to me.

OK, well, you try to help each other out.

Yes.

Yes.

It's a collaboration.

Yes.

No, that is what is.

You learn from it.

Yes, yes.

Yes.

I think that's a very good idea because when you're working like this, you are likely to make fewer mistakes.

That's what it is all about, you know, bringing the team together.

Yes, working it out continuously, not one day, but continuously.

So I think essentially I mean, there are so many so many stories.

But, yeah, I would think in a nutshell, those are you know, just a few takeaways.

There are just so many things that can be discussed, and so many takeaways that are possible.

So it was very inspiring, whatever you discussed.

And in fact, it's very rare what you shared is very inspiring.

And it gives a direction to the people who are trying to understand the process of exporting and thinking internationally and, you know, going into the international trading and international market and especially what you said about the personality of the person and his reputation in the market, which brings the business because.

I mean, it was a very interesting thing, although we know in the domestic market also reputation matters.

But I think what you said to me in the international market, the stakes are very high.

And when the stakes are very high, the person's integrity and person's the the the commitment by a person's commitment and his reliability and his reliance, the people's reliance on that person will play a very, very major role in the international market.

I think that's that's quite very quiet that's quite interesting.

And I think this is the only way this is the only way to succeed in the international market.

So there is no doubt about it.

Absolutely.

At one point, that is very important to highlight to youngsters especially.

We need a lot of discipline in business demands.

Discipline means you've got to be committed.

You need to have that hunger to do right.

We have to return to control.

That means very, very high levels of commitment, commitment and discipline.

Yes.

Then even then, if things are not going right, you need to be determined to succeed and somehow pull yourself up moving.

And most importantly, is that the levels of commitment I notice in general public life in India are very low.

OK, people people will say, you know, simple things in social issues, but this reflects in business.

People will say. they will see each other.

They'll say, yeah, I think we should meet, let's meet tomorrow.

They have to do something over the weekend.

But it doesn't mean anything.

Yes, yes.

Yes, that's me.

Yeah.

So you don't need to wait that they will call it Sunday you are meeting

It will not happen.

It will be six months later you have a call again and let's meet again.

Yes, yes, yes.

A simple example, but well, they will say, oh, let's then finally say, oh, let's meet tomorrow, more or less.

But let's say give me a call by one o'clock and we finalize.

Yes.

OK, well, one o'clock comes and goes.

You got to.

Got to.

Got to what?

It is also gone.

Yes.

Yes.

So my point is in international markets, it wouldn't work like this. People are very, very conscious of their time in.

Yes, yes.

Yes.

OK, even if it's actually in our meetings in the Geneva office needs to have a daily senior management.

But one hour and 11.

OK, but the agreement was that it should not stretch until you get into so many issues and you then have to get that agreement was we start shop at 10 o'clock, deliveries in the room or not.

Even if the boss is not in the room, you start ok.

OK, OK.

At 11:00, even if the boss is sitting in the room, you get out ok if you want to get out.

OK.

OK.

And nobody can complain.

Excellent.

Excellent.

And that was part of the part of the daily procedure.

It was a part of the procedure and well-accepted procedure.

That's very interesting.

Very interesting, I'm saying that commitment is very, very important.

You have to be disciplined and serious. Trading and export markets require that you spend enough amount of time and live a reasonably disciplined life.

Yeah, yeah.

You can't be doing business on that one.

You know that that is not acceptable in this trade.

True.

So, so nice, Kasi

I mean, it was very, very, very interesting.

And it was a privilege also to hear from you after a very, very long time and very, very interesting experiences which we could gather.

So let's meet again sometime.

We we we should should try to meet because, I mean, of course, I cannot commit because things are not in great shape.

We have this pandemic going on.

And I don't know when I can visit Hyderabad or maybe how long you are there in India.

So let's let's let's hope that we will try to fix up our time somewhere when we can meet up.

Maybe you are coming to Delhi, let me know.

So we'll catch up sometime later, OK?

Thank you.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Thank you.

So friends in this section, we talked to Mr V B Kasi. He was able to give some time to share the moments of his career and very rare experiences, suggestions, tips, and techniques for becoming a very successful and practical export marketer. So I'm sure this section must have given you a lot of inspiration it must have given you some ideas on how to go about becoming successful in export marketing. I am very sure you will feel now more confident of uh carrying out all your export marketing activities. Thanks for watching uh this particular talk with Mr V B Kasi with me in this section.

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Hi there!

I hope you are doing well and making great progress in this course.

I wanted to take this small moment to congratulate you on your remarkable progress in this course.

Your dedication and commitment to learning have truly impressed me.

I have been following you and your journey closely, and I must say, I am delighted with the efforts you are putting in.

This course is part of the VJ Export Mastery Courses Series, a collection of 25 different courses targeting the area of export management designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in the field of export and international trade.

On my part, I am committed to helping you expand your learning journey by providing access to more similar courses in the series, but at the same time on your part, I have a small request for you as well.

Your feedback is incredibly valuable in refining this course and ensuring it remains world-class and is refined to its best.

So I kindly ask you to leave a rating for the course along with your honest feedback, if you have not yet done so. Your input will help me continue to improve and tailor the course to meet your needs and those of future learners.

Thank you once again for your dedication and enthusiasm.

Keep up with the fantastic work that you are doing and remember, I am here to support you every step of the way.

Together.

Let's continue on the journey of learning and growth.

So friends in the last section you learned a few things from practitioners, and experts in the area. That's an example. Taking the same example you can accelerate your learning by talking to various other experts whom you can land up with you can make contact with and who are willing to share their knowledge and their experiences with you. That's very important.

In this particular section what I'm going to do I'm going to demonstrate to you that uh how you can create your online catalog or online store. This is a very key component of your strategy to create new leads. You can create your own website. Website is one way of doing it. But promoting a website is a hell of a job. It's not so easy to reach out with your website to potential customers in different countries. It is not so easy it is always very important to be digitally present on certain high-traffic portals. So in this particular section, I'm going to take up one example of how you can create your online catalog come online store on the FIEO-sponsored government of India, Federation of Indian export organization sponsored Global Linker website where you can create your store. Automatically traffic is coming there and you will get the trade leads automatically. But this is an Indian example. If you are from any other country you will find similar services that will be available in your country locally from local export promotion organizations. All export promotion organizations in the world generally for their local exporters have these kinds of services where you can create your online store. Creating your online store along with your website in this way brings you extra traffic and extra trade leads. That's very very important and it is a key component of your strategy. Let's go into this section and I will show you how you can create your online store and promote it on the global Linker website that is sponsored by the Federation of Indian Export Organization FIEO, the government of India. Take it as a case

In the next video, I will discuss with examples how you can effectively create your first free online export store on FIEO Mall.

