Tài liệu MARKETING GUIDELINES FOR VIETNAM FOOTWEAR PRODUCERS doc

z VIET TRADE - LEFASO VIETNAM THE ABC’S OF FOOTWEAR MARKETING MARKETING GUIDELINES FOR VIETNAM FOOTWEAR PRODUCERS Making the Transition from Shoe Processing to Full Production Produce

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VIET TRADE - LEFASO VIETNAM

THE ABC’S OF FOOTWEAR MARKETING

MARKETING GUIDELINES FOR VIETNAM FOOTWEAR PRODUCERS

(Making the Transition from Shoe Processing to Full Production)

Produced by: LEFASO VIETNAM

Assistance Provided by:

INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE

UNCTAD / WTO

In developing this product, a great deal of material was reviewed includinginternational marketing textbooks, export marketing guidelines generated byvarious international experts, and material contained within the websites ofmany companies and international organizations While this informationwas helpful and generated ideas, it was not of the practical, step by step,nature needed by a company trying to determine if export marketing is aviable option

Virtually all the information contained in previously mentioned exportmarketing publications deals with marketing branded products rather thanthe private label products that Vietnamese companies are called upon toproduce by international buyers This guidebook’s primary focus is onmarketing private label or customer branded footwear This does not meanthat Vietnamese companies should not make a greater effort to produceproducts for the domestic market nor does it mean companies should notconsider developing their own brand names Both of these are viableoptions and could be a more profitable alternative for many companies nowattempting to export

This guidebook uses the methodology of analyzing individual companiesfrom the viewpoint of an international buyer, who has a choice of thousands

of factories worldwide to produce any individual product The questionsasked are the ones the buyer would ask and the infrastructure and materialreferenced are what would be expected from companies with which he plans

to develop a relationship

Section A is perhaps the most important part of the guidebook It contains a

quick start analysis with numerous questions a company should answer todetermine where it should focus the efforts of its business There is no right

or wrong answer to these questions but a company with many negativeanswers, should consider the steps necessary to rectify these beforeattempting to expand its marketing effort The questions asked in thissection are critical for companies to discuss internally as they develop shortand long term strategy These questions could easily become the foundationfor a company’s annual strategic planning session

Section B discusses the steps in process, knowledge, and human resources

that are necessary to successfully move from producing shoes under exportprocessing contracts to full product production and marketing Alsodiscussed are the same considerations for a company who wishes to focus

on the Vietnamese market

Section C contains the basic marketing guidelines and suggestions for those

companies who wish to pursue the export market

The Guidebook Appendix includes information sources and important

examples of Vietnamese companies who have become success stories in

developing and exporting footwear to international markets

This guide is by no means a full fledged marketing textbook but is designed

as a product to help Vietnamese companies approach the internationalfootwear market in an effective and professional manner

 Do you have your own retail outlets?

 Do you have your own sales organization or a network of wholesalerscovering the entire country or regions of the country?

 Do you produce goods under a brand name?

 Is this brand name recognized and legally registered?

 If 10 consumers were asked if they were aware of your brand namewould at least 5 likely say yes?

 Do you participate in domestic bids and tenders from government andprivate companies and are you aware of most of these opportunities?

 Do you have a process for determining the exact cost of shoe’s youproduce?

 If you produce products under a brand name can you explain what thebrand name stands for and do you try to develop products around thattheme?

 If you produce products under a brand name do you know how much

of your business the top 10% of the shoe styles represent?

 When developing new styles, do you first meet with your dealers orfocus groups of consumers to get their reactions?

 Do you understand how to identify the footwear you produce incategories other than men’s, women’s, children’s?

 Do you understand the meaning of niche markets? Do you compete

in at least 3 niche markets and how do you make your customersaware of this?

 Is someone in your company responsible for meeting and dealingwith your customers 100% of his/her time and is that person willingand able to give you bad news as well as good news concerningcustomers?

 Is someone in your company responsible for understanding anddeveloping new products and technology?

 Do you attend at least one trade fair a year with the focus being onseeing new products, technology, and materials?

 Have you met the managers of the large foreign productioncompanies and offered your services for subcontracting?

 Have you ever tried to sell cut and fit uppers?

 Do you attend at least one trade fair a year with the focus being onsales?

 Do you read and apply to your business at least one internationalpublication per month dealing with footwear/clothing fashion?

 Are you using the same production processes to produce over 75% ofyour shoes that you used 5 years ago?

 Do you have access to the internet and use it for business research?

 Do you know your leading suppliers and customers e mail address?

 If a customer calls your company or sends you an e mail, do you have

a system in place so that the call or e mail is always promptlyanswered?

 Have you ever developed a fashion show combining your footwearand clothing / accessories for your wholesale or retail customers?

 Are you able to identify your expenditures on sales, advertising, andR&D on a yearly basis and compare them to your sales growth?

 Are you a member of LEFASO and /or a local footwear associationand are you aware of the benefits of membership?

Export

 Are you currently producing footwear for the export market?

 Are you now or have you previously produced footwear under anexport processing contract?

 Are you currently engaged in a joint venture agreement? If not haveyou tried to locate companies who might be interested in formingjoint ventures?

 Have you developed a business card and basic written profile of yourcompany in Vietnamese and English which provides information onyour company (production, years in business, employees, etc.) to give

to potential customers?

 Have you ever attempted to export cut and fit uppers?

 Do you have a specific plan to use the exhibitor guides of foreigntrade shows for a marketing prospect list? Have you attempted this?

 Are you aware of every foreign trading company that has an office inVietnam and are they aware of your company and its capabilities?

 Do you understand the various methods of pricing your shoes (fob,c&f, cif, etc.) and can you quickly produce quotes using thesemethods?

