English as a second supplier language

Our supplier members come from all over the  world but a large majority of our new members comes from Asia. Based on our own traffic numbers the level of entrepreneurial economic activity in countries like India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan is very high and there is a lot of suppliers looking for western buyers. We cater to small and medium size businesses offering them yet another venue to get noticed. This is where the ‘English as a second language’ bit really comes to play as most of these companies are trying to attract western buyers into a direct supplier-buyer relationship.
 
We let suppliers list their business free of charge via structured data capture. There are several patterns that developed overtime and I wanted to discuss some of these with our readers, both suppliers and buyers. 
 
Here is what we get a lot in suppliers presenting themselves:
  • logistics details -  exact geographical location, proximity to the airport, time it takes to arrive to the factory by car, description of nearest big cities
  • capacity information - number of units manufactured a year/month, size of the warehouse, size of the manufacturing facilities
  • promises of quality
  • promises of rapid delivery
  • and a lot of wishes 
Here is what we don’t get enough of:
  • how long have you been in business
  • number of  current customers, installations or past sales 
  • customer references or success stories
  • other verifiable data that can prove your reputation and your commitment to the customer success
 
Dear suppliers, 
 
your potential customers are looking to find a level of quality they can accept, manageable supply risk and reasonable pricing in your offerings. They have also been burned in the past by suppliers that do not deliver on their promises. 
 
The first step to getting them as your new customers is to provide reasonable proof that your current customers are happy. 
  • Put together a good description of your business and your products in a business language your customers will understand. And I mean English in this case.
     
  • Get your current customers to tell the world how great your products and services are. This will go a long way and will bring business.

Sorry for simplification, hope it helps though.

 

Valery Zelixon
Comments: 0; Published: December 04, 2009; Permalink
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