Hello, friends welcome back to episode number 15 of uh this VJ exports Mastery course the title of which is Learn the Practical Exports Marketing Skills. In the earlier episodes, we focused on how to do the initial research for developing a knowledge base, and an information database and to identify certain major Traders and importers of your products in overseas markets.

And possibly meet them also by visiting them. Our Focus was also to understand that what are the skills and approach which is required to become a successful export marketing professional. Going through all these episodes I'm sure that you already have certain rare skills of uh doing the initial export marketing research and you already have an idea of how you want to understand your product and how you want to understand the potential of your product and what is the information which you require about your product to export it in the overseas markets and you already know how to identify certain major importers and to contact them and uh probably meet them.

You already have certain confidence as far as the initial export marketing research is concerned. So in this episode, I will discuss with you the typical next steps that are required after this initial export marketing has been done. So the approach to these next steps would be how to create a robust database of serious clients who would be interested in your product. What are the things that are likely to attract these exporters? and how you can La their apprehensions reservations and uh skepticism they may have about your product. and uh how do you create a real and serious interest of these importers in your product? So that you can start exporting regular quantities to these importer's traders in different countries.

I will be giving you an idea of what the things you can do in present times when you can exploit advancement in Internet and communication technology. How you can use these tools to reduce your cost of going further with your export marketing? and how you can successfully carry out your export marketing with the less resources with less cost and uh by optimizing your export marketing operations? So these will be my goals, these will be my concerns when I tell you the different tools and techniques which you can adopt now after going so far uh in your export marketing process. As for my understanding, the important Next Step would be to exploit the digital channels first to improve your customer database to generate leads for your products and to start exploiting the digital channels the most important thing is to set up your online export marketing store.

And if you are an exporter from India the best place to start building your online export marketing store is on the FIEO web portal Federation of Indian Export Organization, which is a very active organization, which is trying to help Indian exporters. They have a trade portal it's a free service and the link to this portal is available at the Indian Trade Portal. In this episode, I will show you how you can create your online export store where you can expect a good number of importers if you do the correct digital marketing after creating your store. Let's go to the Indian trade portal. So at Indian trade portal this is the web address of the Indian trade portal when you go there you get this blue Banner here this blue Banner is a link that takes you to the FIEO web portal and we can see in this uh blue Banner that it says that create your free online store uh basically this is for exporters of merchandise, services, technology.

All types of exporters can create their free online store on the website of FIEO. Now this online store can be used to create new customers as well as to service the existing customers overseas. So basically this is a FIEO Mall kind of thing and it is very typical. So it says that you create your Brand to add credibility to the store with FIEO's registered member logo if you're a member of FIEO. And if you're not a member of FIEO, you should become a member of if you're an exporter from India because you can get a lot of benefits from this membership of FIEO. And you can add your products in this uh store. You can also tell about the process of your manufacturing what are the different certifications your company has which are recognized internationally?

And what kind of different Innovations you have done and what are your USBS you can add videos you can add images picks of your products a lot can be done on this uh FIEO mall. Okay. So let's go to this link when we go to this link we reach the FIEO Mall homepage which is the landing page. which uh talks about the exporter's online store which I was just talking to you about and the digital catalog. So in my opinion, after you have done the initial export marketing research this is a very obvious next step to exploit the digital channels. So to do that what you need to do is that you have to create your online export store come digital catalog for which what you have to do you have to start here by adding your mobile number. And when you add your mobile number you get a six-digit verification code on your mobile which you have to add here. So once I enter the OTP I reach the dashboard of my online export mall.

Herein I can do all kinds of control activities for my online export store on this FIEO mall. I can access the details of my buyers I can track my orders spending orders shipped orders canceled orders return orders so all these details I can control I can even control the communication with the buyers or any inquiries that are coming from different buyers. So I can even track the sales report, inventory report, and uh I can add products, I can modify the specs of my product I can add videos proc videos Innovation videos or images picks different picks of the product from different angles. So I can add all these things. But if you are creating this mall store export Mall store online store on FIEO mall for the first time you will not straight away come to the dashboard you will first go to the profile creation page in this profile creation page you have to add your IEC Code number, your company name, the company formation, the number of employees the products you are dealing with or you intend to deal with countries you want to export your products and if you are already exporting to some countries names of those countries.

You can add your USP to your production process or Innovations if you have any and the type of international buyers you are looking for so those details you have to write in very short format on the uh profile creation page. Since I have already done that process so that's why I'm straight away coming to the dashboard but if you are signing for the first time you have to create that information and then only you come to the dashboard like this here. And on this dashboard, you can easily add your .... so here you can add a product like this toner cartridge for Ricoh 2324 copier machines and you can write your ITC HSN code ITC HSN code is the same code that we had found out on Indian trade portal by writing black Toners

So for our initial research so we already have that kind of information we already have the selling price of the cartridge which may be $7.5 and we can write a summary of the product-compatible black toner cartridge FOR USE IN Rico 2324 copy here and I can write down the minimum quantity 50. My maximum capacity is 500 or 5,000. And I can write my brand here. I already have my brand added so I'm using that brand you can add more Brands and you can also add the logo of your brand. So in this case I'm already I have already added that. So it is not needed. You can also put the product labels for example here I can write donor cartridge or I can write the model number Ricoh and product tag, and I can write Ricoh cartridge and like that. And I can save it.

I have to put the category also which I just forgot so I will write office and school supplies and here I will write toner cartridge uh toner cartridge I will write and uh here I will add the image also. So I can add this image and I can add more images here so almost total in total you can add six images. It is better to add many images because ultimately you have to improve the customer experience on your online export store. So now here you can save these details and once you save these details you can preview the information here. So in this, we have this office and school supplies and toner cartridges. So here I can see my different products for example this product I just added so buyers can use this button to send inquiries and uh I can view the details which I have added I can check the details whether they are correct so HSN code minimum order quantity fulfillment capacity price and uh the summary of the product images.

If more images are there. Similarly, I can add more products here. For example, I have added it here just for example some more products that are in the Furnishing category then we have another product here. So in different categories, you can have different products here like this, can have different categories and different products so this is how your store is created on FIEO Mall this is very very important And once you are satisfied with your mall you can click the publish button here. This is the publish button. And once you publish your store will become online. And after that, once your store is online you have to start the digital marketing process. So in the next episode, I will tell you how you can do digital marketing for your store. Similarly, you can create the same stores on portals like Amazon Shopify, or itsy.com depending on what categories they promote.

