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There are sites that have served as more traditional trade directories, that have begun (past several years) to offer the ability to post buy/sell leads, a company profile, etc. Evolve or go extinct. They once survived on print directorie, then CD-ROM directories, now it's all online.
The traditional trade fair / trade show has effectively moved online.
Small to mid-sized companies have new channels BUT are they now fully exploring/exploiting them or are they just starting to wake up?
I'm seeing more and better English language sites being created by Asian manufacturers. Makes sense. Do these same companies have business development agents that are now more aggresively searching the English business internet? Not all Alibaba all the time?
My view is that this market - on online lead generation and sourcing - is poised for explosive growth (it's been building up momentum) and also for a shake up (mergers, aquisitions).
My view: Given the marvels of the web, which includes decreasing marketing costs, there is a huge opportunitity for businesses and internet marketers to aide one another - for a very modest price :) - and do some wonderful things because this is a very large numbers game.
Based upon domain traffic it looks to me that the international trade world is waking up to new lead generation possibilities. It feels like it's time to start developing some virtual real estate.
What do you foresee happening in the trade lead and sourcing lead generation market?
Is it looking like interesting times for internet marketers in the international trade promotion space?
Think there's anything to be gained in promoting high value international trade leads?
Shhhsssshhhh, right? Nah.
I see a huge opportunity in this realm. What is the size of the realm of international trade? Ship that $10 million dollar crane. Offload that 20 tons of coffee or nuts. Build a prototype and produce a shortrun of 5,000 widgets.
There's value in developing international trade leads, likely more value than might be found in developing mortgage leads or real estate leads.
I submit that smart companies will partner up with effective internet marketers. The competition "to get the deal" (the contract to manufacture or supply) will heat up and it all starts with making the necessary internationla connections. Just like with mortgages. Only bigger. :)
It's a market that will keep chugging along and is big enough to absorb shocks and downturns, a bit better than the local real estate or mortgage market.
Well, that's the end to my introduction.
What do you think?
What have you observed?
Ready to play? Already in the game?
Heaven forbid I ask: What have you been doing lately in the international trade lead space? (At least admit to a little research. :)
The CD-rom based directory has converted over to the web quite effectively. It was half way there in any case.
The key I see is making the connection between the directory and a community/relationship.
The key I see is making the connection between the directory and a community/relationship.
Now that idea - development of community in this somewhat concretely competitive space - would make an interesting thread all by itself, wouldn't it?
What's interesting about community is that manufacturers or distributors are competing based upon a commodity market. Yes, there's an element of service that can make or break a deal, but at it's core you will have "community members" competing to sell substantially the same precision machined stainless steel widgets. Does that make for esprit de corps in the community or something else?
Since the "community" in this situation is actully a marketplace (unlike WebmasterWorld) are there issues that make the global trade community a somewhat different creature?
I'm not certain how online competitive marketplaces for commodities will morph in an effort to exploit (adapt to?) the social networking model. Interesting sub-topic. I suspect such a community is more like a classroom with a teacher than a freely flowing social network. Very interesting, indeed, to think that social networking comes in the form of so many different societies, especially in trans-national communities.
But I digress . . as always . . :)
The older manufacturing companies in Asia probably knew who made what and where. These directories/communities are very much targeted at the new arrivals to the scene. In addition to being great marketing venues to the smaller, more flexible manufacturers these sites really open up new opportunities that would have been impossible just a few years before. I think a lot of the older more established firms are missing the boat here...but that may be a topic for another thread altogether.
I can only see this field growing. It's interesting that people are beginning to notice this field now. I've been watching it closely since 1994 and I think it's just now becoming a worthwhile investment. A lot of those print catalog/CD ROM companies are a complete waste of time and money for the manufactures and customers alike. The well run and cost efficient sites which don't try to gouge their advertisers/listees are really picking up steam now.
I suspect there are companies right now that are sitting fat and happy, mining cheap targeted sales leads on the international trade space.
Wonder what will get the larger community on board?
So, perhaps this will accelerate in stages: First the players get more comfortable with PPC (AdW and AdS type programs), realize "it works" and then move into more direct and distributed lead generating relationships?
Anyone have any evidence or anectdotes about the uptake of PPC advertising - and ventures into the AdSense realm - by the international trade community?
What evidence is there of Google promoting its services into this realm?
Anyone see Google showing up in trade shows or trade magazines?
Such a vast market. So ready to roll. Where's the buzz?
The traditional trade fair / trade show has effectively moved online.
I don't know why you have assumed this however I operate in supposedly the largest industry on the planet and there are more trade shows than ever.
Your assumptions are several years late, most of this is already happening and has been for quite some time, for myself, 16 years!
Not so long ago it was born, circa 2000. Even less so long ago - 2005 I believe - Yahoo invested what? $1 billion toward the development of Alibaba? A virtual online international trade marketplace?
$1 billion? In an online marketplace for sourcing Asian goods? Is that evidence of opportunity being sized up?
Yes, there is still real world shows. Alibaba is managing the transition nicely.
I understand that your family has been in "the business" for generations. Alibaba was the bellweather for a sea change in the business. I'm certain you are adapting.
Alibaba was big money (Softbank) sizing up an opportunity to revolutionize an industry. Everyone else has been playing catch up - attempting to transform bulletin boards where leads are posted into communities.
It's all evolutionary. The next wave will be increasingly using the WWW for direct marketing by manufacturers: SEO, PPC, etc.
Disintermediation happens in spasms. I foresee serious spasms in the next decade for this industry that has been accustomed to certain practicee for a long long time.
What I find interesting is the relatively slow uptake of contextual advertising in this space given the value of leads + the relatively "low overhead" of leads generated by programs like AdSense + Google's clickfraud detection and smartpricing efforts + the global AND targeted reach of programs like AdSense.
In mature manufacturing industries we're just now seeing uptake of a lot of basic online technology that the consumer industry now takes for granted. The uptake of technology and the use of services like these are still very new to a lot of people. There are still a lot of big Asian industrial firms who haven't even heard of these sorts of services, so we're still in the early stages of this trend. It won't be until the media has beaten this topic to death that a lot of the old industrial firms will begin to look into a lot of this. The potential is there...
