How to use customs data to search for customers? Developing customers using customs data is a very precise and efficient method in foreign trade business. Today, we will outline the entire process from scratch. Through a flowchart, we will quickly understand the core steps and key points of the entire process, and then break down the specific operation methods and techniques for each step in detail.

Customs data is the "X-ray" of the foreign trade industry, which can accurately reveal the real purchasing situation of customers, covering 228 countries and 10 billion transaction records. Through the four step method (clarifying profiles, screening customers, analyzing behavior, and accurately reaching), high-value customers can be quickly developed, such as a company winning 20 new orders in 3 months. By making good use of data navigation, information gaps can be transformed into profit growth points.

 

Why is it said that customs data is the "gold mine" for foreign trade to attract customers?

Customs data records the real import and export transaction records of countries around the world, including rich information such as buyers, sellers, products, quantities, amounts, and transportation methods. Compared to traditional customer acquisition methods, customs data has three core advantages:

High authenticity: based on actual trade data rather than market research or forecast data

High precision: able to accurately determine the list of specific product purchasers and suppliers

Good timeliness: generally updated within 1-3 months, able to reflect the latest procurement trends

Taking the Kuoxiang Overseas Platform as an example, its customs data covers 40 countries and can be extended to track trade data from 200 countries, including 2.5 billion customs transaction records, 7 million international buyers, and 8 million global suppliers. This level of data is sufficient to support the precise customer acquisition needs of foreign trade enterprises.

Four steps to teach you how to play with customs data and accurately capture customers

Step 1: Clarify the target customer profile Before using customs data, it is necessary to first identify your ideal customer characteristics:

What products should be purchased? What is the HS code?

Which countries/regions do they mainly come from?

What is the range of purchase quantity and amount?

What is the procurement frequency?

Only by clarifying these elements can we quickly identify targets in the vast sea of customs data.

Step 2: Use customs data to screen potential customers. Through professional platforms such as Kuoxiang Overseas, customers can be selected based on multiple dimensions such as product, country, and transaction amount

Enter product keywords or HS code

Set target market scope

Select customers who meet the procurement scale requirements

Exclude customers from existing suppliers (optional)

For example, if you want to find customers in the United States who purchase LED lights, you can set the filtering criteria as follows: product=LED lights, country=United States, annual purchase amount>500000 US dollars.

Step 3: Conduct in-depth analysis of customer procurement behavior. After finding the list of potential customers, it is necessary to further analyze:

Procurement cycle: Is it seasonal procurement or year-round procurement?

Price range: At what level is the purchase unit price?

Supplier distribution: Which countries do the existing suppliers come from?

Procurement Trend: Is the procurement volume increasing or decreasing?

These pieces of information can help you develop more targeted development strategies.

Step 4: Multi channel outreach for precise follow-up. With a target customer list and detailed analysis, you can use:

LinkedIn accurately adds decision-makers

Targeted email marketing

Contact directly by phone

Key invitations for exhibitions

The key is to customize communication content based on customers' purchasing preferences, such as highlighting cost advantages for price sensitive customers.

Three advanced gameplay modes for customs data

In addition to basic customer development, customs data can also help you:

Monitor competitors: View the customer distribution and trading situation of competitors, discover market opportunities

Supply chain optimization: Finding high-quality secondary suppliers to reduce procurement costs

Market trend analysis: Analyze the changes in demand for products in different markets and guide product development

For example, if it is found through analysis that a competitor's customer procurement volume continues to decline, it may indicate that the customer is dissatisfied with the existing supplier, which is a good opportunity for you to enter.

Practical case: How a hardware tool company developed 20 new customers in 3 months

After a hardware tool export enterprise in Zhejiang used the Kuoxiang overseas platform:

Firstly, select 300 overseas buyers who have purchased similar products in the past 6 months

Select 80 key customers based on procurement scale

Thoroughly analyze the purchasing patterns of these customers and the current supplier situation

Targeted development letters were sent and followed up to successfully develop 20 new customers within 3 months, with an average order amount of $50000.

Avoiding Misunderstandings in the Use of Customs Data

Although customs data is powerful, it is also important to note:

Don't just focus on customers with large purchasing volumes, small and medium-sized customers may be more likely to break through

The data has a certain lag, it is best to combine it with other channels for verification

Don't overly rely on data, business negotiation skills are equally important

When choosing a data platform, pay attention to the frequency of updates and the reliability of data sources

In conclusion

In this era of information explosion, the ability to accurately acquire customers directly determines the success or failure of foreign trade business. Customs data is like installing "GPS navigation" on your foreign trade business, which can help you avoid detours and quickly identify high-value customers.

Instead of spending a lot of time on inefficient customer development, it's better to make good use of professional platforms like Kuoxiang Overseas to make 2.5 billion yuan of customs data available to you. Remember, in the foreign trade industry, information asymmetry is the source of profit, and customs data is the best tool to eliminate information asymmetry.

Try to re plan your customer development strategy using customs data, and within 3 months, you will feel significant efficiency improvements and performance growth. After all, in this data-driven era, foreign trade professionals who know how to utilize data are always one step ahead.

Reminder: Tengdao Foreign Trade Enterprise Contact Database has collected 2 billion contact data, including data sets from LinkedIn, Facebook, company websites, major search engines, etc., to help users quickly find key contacts and improve work efficiency.