You can you can use many other portals. Some are free some are paid but this FIEO mall is free and if you're a member of f you can use the FIEO logo also on your website to increase your credibility. So this is the starting point of the next step after you have done your initial marketing research. If you want to know more about creating an online export store you can also enroll in my other course the title of which is Learn how to set up your online export business instantly. Which is also available on Udemy. And there I have explained in detail how you can create this kind of online export store not only on FIEO mall but on many other portals which are promoting exports from different countries. Thank you very much

Hello friends welcome to Episode number 16 of this VJ exports Mastery course the title of which is Learn the Practical Export Marketing Skills. Friends uh in so many last episodes we have reached the stage when you have done the initial market research you have learned how to create your online export marketing store and you have all the wherewithal of your foundation for a very robust and dynamic marketing campaign which you can start now to woo the international customers and to create a really good base of inquiries and uh International Distribution Network. So now is the time when you need to Market your products and use all your skills knowledge experience and understanding of the overseas markets. Now the success will depend on your pricing strategy on your distribution strategy uh targeting the right markets and also how you are communicating with your international buyers and how you can reach the right people how do you make contacts which channels do you use to make contacts? So I already explained to you that digital channels are the starting point from there with very low cost with very optimized resources you can start contacting the buyers. So you have to start initially with the digital marketing campaign focusing on your company website as well as the exports online marketing store. So to carry out this digital marketing campaign you can either outsource this activity of digital marketing or you can carry out this activity by yourself but the basic approach of digital marketing would be to exploit every nook and corner of the social media that is available on the major platforms the major International communities which consist of a very large number of audience. To give you an example there are communities like Facebook which contains more than 2 billion people or the users of these communities so these communities themselves are the geography are the countries themselves are the regions to Target. So to Target these people you have to use all free resources that are available on major platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. So you have to understand how to create your profile on these platforms. how to create company pages on this platform? and if you have a digital Market marketing budget you can start the paid campaigns also on Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Twitter and Pinterest. So the idea is to reach the maximum number of people's attention and uh you can also do the targeted campaign. So in the case of a paid campaign, you can filter out the audience and you can Target pinpointed you can Target the Right audience.

So that targeting would require the creation of your campaign where you have to filter out the regions you have to filter out the age groups you have to filter out the professions. So much filtering will help you to pinpoint Target certain community of uh potential customers for your products in the international market. Even the professional groups that are related to your product and with trading can be targeted on platforms like LinkedIn where you will find those groups are formed by hovering around your product line and it has several members who are likely to be your potential buyers. So once you start looking at the different communities different configurations different channels in this digital media you will start learning which are the areas where the possibility of getting your potential customers is very high.

But the thumb rule is to start with using every free resource available on these platforms. So you need to be present everywhere in a very consistent manner. So what is required is that your message has to be very consistent. It should be regular. It should be timely and in the case of international marketing your posting on these platforms should also be timed according to local times. So you can use several free resources which are available which can help you in scheduling your postings and engaging with them. So there is a lot to be learned in digital marketing but the important point remains that you need to be present on all these platforms. Use all their available resources. Create your presence in these uh places using your video clips your images using the information on your product that you already have gathered in the initial marketing research stage. So all these information images videos and uh messages will help you reach out to the people in every nook and corner of the world. And uh it can be focused it can be targeted as I've already explained to you. So friends digital marketing in itself is a very big subject that requires you to do further research on how to successfully carry out digital marketing with or without uh the budget so it can be done organically as well as it can be done inorganically. So you have to learn all these techniques. You also need to optimize your websites your pages and your online export store according to the requirements of the major search engines like

Google. And uh you can carry out the uh marketing campaign on Google and Facebook which are the major places to do the campaigns and Linkedin also you can consider. So friends I have given you a very short summary of what is required to be done in digital marketing and you have to carry out these activities either by yourself or you can Outsource this activity. Or you can hire somebody in your company who can carry out these activities for you for your product line. So the person has to be trained according to your product requirements and that person should be very much conversant with your product line and product range. So having said that friends the further steps beyond digital marketing are some traditional steps like uh participation in international trade fairs. Participation in international trade fairs if you are exporting from India you can get a lot of help from the Indian Trade Promotion Organization ITPO which is headquartered in New Delhi. ITPO organizes and participates in most of the major International Trade fairs and you have to select the right trade fairs that are related and connected with your product line where the international Traders and buyers come for your type of product range and you have to participate in these trade fairs. You can have a budget for this kind of participation. You can also avail of the market development assistance MDA facility which is offered by the government of India and uh there are certain conditions there are certain eligibility that can be understood from the information available with ITPO as well as the Federation of Indian Export Organization FIEO. Both these agencies FIEO and ITPO are authorized to reimburse MDA assistance to the extent of 50% of all your expenses of participation in International Trade fairs or making international market research visits. So these facilities can be availed in a very professional manner by being a member of the respective EPCs that is the export promotion Council which is related to your product line. And uh this participation will make you eligible for all the government schemes including the MDA scheme and it will also help you in claiming the export incentives.

A very important area friends is also to look at your pricing and uh to find ways of making your price more attractive in the highly competitive International Market. So you can take recourse to the possible export incentives which you may get from the government of India including Duty drawback or uh interest subvention or MEIS schemes. So you need to calculate how much percentage of your final price you can bring down by taking into account these incentives which are available from the government of India if you're an exporter from India. And how much attractive you can make your pricing and other terms and conditions of your offer. So with these friends, you can carry out your export marketing very successfully and efficiently effectively and uh last but not least how you deal with your buyers how much commitment you can make with your buyers and how much you can keep your word with the buyers will Define the satisfaction level of the buyers and will potentially help you getting repeat orders from your international buyers. So dealing with your buyers your commitments your terms and conditions you have to be very serious about what you are committing to your international buyers what is written in the contracts how you manage your International risks of payment how you deal with the banks and how you bring down the cost of uh acquisition of international payments and how you reduce the cost of your International distribution International Logistics. So all these things will decide that what kind of growth you can bring to your company and your Enterprise by increasing the potential of these international buyers and maintaining these buyers increasing the client base and improving the quantities for exports. So with these words I I thank you for participating in all the episodes which were related to this course and I sincerely hope that you have learned several rare skills which are required in the export marketing field and uh you must have found this information and tips techniques shared by myself and my guest speakers were very useful and very interesting and very relevant to your product line. thank you very much

So friends in this section my idea was to demonstrate to you how you can have your presence online almost at no cost and still get free traffic from international buyers, and generate trade leads by having a very very important and mandatory thing to have your online presence on certain e-commerce portals, where International B2B customers are visiting like the one that I took as an example in this particular section. In any country wherever you are you will have similar services available to create an almost free online store on such service. So this was just an example uh or you can see a case study of uh exports from India and the same thing you can do in your country. So I'm sure this section must have been very useful to you in understanding why it is important to have your online catalogs or online store on an e-commerce portal of this type.

