If you are importing a new product for the first time, you must make sure that you have already done all of the market research and have your pre-planned sales channels in place ready to go the moment your product is imported from China. Importing the correct products from factories in Asia is only half the battle. Once they land at your door in Australia, you will have to ensure that you already have the correct sales channels setup and in place to get the products moving out your door so you can get your money back and start to grow your business.
Pre-Plan your sales Channels – Don’t just rely on one sales channel
It’s easy to assume that you can import products from overseas and sell them on a nicely designed website. From our experience a new website generally takes a certain amount of time before it will start to gain enough sales traction. You may have to wait some time for better Google rankings (SEO) and trial different online marketing and promotional strategies (social media, PPC click advertisting etc) before your website will have enough traffic to convert into sales. Website sales optimisation is another industry in itself – we are experts in importing – so we recommend that you meet with the experts in these fields to establish a plan long before your product arrives. We also recommend that you look at other sales avenues so you are not just relying on one source. If it’s a new product or a new business you will more than likely have to pound the pavement and approach local businesses to stock your products, or talk to distributors in that industry that have direct access to the targeted consumers in your market. In time you will find which sales avenue actually works best for your business and can focus your time, money and attention as required.
Can you give away some products in the beginning to some key people/identities in your industry in return for exposure and promotion on their social media platforms? Many industry figures have built up a strong network of social media followers so that they can leverage business deals and exposure. Ask them to promote your product with links back to your website or store to generate traffic and sales. They have built up their social media following to get businesses like you to talk to them, so get in touch with your offer!
Competitors and Market Pricing
It may seem obvious but you will have to make sure that you 100% aware of what your competitors are selling these products for in your market. What sales channels are they using and how much are the selling these products for? Are they selling their products to the same quality as yours? Do they have a well known reputable brand in the market? What types of warranty are they offering? How are they promoting their products? Does their business model rely on high margin-low volume sales or high volume-low margin? It’s always a challenge to compete with a business that is selling a lot of product at a low profit margin.
