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Foreign Trade evolves beautifully in operations and technology, but it is curious how companies with more than a hundred employees and decades of existence still do not care about having Digital Presence.
They have no website (or it’s out of date), social media, Google Maps does not know where they are and the email is still those free, type @gmail (when they are not @bol, @zipmail, there is too much!) ...
So, if you still resist the potential of the internet, rethink and give it a try. For this, I will explain to you what Digital Presence is, the reasons to have it (not just in Foreign Trade) and I will make it clear that it does not exist to replace your sales team.
What is Digital Presence?
Before we get into it, it is important that you understand what Digital Presence is, as it is divided into two categories.
Digital Presence means being on the internet and starts at the basics of Passive Digital Presence, which is when you are present with a website, on social medias or with a commercial WhatsApp account.
Like a showcase, you are there on offer, in sight for those looking for you.
With the structured Passive Digital Presence, it is possible to start having Active Digital Presence, which, in a simple way, concerns the attitudes you take in order to attract people on the Internet to look at your showcase, so that they know your company, what you sell, what your purpose, positioning ...
The reasons for having Digital Presence in Foreign Trade.
I do not need to present statistics, who is in the industry knows how many exporting companies, importers and service providers in foreign trade neglect to have a minimum of Digital Presence.
They believe this is:
silly;
costly; and that
they do not need, because they have a sales department.
And for this reason, is that the reasons I listed below will address only passive digital presence, because it's not even worth thinking about Active if you're nowhere on the World Wide Web (the worldwide network of computers) to be found... it would be like advertising your company on a billboard without informing address or phone to contact.
You're going to have more time.
Think of all the times you've been interrupted because someone called you to ask:
your e-mail for quotation, sending resume, sending proposal ...;
your address;
your company's opening hours;
values of products or services; and
if you also do X, Y or Z.
All this and more could be informed on your website and/or your social medias.
Of course, there are always the " stubborn" who prefer to bother others than try to find out on their own first, but most will try to get that information on the Internet before calling you.
"Oh, but these interruptions are quick, no problem and it's good to relate to customers..."
Hardly a call asking the email will take less than 30 seconds, especially if your address needs to be spelled and even worse if you need to spell it out for someone else in another country!
And it's not just the 30 seconds multiplied by the millions of times that this happens.
It's an interruption that screws up your focus because, in addition to having to focus again, there is a risk of procrastinating in coffee, WhatsApp and social medias. Therefore, such an interruption can easily consume 10 minutes of your day for every time it happens!
Foreign Trade is already champion in interruptions throughout the day by itself with so much unforeseen that occurs, any reduction in this will contribute to your productivity.
Credibility with new customers.
It does not fit in this article everything that gives you credibility: product quality / service, professionalism, ethics, customer service ...
There are many virtues that build your credibility! Nowadays the Digital Presence is one of them and it is not prudent to ignore it because, the greater its credibility, the greater its business conversion.
Think with me, a customer of yours spoke well of your company to a friend, this person wrote down your name and phone number, but before calling decided to prepare by researching it on the internet, starting with your site:
goes to Google, the site does not exist;
LinkedIn: nothing;
Instagram, Facebook... Fotolog?! It's not a thing.
Now imagine that your customer also passed to that person the contact of a competitor of yours who, unlike you, has Digital Presence.
Who do you think he's going to call first?
Your current customers will get to know you better.
As much as you and your team are a sales machine, at some point you will have forgotten to present a new product or solution or, worse, will not present because the customer was not qualified as interested in it ... and that's how you lose a viable business opportunity.
However, this may eventually be corrected whenthis client accesses your website or social medias.
It's WHEN even: everyone accesses the website of someone with whom it relates, either to search the address or out of mere curiosity.
And when he accesses these channels, it is very difficult for him to leave as soon as he finds the information he was looking for, there is always that walk in the other fields as:
Articles;
What's new;
Who we are; and
Our products/services.
And knowing you better is not limited to the sales you make, human beings want to know the people involved, the news and achievements, all this is important to humanize your business, to put one or more faces in your brand.
Humanizing the brand also collaborates in customer loyalty. 😉
Be found (in Brazil AND WORLDWIDE).
You know the phrase "who's looking, always found something"? So, it only works in digital presence if you exist in the internet’s stuffs...
And considering that only on Google are performed around 3.5 million searches per day there are certainly people in this environment searching for what you sell.
And, if you already export or import, your website (which needs to have a version in a foreign language at the very least) will allow you to attract newbusiness esafaring beyond our borders, not to mention that it is possible to advertise your company in the country and to the right people, spending much less than a billboard (chat to another article).
It will be the first step to get started with your Digital Marketing.
Once your Passive Digital Presence is consolidated, it will be a matter of time to feel the positive results and be ready to start the Active part, through Digital Marketing.
Your website and social medias are living beings that will need to be fed content for them to grow and gain more reach and thus attract more potential customers.
Or do you think you're reading this text by chance?
It's easier to sell when you have a Digital Presence.
Digital Presence, as well as Marketing itself, will not replace your sales force, on the contrary, will make your sales team more efficient, in addition to increasing your conversion.
All the reasons presented will collaborate in sales results, either with credibility, or because potential customers have heard of you and your products or because finally you will have more time to relate to your customers (because people stopped calling you asking your email).
So, SC Vitola offers Digital Marketing services?
Not exactly. But we need EXPORTERS to be active in the digital world so that they can gain the trust of a larger number of importers and importers to be present in the medias too, so that they can gain the trust of a larger number of customers and why not, their own suppliers. It's a virtuous cycle. The virtuous cycle of the internet!
What about you, dear client, and friend?
Do you feel the positive effects of the Digital Presence on Foreign Trade? Are your customers and service providers present? What's left for you or others to improve?
SC Vitola helps exporting companies expand their international business. Get know better about our work.