Choose only one answer

"Welcome back to the course! This section delves into practical export marketing and operational insights derived from real-life experiences. These tips are rooted in the intricacies of international marketing and operations. Covering various categories like pricing, communication, insurance, documentation, and more, we explore critical factors to consider.

When it comes to export pricing, we discuss the significance of fair pricing over deep cuts, emphasizing the importance of relationship-building over price leadership. Communication with overseas buyers is paramount, focusing on aspects like lead times, payment terms, delivery details, product knowledge, and brand policies.

The legal aspects underscore the necessity of understanding the buyer's country's laws and choosing jurisdiction wisely. Details regarding delivery terms, packing, export documentation, and insurance are also highlighted.

The lectures will equip you with practical strategies, aiding in confident decision-making and bolstering your expertise in export marketing and operations."

Hello friends welcome back to the course. So in this section, I'll be talking about a few things that you must know. That you may say as a practical export marketing and operations tips and techniques whatever you say. These are the things that you must consider. These are the tips and techniques that come from experience. These are very practical. These have no direct logic. They are the result of many such instances where people have got into difficult situations. So based on those experiences, based on those statistics of things happening in international marketing and operations, export operations I have prepared these few things purely based on my own experience. So let's look at these practical export marketing and operations tips and techniques based on there are certain categories like pricing, communication, Insurance, and documentation that way. Let's see this. Let's go into this section and try to understand these points that are very important for you to note and consider.

So for example, if I talk about pricing export pricing suppose if I want to talk about it although whatever tips and techniques I'm going to talk about may not hold exactly the way I'm telling for every item of the export or any product or every product or every kind of commodity that you are exporting. It depends on industry it depends on your product and what kind of uh pricing you do. But these are a few things that you should get an idea. So that you have some basis for decision making for example on export pricing. So for example generally the pricing goal for global selling, International selling for example for b2c sales, why we are talking about about b2c sales? Nowadays you are selling your goods through online sales also in a very big way. B2c sales have become possible because of international digital channels like Amazon Global selling or Itsy dot com and Rakuten. So many International platforms are there. Even Alibaba provides such platforms. So b2c sales have also become common for international marketing. So in such cases of b2c sales, typically the pricing goal should be at least a net profit of 100%. Just a starting point. By experience, you will exactly know what kind of margins you should keep. So that's one starting point I'm talking about. And similarly, if we talk of B2B sales business to business sales the target should be at least 50% profits to start with. You have to try it out unless the ordered quantity is substantially large. So depending on the situation depending on case to case how you face the situation you have to see it but this is a thumb rule you have to start this way. Another thing I would like to talk about when I talk of export pricing is avoiding deep cuts in pricing. Why? why I'm saying this? And that's the beauty of the export business.

The second thing I would like to discuss about is communication with overseas buyers. What are the things to consider based on experience? What kinds of communication ideas should be there in your mind? What are the things you should know when you are communicating with international buyers? First of all, it should be very professional and thorough communication.

That is required for different types of questions that come between you and the internal buyer. For example lead time. What is the lead time between the order that has been placed and the actual shipment? This lead time has to be discussed very well and it should be doable. You should talk in length with the overseas buyer about this lead time because this is very very important. Because it has a lot of implications. Longer lead time may be a costly proposition for the buyer but at the same time if it is not practical to reduce the lead time then you have to talk it out with your International buyer and you have to find ways and means of reducing this lead time. And for this, you need to communicate very effectively. And then for example on the question of payment terms, what should be the payment terms these are very tricky things because you are dealing with overseas buyers who are located in a different country and under different laws of the land. So payment terms should be such that you feel comfortable depending on your relationship with the buyer. And those payment terms whether your host country whichever country you belong to whether your government allows you to go for such payment terms that you should be aware of. In many countries some of the payment terms uh are not allowed actually for certain product lines.

So generally uh the local governments do not allow you for the safety purpose. So you have to be aware of all dimensions related to payment terms and those should be communicated very effectively with the foreign buyers. And then similarly for the delivery terms. What are the delivery terms?

Then concerning payment terms we talk about some of the things that you should consider and should always be there in your mind. You should insist on payment through digital platform payment systems if you're selling b2c especially. For example, if you're selling through Amazon Global Selling payment should be through Amazon uh platform. And if you're selling through for example Shopify it should be uh through the Shopify payment system. So that is safe for both buyers as well as for you it's a win-win for both. And your money is safe. So this should be the approach. And if you're selling B2B for example in such case you should insist on a confirmed letter of credit that should be irrevocable and should be issued by a first-class International Bank.

And if possible in B2B also if any uh digital channel is involved and if the digital platform is there then you can think of payment through uh this digital platform also, if it is reputed. And you should always try to avoid payments direct payments if you're dealing with b2c especially uh that is outside the digital platform uh payment system to take benefit of uh doing away with some kinds of commissions to such platform. That you should avoid that unless uh order is very large and there is a strong reason for you to avoid uh the platform payment system and if the platform allows you. Then you should go for uh outside methods especially through International Trade financing through a confirmed letter of credit that I mentioned to you. So this is uh very important thing that you should be keeping in your mind and this concern should be always there in your mind at the top of your agenda. Then also when we talk of these payment terms, local banks of buyer's country generally must be avoided especially if you are dealing with uh developing countries or uh least developed countries, local banks generally are not reputed banks and uh they should be avoided. Normally with local banks, buyers will have a better say in uh their relationship with those Banks and you may be at the receiving end. So that's why I'm saying that local banks should be avoided. In the case of a letter of credit, payments try to deal in the local currency of your own country and that should be preferred if possible if the buyer agrees because it will help you to avoid foreign exchange fluctuations risks. So it is always better and it will be more convenient for you.

Then talking about the legal aspects if you talk of legal aspects uh in uh export marketing and uh operations, you should be sure about your products' legal validity, concerning that I have discussed earlier also, patents, certification issues for sale in buyer country, especially if you are selling your goods in large quantities in B2B format business to business format. That is very very important. So every Dimension that uh may be legal and that may concern your product it should be very clear it should be discussed with the buyer. Many things you may not know. The buyer will be able to give you such information. To be safe, the choice of Law and legal jurisdiction should be of the exporter's country. As the exporter I'm telling you if it is not possible if it is not acceptable to your foreign buyer then you should insist on a choice of Law and legal jurisdiction that belongs to a third country. You should never accept the buyer's country's law and legal jurisdiction. That should not be accepted by you, especially if you're dealing with large quantities in B2B format. It should be avoided. Then talking about delivery terms you should always explain the commercial terms and their explanation also. So INCOTERMS I'm talking about, to the foreign buyer. To clarify things like what is the point of transfer of ownership and responsibility those should be very clearly mentioned even though International commercial terms are very clear by themselves they still require clarification in writing between you and the buyer depending on case to case on what kind of quantities that you are dealing with. So for example in the case of a FOB contract, it is important to know shipping details from the buyer and if you are required to load the goods on the ship or not.? Even though INCOTERMS says that in FOB contracts as an exporter, you are required to load the goods.

