Importer Missions
Importer Missions provide a rare opportunity to exporters.
Importer Missions provide a rare opportunity to exporters: the chance to promote their company and product in a most cost-effective manner from the advantageous position of their own home base. While these missions do not usually include as many potential buyers as an exporter mission, each exporter has the opportunity to increase the amount of time spent with each importer that is interested in their products. Ideally, part of this time should be spent by the exporter visiting your factory or facility. Such visits represent a great opportunity to showcase your company, products and production facilities (make sure all preparations for these visits – including orderliness and cleanliness – are well taken care of!).
A related benefit of the Importer Mission is that the exporter is provided with exposure to the target market without having to leave home. The result is a more cost-effective way of developing your Marketing Plan and other facets of your export strategy. The exporter is afforded the invaluable experience of face-to-face discussion and negotiations with a potential buyer of their products; experience that is very hard to come by without actually visiting the target market. Under ideal circumstances, visiting buyers may be willing to discuss and share practical steps for the exporters to be better equipped to sell their products in the international marketplace.
Don’t be shy; ask them about current trends, product development, sourcing raw materials, packaging and labelling issues and so on. By engaging in this manner during meetings, exporters are able to benefit from the expertise and insights of the Importers with regard to selling into the target market, regardless of whether or not they actually end up selling to a particular buyer being met.
Similarly to exporter missions, importer missions are often organized by Associations, Trade Promotion Organization (locally or internationally) and/or the trade office of Embassy, High Commission (in this case, either your representatives abroad or foreign representatives in your country – to find Canadian trade representatives in your country visit https://tradecommissioner.gc.ca/trade_commissioners-delegues_commerciaux/contact-us-contactez-nous.aspx?lang=eng so be sure to contact these organizations (registering your company/products and identifying your interests) and find out about any pending visits. Importer Missions are often organized in conjunction with a trade event taking place in your country. Private trade development enterprises also organize these activities.
Finally, because importers will sometimes visit markets in a less structured manner (i.e. not as part of a formal Importer Mission), regardless of any impending buyer missions, it is important to register your company and interests with foreign trade representative offices in your home country, bilateral trade organizations, etc. and make them aware of your interest and availability to meet with any incoming visitors in your field. Write to any importers you know will be visiting and invite them to come to your facilities for a meeting. Place advertisements with full contact details in your own country’s export promotion publications so that any buyers that are planning to visit and may be studying the market will be exposed to your company right away.
TFO Canada improves lives through the creation of sustainable trade partnerships for exporters from developing countries with Canadian and foreign buyers.