Forum Moderators: martinibuster
What I find interesting is this: International trade (exchange of goods and services) is a huge marketplace, often involving very big ticket transactions. At the same time, it appears that the PPC rates in the space remain fairly modest - compared to the value of the transactions. (Imagine a lead for the purchase of container loads of widgets, etc.)
It's my sense that this space is about to erupt with better direct marketing and more expansive web marketing by those "in the industry": manufacturers, wholesalers, customs agents, import/export brokers, freight forwarders, container shipping firms, break bulk shippers, etc.
I suspect that people will keep their internet marketing successes under wraps for awhile, but that will only last for so long.
This world - of sourcing products - has moved from personal contacts/Rolodexes to print directories of sources to CD-ROM directories of sources to online directories of sources to online communities (Alibaba) for generating sources.
The time is ripe, IMHO, for those in the space to begin waking up to the advantages of direct web based marketing.
I'm seeing more websites appear in multiple languages. More Chinese industry sites now offering parallel sites in English. More SEO efforts from abroad, targeting the English speaking market and vice-a-versa.
If nothing else this is food for thought, though I suspect there are AdSensers playing (at least a little bit) in the space.
Global trade. World trade. International trade. Import export. Different names for the same thing: Trillions of dollars of commerce flowing across the commercial currents of planet earth.
Opportunity knocks.
I have thought about this space for a while, but I figured that a subscription site may do better than a free-for-all site supported by advertising. I see many sites showing drivel and trash with outdated leads.
(Imagine a lead for the purchase of container loads of widgets, etc.)
I'm sure there should be several chime in after me however why do you consider this is not already happening?
This is what I do, this is what I discussed with Tim Berners-Lee in the 1980's and what I needed to explode my sales and marketing plans. This is what I have been developing over the past 16 years.
There are some huge B2B's out there, some carrying contextual and traditional advertising like myself, some carrying none whatsoever.
The time is ripe, IMHO, for those in the space to begin waking up to the advantages of direct web based marketing.
If anyone wants to go into this area then they had better learn some very specialised niche information rapidly and thoroughly.
It is not something one can learn overnight and the first container load of sub-standard products one supplies one will learn extremely quickly how fast law suits can arrive.
It may surprise you that a lot of international business is not performed through B2B's but through traditional trade fairs. It's where the buyer and the seller gets to meet other face to face and this PERSONAL CONTACT is essential to companies spending millions per year.
I don't want this response to appear as though I am preaching however I have seen more cock-ups on major projects simply because someone thought they could source the supply cheaper by the Internet.
Oh yep, they have done, the grey suits succeed like no one else to their company's cost and ruined reputation.
One phrase above all reigns in the international trade scene Caveat Emptor.
This is not a game, it is serious business!
A great deal with international trade is relationship building -- and that is not something that translates well on the Web.
Absolutely, it is not about building efficient and pretty web pages, that is really the icing on the corporate cake when it works well.
It is about trust, knowledge and experience. I am the 7th generation of my family in my trade and I have been in my industry 37 years and I still learn something new every day and I shall not stop learning until the day I point my toes upwards.
Anyone who believes that they can learn a specific industry's demands in just a few weeks could learn a very harsh and expensive lesson.
The opportunities may be there, just don't think that you can apply them as easily as you may have done to other subjects.
This is not about bytes and bandwidth, it is about physical commercial and consumer products which have to stand the test of time and that does not mean, although many in the USA would try and have some believe otherwise, outsourcing to the cheapest supplier.
I've posted this here, in the AdSense forum, in order to suggest that in the realm of international trade - unlike the realm of travel, selling widgets, developing mortgage or credit card leads, etc. - there's a whole lot that the internet marketers are not yet doing "in information realm" of international trade.
Consider a website about very large imported widgets or fine imported widgets or opportunities to import widgets or widget suppliers in Elbonia or chemical manufacturers in Elbonia . . .
Right now there's a few big players sitting pretty in the realm of brokering international trade, developing leads, etc. I'm not sure how much longer that will last.
I'm calling out to webmarketers, AdSensers, internet markerting types: "Hey, look over here . . It's a huge market. It's big ticket. It's ready for a change and you can make it happen."