Then about packing details. You should be able to clarify on your standard packing detail what you generally do as a standard packing for all your exports to similar regions where your buyer is looking for goods to be delivered. Or any customization if the buyer is insisting on what is if it is required should be clarified with the buyer. So packing is a very very sensitive thing and uh it has many many implications many dimensions are there. You should include any extra cost of customized packing in your price quote. For example, suppose you are exporting uh ready-made garments uh ladies fashion garments, the buyer may insist on some kind of special type of retail packing uh for each dress which is being exported. So it will come with some extra cost. These things have to be clarified. Ask for the buyer's specified marks on the boxes, shipment, export shipment that is going maybe in containers, on the export boxes secondary boxes or tertiary boxes, and even on primary boxes. What buyers want. But here if you talk of the shipment marks special shipment marks to identify the shipment for tertiary packing what kind of uh marking is required, shipping marks have to be clarified by the buyer so that you are on the same page although those shipping marks will be there on the packing list also it is better to clarify with the buyer what he wants? how it wants? what for example what kind of color he wants? Generally, the shipping marks are in black but they can be in red also. So these things have to be clarified. Especially when you are dealing with large quantities and uh even in smaller quantities shipments uh if it is not b2c sale it is B2B sale generally I'm talking about in that case also to be able to identify your products in uh a sea of goods it is very very important to know uh what are the shipping marks. So this is very uh uh this becomes a very uh critical thing to be clear about.

Then concerning the export documentation area uh there are a few things I want to share with you. Those are very indicative of what you should be concerned about. For example in the case of EX Works terms EX Factory terms, ask for the exact documents required by the buyer in advance as the customs clearance in the export country means the home country will be the buyer's responsibility and buyers will be uh doing it by themselves so they will only be able to tell you what documents are required. So it is very very important. So the list of documents that you are thinking about because you think that your goods are being delivered at the factory gate is all. That is not all because otherwise buyer will not be able to get the goods cleared at the home country's customs. So it is very very important. Then you should always carefully study all documentary credit terms LC terms and what other documents are required to get the payment before accepting the letter of credit. Otherwise later on buyer may not make the LC amendments or even if it makes the LC Amendment there may be some extra cost involved in getting it done. So it is very important. Ask for any LC amendments if it is very very necessary if a particular document is becoming difficult to get to uh procure some document that you earlier thought may be easy but now it is not easy and buyers may agree to the LC Amendment so this can be a very major problem. So LC amendments you should be ready with any kind of LC Amendments of this type on genuine grounds.

And ask for a buyer for any special documentary requirement in the host country if it is there. Why? Because the buyer will have a better idea and may require certain special documents for getting the goods cleared in the port of discharge in the buyer's country also, the buyer's customs, and the buyer's border control.

So also ask the buyer for the exact description of the goods which is desired on all documents especially commercial invoices. Clarify on ITC HS classifications that I have already discussed. You should be on the same page because there may be slight variations, especially in the 10 and 12 digits of the ITC HS code and what are those codes are approved by the border control and customs of the buyer's country. You should be aware of that. And accordingly, you have to decide how documents have to be prepared to suit the home country as well as the host country.

Then talking about the insurance terms. You should clarify with the buyer about any Transit insurance for Inland Transportation. However, depending on INCOTERMS, the Inland uh Transportation Insurance and Transit Insurance may be the responsibility of the exporter. But many times what happens when international buyers get comprehensive door-to-door Insurance also means from the factory gate of the exporter to the warehouse or the receiving address of the buyer? Sometimes such kinds of insurance policies are taken by the buyer in that case you need to take transit Insurance. So these things are very common and you should always clarify with the buyer who will bear the transit insurance and who will be getting it

So friends these were some of the things that uh I thought from my own experience that I should be able to communicate with you and convey to you uh based on um the requirements in different aspects of international marketing and Export operations. These are a few things that I wanted to share with you. I will keep you updated with more such tips and techniques in the future, whenever it comes to my notice and uh to my remembrance in which case I will keep you posted with any additional uh tips and techniques in this regard I'm sure this section was useful to you it gave you uh some really good tips and techniques about export pricing about communication with overseas buyers about documentation with regards to uh with uh insurance about delivery terms about payment terms many different aspects of uh practical export marketing and Export operations were covered in this particular section. I'm sure this section will make you more confident in this uh export marketing and operation area

Answer the one that is best.

The journey of generating trade leads encompasses multifaceted challenges, which we shall navigate together. From understanding the competitive landscape to the complexities of transforming inquiries into concrete business transactions, in the next few lectures, we'll delve into the myriad methods and strategies essential for success. We'll explore traditional approaches such as participation in trade fairs and exhibitions, alongside modern techniques like leveraging online platforms, social media marketing, and the power of networking through industry-specific associations and business networks.

Hello, friends.

Welcome back to the course.

Friends in this section, which is a bonus section for this course, I am going to discuss some ideas for generating trade leads in the export business.

So it's a very difficult process, as you already know, and most of the time of an entrepreneur is spent on generating business from all over the world, from overseas.

So it's a very difficult and crucial aspect of developing exports and becoming a successful exporter, actually.

So let me share with you some ideas about generating leads.

What are its characteristics?

Let's see that. Generating trade leads is very, very crucial.

As I had just mentioned to you. It is a very important step in becoming a successful exporter.

So being so crucial, it becomes a very important thing to keep on finding ways and means of getting trade leads, finding buyers, finding partners, and finding markets all over the world for your products.

And sometimes, as I have just mentioned, it can be a very, very difficult process.

Why is it difficult? because there is so much competition.

What happens?

Export is a very attractive proposition.

It is a very large market, the international market is very large, and the potential of making profits in international trade is very, very high because of this difficulty only.

And so many people are involved in getting business in international markets.

So it makes it very difficult to get the trade leads first of all. And then convert those trade leads into business.

So converting the inquiries into business becomes the most difficult part of this process.

At times it can be very expensive also to generate trade leads.

For example, I will give you one example if you participate in international trade fairs.

