You may have heard that someforeign tradecustomer development software can extract buyer decision-maker information from customs data. So, is this true? The answer is—absolutely no problem. With reliable customs data and excellent email mining software, it is indeed possible to accurately find the contact information of these decision-makers. But its not that simple.

Limitations of Customs Data and Development Software

First, we need to recognize a fact:You can find this information, and so can others. In todays foreign trade environment, everyone is using similar tools to mine customer information, so relying solely on mined data to develop customers is highly competitive.

More importantly,most of these buyers already have stable suppliers, and they are very familiar with and trust their existing partnerships. Imagine you are a procurement manager receiving countless unsolicited development emails every day—how do you judge whether these suppliers are reliable? Even if the email content is very professional, customers may still doubt your identity and credibility. For them, breaking an existing stable supply chain involves certain risks, especially when dealing with unfamiliar suppliers, where the risk is even harder to quantify.

Challenges of Online Development and the Importance of Offline Expansion

Customers developed through emails often treat you as a backup. This means they may ask for somesamples and quotes, but if they find your products and services offer no particular advantage, you may quickly be forgotten in their backup list. In the real business world, customer purchasing behavior is driven by multiple factors, not just price, but alsoquality stability, timely delivery, and long-term partnerships. To convince customers to abandon their existing suppliers and choose to work with you, you must give them a compelling reason: you can provide better service or more attractive prices than their current suppliers. Otherwise, customers have no incentive to take the risk.

Therefore, foreign trade customer development must not rely solely on online tools but also takeoffline approachesFor example:

1. Participate in various trade shows: Trade shows are a crucial channel for customer development. At these events, customers can see your products face-to-face and observe your professionalism. This in-person trust is far more persuasive than an email.
2. Join industry chambers of commerce and business matchmaking eventsThrough industry association-led trade fairs, you can better access potential clients, and this contact is certified by the association, resulting in relatively higher trust from clients.

The Realistic Logic of Customer Development

We must understand thatclients are also very pragmatic.The procurement managers workload is their own, but the money belongs to the boss. If the boss does not strongly demand cost reduction, they generally will not proactively switch suppliers, especially when the existing supply chain performs stably. In other words, if the current suppliers have no issues, they are likely to maintain the status quo rather than have nothing better to do and switch suppliers. At this point, you are at best a backup, or even a backup of the backup—only when existing suppliers encounter problems or the boss suddenly decides to drastically cut costs will you have a chance.

Conclusion

Therefore, foreign trade client development cannot rely solely on data and tools.Offline trust-building, face-to-face communication, and professional product presentationsare equally indispensable. Only through offline efforts to truly acquaint and earn the trust of clients can long-term stable cooperation be achieved. To stand out from the competition, you cannot just be a backup; instead, you must demonstrate your unique value through professionalism, integrity, and high-quality service to become the preferred supplier.