Not that I wish to create competition for myself. :)
It's coming, the next sea change. People used t buy travel based upon face time, with a travel agent. People needed face time with insurance agents. People used to sit face to face with tutors, now they do it online. Systems of trust were put into place and more and more endeavors are moving online.
I'm just here splashing the water a little bit.
Big opportunity, I say, just opening up. All the usual is to be expected when change is afoot in the manner and methods in which business is transacted. The first response is "that will not work".
Face time? What about reputation ratings exposed by social networking in the realm of doing business? What about "trust rank" or the version that Alibaba is putting forth? However, that's the end of the line of doing business. There's a lot that takes place before that stage and that's the realm that I am talking about right now - in the context of AdSense: Lead generation, awareness of alternative suppliers, information about suppliers, etc. All the preliminaries. All internet marketing and advertising.
Close the deal some other time, in some other place, in the context of face time if you require it. Heck, for starters you can even put your face on my little website about the widgets your company supplies. That will help get things started.
The uptake of what I am talking about is a bit muddled, in part because it's new territory to many. My advice: Explore the territory. It's a pretty vast frontier, full of opportunity. The mind of the explorer is a prerequisite.
...there's a whole lot that the internet marketers are not yet doing "in information realm" of international trade.
Isn't there already an authoritative directory/site for driving leads?
In any case, I think elguapo and optirex said it best regarding personal relationships when spending millions of dollars. This is similar to enterprise level ventures.
Nevertheless there IS some web traffic, not a ton, but it's there. The PPC isn't huge either. Nevertheless, if you want to expand the breadth of topics that your income depends on, it might be worth looking into. I just bought a decent two word domain, no dashes. :)
As far as the information being specialized, I have my ways of dealing with that. :o Y
however this is the AdSense forum where I have yet to see evidence of a majority of individuals engaged direct sales, in the business of selling goods.
Err...which bit of my statement did you not understand?
This is what I do, this is what I discussed with Tim Berners-Lee in the 1980's and what I needed to explode my sales and marketing plans. This is what I have been developing over the past 16 years.
To put it another way, I sell my widgets on-line and have been doing for the past 16 years, it was originally established as an on-line catalogue, like many other businesses did, however now we receive over 500 e-mail enquiries daily for project requirements cum traditional established wholesale outlets re-stocking demands.
Do not forget that containers need unloading at destination and storgae facilities and, for many, expensive specialist handling equipment.
It may look easy however I can tell you it ain't.
Credibility is a very big factor in the real world.
2005: An additional $1 billion is invested into the further development of Alibaba.
From the Alibaba website:
China's leading e-commerce company, operating the world's largest online marketplaces for both international and domestic China trade
All things old are old. Mere longevity of a model of doing business does not mean that it can withstand the effects of "disruptive technology". Alibaba is a large scale example of where things are headed.
My proposition is that there is room for additional channels to open up. Old ways will continue to have relevance. New ways will eat their lunch.
And yes, trust is always important, therefore technology will evolve to address the issue of trust.
Looking at a face it nice. A handshake is nice. However, I spent a whole lot of money online last year without ever seeing a face or shaking a hand.
It's called the World Trade Centers Association: www.wtca.org (they also have online trade leads)
I think most anything anyone else chooses to try will be secondary to this organization... as it is a quasi-governmental organization with the blessings of most all governments worldwide...
Why do you THINK the terrorist bombed the headquarters in the twin towers 1994... and the succeeded in bringing down the 2 towers (but NOT the organization) on 9/11, 2001? It is simply the most powerful trading organization in the civilized world...
If the terrorists couldn't stop the World Trade Centers Association... I doubt any web sites that WW members may be inclined to build would curtail WTCA's business activities. They have been building political & trading relationships FACE-TO-FACE for over fifty years...
Integrity & trust is a KEY in international trade... something a new web site does not immediately invoke, no matter how slick it is designed.
I spent a whole lot of money online last year without ever seeing a face or shaking a hand.
However were you purchasing branded products?
The entire marketplace idea falls down when it comes to non-branded products and when the grey suits start buying on price and price alone since they invaribly only know what the business school taught them.