For example, if you are an Indian exporter and you want to participate in a three, four-day days or maybe five-day international trade fair or any overseas exhibition, typically you end up spending Indian rupees 1 million minimum for running one, uh, International European Exhibition.

So these kinds of expenditures are there for attending international, uh, trade exhibitions or trade fairs.

This is one of the most expensive methods of generating trade leads.

So such kind of participation.

There are many other methods and ways of generating trade leads that I will be discussing with you in this section.

And.

Generating trade leads requires concerted efforts and continuous efforts.

The very hard part of becoming a successful exporter. It requires a lot of strenuous work, continuous work, and concerted work. And very importantly, generating trade leads requires a very complete and deeper knowledge of your products.

That's why I told you in this particular course in one of the sections that do your homework, which means before you solicit export orders, do your homework in the form of doing complete product research.

Whether you are a manufacturer exporter or you are a merchant exporter, you should know everything about your product better than anybody on this planet.

You should know about your product.

You should know its weaknesses.

You should know its strengths.

Everything.

All details, all data, all images, and all videos should be with you about your product, about your manufacturing if you are a manufacturer, and about the machines that manufacture those products, everything should be very meticulously documented to be able to effectively generate trade leads in international markets.

Talking about different approaches and effective methods of generating trade leads.

First and foremost is your market research.

If you remember, I told you in this particular course that market research starts from desk research.

So desk research is something that is the starting point.

And that will give you a lot of confidence and a grip on the international markets as well as your product.

So market research is required for both the front end as well as the back end.

The front end means international markets with the potential to generate trade leads.

And the back end is about the supply, whether through manufacturing or trading.

So that kind of market research is required.

So to do it you need to conduct extensive market research to identify countries or regions with a demand for your products or services.

You probably need to, for example, utilize market reports, industry publications, and databases, both online as well as offline to understand market trends, and consumer preferences, and to be able to carry out competitor analysis.

So this is just an introduction and a very simple description of what you have to do in international market research.

There are many, many things. In present times you can use AI tools, artificial intelligence tools to carry out a very extensive and very different type of market research.

These artificial intelligence tools are now available and they are in reach of everybody.

So using these tools, the kind of international market research you can do is going to be very, very effective.

Then, as I had just mentioned, uh, in this particular uh, session itself, that the participation in trade shows and exhibitions is another approach, uh, and can be a very, very effective method.

It's a very traditional and uh, uh, long-used method of generating trade leads.

And for certain products, it becomes very, very important and necessary, for example, for engineering goods or, uh, machinery and plants, you need to participate in trade shows and exhibitions, especially if your product is B2B, mostly B2B, and it is not a consumer item.

So you are looking at, uh, industrial buyers.

So participating in trade shows and exhibitions in such cases becomes very, very important.

So you need to attend relevant trade shows, exhibitions, and industry events both domestically and internationally.

These events provide networking opportunities to connect with potential buyers, distributors partners, and sometimes suppliers.

Then another very time-tested method of uh, in present times, uh, of generating trade leads is online marketing and social media activities.

So here in what you do, you establish a strong online presence through websites, social media platforms, and online marketplaces like Amazon Global Selling for example, in Amazon Global Selling, you have different marketplaces like the North American market or Japanese market, or UK market or Middle East market.

You have some kind of, uh, 13, 14 marketplaces, online marketplaces where you can set up your shop online. Herein you need to create compelling content such as product videos,

I had mentioned about it.

I want to share with you certain tips for effectively generating trade leads.

One of the tips I want to give you is that you should find a value proposition in your product.

So what is this value proposition?

You need to study your product.

You have to do your research and you have to do competitor analysis or product analysis, comparing your product with competitors, what unique value it provides in terms of quality, in terms of functionality, in terms of price, in terms of uh, uh, associated, related services, uh, for the clients, international clients. What is the value proposition that you can, uh, offer and that is capable of attracting customers, international customers?

What happens to this kind of value proposition if you are confident and if it is effective and if it is logical, it is going to work in your favor in effectively generating trade leads.

Secondly, you should focus on landed costs for overseas buyers instead of focusing on your price.

Your price is only one component of the landed cost.

Landed costs for overseas buyers include your price, uh, sundry expenses, logistics expenses, transportation, insurance, uh, and freight charges, as well as import duties or taxes, and local taxes to the buyer.

So ultimately buyer is concerned with the landed cost,

not so much to your cost.

Your cost is just one component.

So you need to focus on landed cost to eliminate options of different markets that probably have more, uh, uh, taxes and border controls for your products.

Tariff and non-tariff barriers are there.

So you need to focus on those markets where, uh, the border controls are less, taxes are less, import duties are less.

So that the landed cost of your product to the buyer is less if they buy from you.

So focusing on landed cost is very, very important. Then you should be able to optimize the cost of generating leads. Indiscriminately spending money to generate leads by giving free samples that may be very expensive, or participation in international trade fairs or, uh, setting up very expensive social media or digital marketing presence can be, uh, a barrier for, uh, success in export business.

So you should be able to, uh, make the right strategies to optimize the cost of generating such kind of trade leads.

Now let me share with you some examples of online platforms and databases that are very commonly used by exporters around the world to generate trade leads.

I will First of all, I will talk about uh, uh, a portal called Alibaba dot com, one of the largest online marketplaces connecting manufacturers and suppliers with buyers worldwide, is this particular trade portal that is called Alibaba dot com, which covers a wide range of industries and products.

You must study this portal threadbare completely.

You should look at the available features, and available facilities, and if the portal provides buying and selling online, you have to look into those methods, processes, deliverables, and how it work.

You need to go in-depth into this portal to be able to generate trade leads. And also try to find out, uh, whether there are some associated websites that, uh, maintain data of different transactions that are happening on Alibaba dot com.

For example, uh, there is a uh website called JungleScout dot com which maintains data for Amazon transactions.

So Amazon Global selling or Amazon uh, worldwide, whatever transactions take place, business to business or business to consumers, those are maintained and collated by this website called Junglescout dot com.

So similarly, there are certain, uh, sources and websites that may, uh, offer insights into what are the different transactions that are happening on Alibaba dot com.

Then there is another website which is called Global Sources or Global Sources dot com. Uh, this is an online B2B marketplace that connects buyers worldwide with suppliers, especially from Asia.

Its focus is on electronics, fashion, and gifts.

So if you are into these kinds of industries, this particular portal will be very, very important for you.

Then another portal I would like to mention is called TradeKey.

Now TradeKey is a global trade platform that connects buyers and sellers worldwide.

It covers various industries including agriculture, machinery, and textiles.

So if you are looking into, uh, these areas, this portal will be very, very useful to you.

Another portal, which is India based portal is called Indiamart.

Now, this portal, Indiamart, is focused on connecting Indian suppliers and manufacturers with global buyers.

It offers a wide range of products across different industries, but its focus is very much on Asia and more specifically, uh, suppliers and exporters from India.

Then another portal and website that is available online resource is called Kompass.

It's a very reputed and very old uh, resource, uh, which is also available offline.

And you can find Kompass directories that provide profiles of international buyers and, uh, large importing companies in the US and European countries, and these offline directories as well as online directories you can find through, uh, subscription or by visiting any American, uh, center.

In many of the cities, there are American centers that provide commercial information and they provide, uh, free access to Kompass also.

So this is a global business directory that provides company information, allowing businesses to find partners, suppliers, and customers across various industries.

But the information is very selective in this.

Then another online resource that is available for this purpose is called ExportHub.

Here.

I would like to also talk about some other online communities to find buyers and suppliers that can be used very cost-effectively.

Very, very useful and very well-tested, online community portal is Facebook which has many trade groups.

Now if you use common tags like export, import, global trade, textile exports or textile business, commodities trade, European trade, US trade, UK trade.

You use these tags in search and you press groups in the Facebook sidebar.

You will find these trade groups on Facebook.

So you join these trade groups and you interact with the other members.

These trade groups have uh at times thousands and thousands of members.

They comprise buyers, they comprise of sellers.

They comprise business partners and overseas customers.

So these are very useful trade groups where you can generate trade leads.

Then another portal is LinkedIn and it has many trade groups. Uh, you can find these trade groups using common tags like China export-import or fruit exports or European trade groups or export manager tags.

These tags when you use you will find all these trade groups on LinkedIn.

These can be very useful to generate leads.

So friends generating trade leads internationally can be a very daunting task, difficult task, and expensive task.

But it remains very crucial.

And this is, uh, a positive sign that if you can, uh, generate leads, uh, for, uh, the competitors, it becomes an entry barrier for others.

And that is the reason if you can effectively generate leads and, uh, you can convert those trade inquiries into business, chances of making profits, very huge profits because of the volume involved in international trade are very, very high.

So with this note, I wish you good luck in your endeavor to generate international trade leads effectively and efficiently.

All the best.

Choose only one answer that is best.

In this upcoming series of video lectures, we'll delve into utilizing different AI models to generate trade leads, conduct market and desk research, and assist new exporters in navigating international markets. Our initial focus will be on a straightforward exercise demonstrating the utilization of AI, specifically ChatGPT, to perform desk research for a manufacturer venturing into international markets. We'll explore how a manufacturer of toners and developers for photocopiers and laser printers, based in Gujarat, India, seeks to begin exporting products globally. Through interactions with ChatGPT, we'll witness the manufacturer's queries and the AI's responses, discover industry directories, trade associations, and online B2B marketplaces, and identify potential importers and exhibitions. As the exercise progresses, the manufacturer refines prompts to ChatGPT, seeking specific information on trade shows, importers, and competitive manufacturers worldwide. Join us as we unravel the power of ChatGPT in aiding businesses to navigate the complexities of international trade through simple yet effective AI-powered desk research exercises. This initial exercise serves as a foundational step, paving the way for further exploration of advanced AI applications in subsequent lectures within this course.

Hello friends.

Welcome back to the course.

So in this section, my goal is to apprise you of various ways in which you can use AI in its very simple form or more difficult forms, how you are going to use different possibilities that are there in using AI and AI models to generate leads, to do market research, to do desk research, to start taking off as a new exporter in the market.

So to start with, I am going to take up a very simple exercise in this particular section where I will be using the most obvious way of using AI to start doing desk research to find initial ideas about exporting your products And understanding the international market.

So in this particular exercise that I'm going to take a very simple exercise, which I'm going to take up, I'll be talking about a new entry in the international market.

That means a manufacturer of certain products in India who for the first time, wants to understand the international market for his products that he is already selling in the Indian market very successfully.

So I will take up this example of a manufacturer of toners and developers for photocopiers and laser printers.

This manufacturer has its manufacturing plant in Gujarat and wants to start exporting as a new exporter in the Indian market.

How he starts using, uh, I in the form of ChatGPT and how he starts the research.

Let's see this exercise.

Very simple exercise.

In this very simple exercise, manufacturers start writing about their products and company to ChatGPT, saying that I am a manufacturer of toners and developers for photocopiers and laser printers, having the latest machinery bought from Switzerland under a basic license from the plant supplier.

I am presently supplying my products in the domestic market for certain fast-selling copiers and printers as replacement and consumable ink.

It is also called for using products in loose form as well as in plastic cartridges.

I supply both in wholesale and retail packs, my products which are also known as dry ink.

I now wish to export my products to the international market, as I feel that my product quality is world-class, having all international quality checks and certificates.

I also feel that the cost of manufacturing my products is internationally competitive and therefore I can supply my products internationally at competitive prices.

Names of large importers of these products and in which countries they are located.

Now ChatGPT starts giving the ideas initial ideas, but it does not tell you the names of the importers or the countries.

It simply tells you to start with what you should do.

So do not worry, this is just the start of the exercise and you will understand that.

How ChatGPT will respond with different questions.

So it talks about industry directories and associations or trade shows and exhibitions.

It talks about online B2B marketplaces.

It talks about, for example, industry directories and trade associations like JIRA or Imaging Supplies

Coalition, ISC, or it talks about the International Imaging Technology Council, which is an international

ITC.

So it is giving you some ideas in the form of like trade shows For printing and imaging technology or office supplies also.

Because I like ChatGPT.

They need to be prompted in a way that it gives you better answers.

So here he is, trying some more questions that probably will give the manufacturer better answers.

It says that it writes that.

Can you suggest to me the names of important trade shows and exhibitions for showcasing my other products?

Now, this question has come from the initial ideas given by ChatGPT.

So here, by asking that, can you suggest to me the names of important trade shows and exhibitions for showcasing my product?

ChatGPT is now telling the names of such trade shows and exhibitions.

So it talks about things like Drupa which is held in Germany, or it talks about Remax World which is held in China.

It talks about the paper world that is held in Frankfurt, Germany.

It talks about Photokina that is held in again Germany, Cologne.

And it also talks about Gitex Technology Week.

It also talks about the Consumer Electronics Show that the CES, it uh, talks about uh, this particular show in the context of consumer electronics, including printing technology, or it talks about print and digital Expo.

It talks about, uh, this particular expo that is held in South Africa, which is focusing on the packaging and signage industry.

It talks about Graphics Canada which is held in Toronto, Canada.

So it has now started giving some better ideas for the initial disclosures.