In general, they know nothing about a specific niche industry, all they are doing is waiting to move up onto the next rung on the branded product corporate ladder, they flounder in the non-branded product world.
Occasionally a diamond shines through and finds out that a niche product a sales life can be a darned more exciting than standardised, branded mediocrity.
And why do I mention non-branded products? Simply because there are so many products which are used every day in both industry and by consumers which cannot be standardised.
The EU tried to adopt such standards in my own industry and it fell at the first hurdle when they found that their new pet project would not be completed on time since their specified product could not be standardised according to their specifications.
Splat!
There are opportunities however do not believe that because the motor industry is worth $3 trillion per annum that by setting-up a parts web site that you'll immediately make a fortune...you won't.
For instance in my industry, specialised niche building products, most projects have the exact specification for the products required specified by the architect and who also may specify the precise supplier and his products.
I have some of the world's largest projects on my books at the moment since I am trusted not only because of my knowledge and experience but also because I have so many alternative contacts to source the products.
Established companies are very wary of doing business with new companies of an unknown quantity and especially when they may be held financially accountable by their insurers should the worst happen...imagine the public liability trading insurance for a new web-based company!
It is not as simple as it may seem, just don't go running head first into something one knows nothing about.
After WebWork wrote:
however this is the AdSense forum where I have yet to see evidence of a majority of individuals engaged direct sales, in the business of selling goods.
Optirex wrote:
Err...which bit of my statement did you not understand?
referencing his original statement:
This is what I do, this is what I discussed with Tim Berners-Lee in the 1980's and what I needed to explode my sales and marketing plans. This is what I have been developing over the past 16 years.
@ optirex, I think you may have misunderstood one big point in webwork's post (bolded for emphasis):
however this is the AdSense forum where I have yet to see evidence of a majority of individuals engaged direct sales, in the business of selling goods.
While you make some great points about b2b trade, I'm not sure you'd be a "majority of individuals" :)
I have yet to see evidence of a majority of individuals engaged direct sales, in the business of selling goods.
The reason one will NEVER see the "majority of individuals" engaged in direct sales is because they do not have the relevant expertise nor applicable knowledge!
Do not forget that!
I suppose whoever thinks of other information needs of international traders that is not currently provided will have an edge. The question, is of course, what is that?
The game seems to be which site can bring the freshest leads - and that's where the current focus is.I suppose whoever thinks of other information needs of international traders that is not currently provided will have an edge. The question, is of course, what is that?
What I find fascinating is the retarded pace with which governments, government agencies and similarly situated entities are failing to pick up on the rise of new channels for promoting homegrown businesses to the world.
Yes, the entity has a website, but just how many paths are there to their door? Are they employing PPC to promote the interests of their "membership"? Not quite yet, but I'll venture to say soon.
I think it gets down, in part - at least in the contextual advertising realm - to enabling potential advertisers to better target the websites where their ads appear.
Import-export services: Product inspections, export packaging services, freight forwarding, letters of credit, shipping insurance, break bulk services, containers, overseas shipping, wholesalers, distributors, customs house brokers, import agents, . . . the list goes on.
What website is focused on what service as it relates to what country or what industry? What websites on that subject show up in the SERPs? What websites have what level of authority to whom?
I see a lot of energy trying to loose itself. People are interested in knowing - at least learning - about the opportunities in international trade. The WWW should be lowering the entry threshold to participation and should be fracturing the hold certain old school players have had on the world of international trade/business.
The first step in opening up the market and bringing in new participants, in expanding markets, in opening unknown doors it 1) awarenesa and, 2) education/information.
That, to me, is exactly where AdSense friendly websites stand their best chance to play a roll in this process: Basic information, entry level discussion, increasing depth of information, mapping out the industry, linking to relevant sites, etc.
Given it's importance to your existance - international trade - it's amazing how little the average Joe/Jane knows, even the average Joe who runs a factory in Cleveland who gets his supply of component/widgets from Bill, who just might not know about a supplier in China/India/Mexico who is prepared to form a direct relationship supplying the same or better widgets at 60% of Joe's current cost.
Disintermediation and revised intermediation practices. That is what I see coming. I think AdSense offers some unique opportunities in the realm of fostering international trade and disintermediation.