So encouraged by this answer, the manufacturer starts writing more prompts to ChatGPT and it writes to ChatGPT.

So increased by such responses from ChatGPT manufacturers start prompting in a more refined way, and ask which countries are the trading centers and world hubs for office consumables and office supplies.

So such questions are now coming from the manufacturer to ChatGPT.

Very simple exercise you can see here.

In this case, the answer to ChatGPT is in two formats.

The difference is that in these two different answers, some common countries are suggested, but one country that is not mentioned in the first one is UAE, and that is much more relevant to Indian exporters.

So obvious choice of the manufacturer would be the second choice Of the ChatGPT answer, which includes

Singapore and UAE, because they are near India and are known trading centers.

So it talks about the United States.

Also, it talks about other countries like China or Germany that is focusing on high-quality office supplies, or Japan, again focuses on high-quality stationery, and writing instruments, or the UK, which is the trading center for office supplies in Europe, South Korea is known for its technological advancement, or Singapore acting as a regional hub in Southeast Asia.

And it also talks about the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai in particular serves as a major trading center in the Middle East.

So this is a very interesting response from ChatGPT that gives not only the list of the countries but giving some extra information.

Also very hard to find information is coming that otherwise is very, very difficult.

Now the manufacturer is getting much more impressed with these responses and start prompting in more innovative ways.

Now the manufacturer is getting much more encouraged by these responses and has started prompting in more innovative ways and uh now uh it is asking ChatGPT - Can you suggest to me the names of some large importers or dealers of office supplies and consumables in UAE? If he would have written

Dubai would have been even better but anyway UAE he is writing. So ChatGPT responds now by giving the names of the possible importers like Office Rock dot com which is a major online platform in UAE specializing in office supplies, stationary, and consumables for businesses. Or Al Masam stationary and office supplies- they're involved in supplying a wide range of office supplies. Office One LLC offers a comprehensive range. Or AAB tools or Altimus office supplies or Speedex group. So now ChatGPT is revealing the names that are very very useful for the manufacturer to start with to take off in the international market. Now manufacturers are getting much more encouraged by these responses and trying to be more Innovative in prompting ChatGPT and asks- Can you suggest names of some large importers or dealers of office supplies and consumables in for example in this case Singapore because he understands for Indian exporters UAE and Singapore are obvious choices. Now ChatGPT responds to this question by giving the names of some possible large importers in Singapore including Office World Supply - a prominent importer and distributor of office supplies, stationary, and consumables in Singapore or Stamford office supplies they specialize in providing a wide range of Office Products including consumables. Or AOS online A supplier of Office Products. Or rubber stamp dot com Singapore or Singapore office supplies or Teco Buy Singapore and it gives additional information also. Not just the names, it gives you more information. Now ChatGPT is revealing and very useful information is coming from ChatGPT for the manufacturer. Manufacturer instead of Singapore writes the same question for the United Kingdom. It asks for some large importers and dealers of office supplies and consumables in the United Kingdom UK. ChatGPT is going to respond uh to the list of the importers in United Kingdom. And it says that there are certain large importers in the UK also. And talks of uh places like Viking Direct or Office Depot UK or Lyreco or EuroOffice or Amazon business UK or staples UK or Ryman. So this list is coming from chat GPT about the UK also. Chat GPT is now revealing because you can fine-tune your prompting to ChatGPT in the right way. Slowly slowly this uh uh uh engine that is LLM AI assistant ChatGPT is becoming more conversant with your business. So you ask more questions like what are the online trading platforms where I can set up an online e-commerce portal to sell my products in different parts of the world in both B2B and B2C formats. So now he's asking more questions, the sky is the limit. ChatGPT is responding with answers about Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Shopify, Magento, Big Commerce, WooCommerce, Global Sources, TradeIndia, madeinchina dot com. It is talking about these platforms and the manufacturer can try his luck with all these platforms online platforms that are mentioned here. Additional information is also available. If you want to particularly focus on any of these platforms individually you can ask prompting ChatGPT to focus on that particular platform and it will give you more information about for example what is the cost of setting up uh on such platforms. So here in this uh uh particular exercise the manufacturer is asking more to ChatGPT concerning what it may cost to participate in a typical international trade show.

Answer only one that is best

So, friends, remember about the opening case study of this course with which we started about Indian brands as an example. So should we try to answer those questions that were raised in that opening case study?

Now that we have covered a reasonably good amount of things in this course to learn about practical export marketing skills and trade leads.

So let us take those questions one by one that were raised in the opening case study of this course.

So first subject matter of the question was about market penetration strategies of these companies.

So are there some standard formulas?

So what happened?

We can now say there is no single formula.

Whatever we have learned in this course, we can be very, very sure that you cannot say that all the brands have used the same formula.

No.

While they were Indian, they were in the same environment.

They had similar advantages.

Their methods had been different.

So these Indian brands leveraged their unique cultural heritage, population diversity, and cost-effective manufacturing capabilities to their advantage to penetrate the international market.

This is shown in this, we can be sure, but we cannot say for sure that anyone with these advantages will be able to penetrate the international market.

So Practical Marketing Skills contains many of the things that we discussed in this course.

So for instance, the course illustrates successful strategies of some examples that I had given in this course that were able to differentiate their products globally.

So how did they differentiate their products globally?

There is no single formula.

So the course discusses how different strategies used by these companies or brands resonate with consumers seeking authentic and culturally rich products, especially in the context of the Indian market.

And that for sure must have aided in market penetration.

But you cannot say that these are the market penetration strategies.

They are going to work for every brand.

That is not sure.

So this course tells very clearly about it.

However, the second question refers to digitalization and its connection with the global presence of these brands and global reach.

This is very, very clear.

The course extensively covered the impact of digital technologies on international marketing.

It is very, very clear.

So you as students must have explored how different brands from many countries, including the Indian brands that we talked about in the opening case study, utilized social media, e-commerce platforms, and digital marketing to reach a global audience.

This is for sure.

So talking of these real-world examples in our case study, opening case study such as Infosys expanding its IT services to over 50 countries, demonstrate the power of digital platforms in expanding global outreach and diversifying customer base.

This is one example.

Many, many other companies, small to medium companies.

They are using this formula with great success, and they can demonstrate the power of digital platforms for sure.

In this course, we discussed many such platforms which can be used by these companies.

So this particular question is very clearly answered.

This works for most of the companies.

Then the third question referred to sustainability and competitive edge.

So what is the connection between using the formula of sustainability, making your practices sustainable, and getting a competitive edge in the international market?

Is it workable?

The course emphasizes the growing importance of sustainability in the manufacturing process for export-driven companies.

This is for sure.