 Have you made major upgrades to the machinery and processes inyour factory over the past 5 years? Are your lasts and molds inEuropean or American sizes? Do you understand the variousinternational foot sizes?

 Do you frequently visit the main country you export production to?

 Are you aware of the foreign and domestic producers of raw materialsand components located in Vietnam and have you approached them tosee if their products are a good option for you?

 Do you have a person on your staff that devotes 100% of their time todealing with customers? Does that person speak English and have email capability?

 Do you have a formal product costing system that lets you identifymaterial and labor cost for each product you manufacture?

 If you purchase your raw materials have you developed at least 2sources for every product and do you receive competing quotes?

 Do you have a person on your staff whose responsibility it is to usethe internet for sales and material sourcing leads?

 Do you have someone your staff with the ability to quickly andaccurately duplicate a sample from either a picture or an actualsample?

 Do you have an employee or an agent in a center of footwearmaterials (Taiwan / Hong Kong) who can supply you with the correctmaterials to produce a sample for a customer quickly?

 Do you have an internet website and have you researched and listedyour company with every internet search engine and internet footwearindustry site?

 Are you able to receive orders and bill customers using EDI? Do youhave the capability of receiving customer patterns electronically?

 Have you developed in your main office, an area that displaysawards, citations, and certifications that your company has receivedand would want customers to know about?

 Do you attempt to sell your products to markets closest to Vietnamrather than those the furthest away? Have you developed a list of yourtop 5 target markets? Have you tried to locate sales agents in thesecountries?

 Do you exhibit at the HCMC International Footwear Exhibition?

 Are you a member of LEFASO and aware of the services it offers tohelp you in exporting?

B Moving Beyond Export Processing Contracts

It’s likely that over 95% of the footwear exported from Vietnam is what wecall private label footwear These shoes may have a famous brand (Nike,Doc Martens), the trade name of a chain store (Famous Footwear, K Shoes),

or no name at all But the common factor is that a foreign buyer suppliedthe design, and possibly the components and dies to produce the product.This is the type of production that the majority of foreign buyers areinterested in producing in Vietnam

In discussions with Mr Nguyen Gia Thao, Chairman of LEFASO, a majorobjective of the industry must be the transformation of companies fromprocessing export contracts to full shoe marketing and production ManyVietnamese companies have been able to successfully make this move butmany others have expressed concerns as how to accomplish this move andquestion whether their company should make the attempt This section willdiscuss the steps a company should follow in order to make the move, therequirements in process and knowledge, and the challenges

In today’s business there are several phases in the life of a style of footwear:

Concept Phase – Research, Design

Production Phase – Engineering, Materials Procurement, Manufacturing Distribution Phase – Logistics, Wholesale Marketing, Retail Marketing

These percentages aren’t this exact, but to illustrate our point let’s assumethat each of the 8 tasks above represent 12.5% of retail value of a shoe Acompany that operates under a processing contract has the opportunity toadd only 12.5% of the value to a shoe whereas a company that is engaged infull production has the opportunity to add up to 60% of the value to a shoedepending on its ability to sell to the retailer or a distributor

The characteristics of a typical company operating under an exportprocessing regime:

Export Processing Company

Characteristics

• Investment in infrastructure (building,

machinery)

• Investment in production workers.

• No investment in design, marketing,

inventory, retail stores.

• Profit potential is limited and based on

production efficiency & volume.

In order to add value, many Vietnamese companies have attempted to move

to full production While some have been successful, many have hadproblems This usually occurs because of a lack of understanding about theknowledge functions required to move to the next level

We call the next step, Full Stage I Production This type of company is

responsible for its own machinery, purchasing of raw materials, andproducing footwear for a select group of trading or distribution companiesthat supply a sample or a picture of the product that they wish to purchase Itmust upgrade the knowledge functions of its business but also must havemodern production processes to make footwear of a more complicatednature The size of the staff required need not be large, as its sphere ofcustomers will be small and they are likely to be based in the home country

as buying offices This type of company has added the value steps of theentire production phase and a portion of the distribution phase to its resumeand has the ability to charge higher prices than a processing company, buthas taken on some higher risk Many domestic Vietnamese companies areoperating at this stage

Requirements for Processing Companies to Move to Full Stage I Production

 Trained Product Development Commercialization Employees (linkbetween design & manufacturing)

 Trained Materials Sourcing & Purchasing Employees

 Trained Sales & Customer Service Employees

 Trained Export Documentation Employees

 Trained Finance Employees

 Upgrade of Production Process & Machinery

The next stage of the process is defined at Full Stage II Production These

companies take the previous stage a bit further and add value to the process

by fulfilling the functions of the trading companies Instead of marketing totrading companies, they are marketing their products to importers orvolume retailers located outside of Vietnam Several Vietnamesecompanies are operating at this stage Many others have attempted thetransition but have either not understood the process or have not allocatedthe necessary resources to be successful

Requirements for Stage I Production Companies to Move to Full Stage

II Production

 Upgrade of Product Development Commercialization Staff

 Upgrade of Materials Sourcing & Purchasing Staff

 Upgrade of Customer Service Staff

 Development of a Fully Trained Marketing Staff with InternationalOffices and/or Agents

 Upgrade of Export Clerks to Fully Trained Logistics Staff

 Upgrade of Finance Clerks to Fully Trained International Credit Staff

Companies at Stage II are able to add a portion of the concept phase, all ofthe production phase, and the majority of the distribution phase value steps

to each shoe they produce giving them the ability to charge higher pricesthan any of the companies mentioned previously There also comes morerisk in that this company has a higher fixed overhead and a higherinvestment in plant and machinery than those of other company types Acompany at full stage II production is exactly the goal Chairman Thao has inmind for many more Vietnamese companies

Building brands is usually a long and expensive process It is best done in ahome market where a company has experience and a feel for what its targetcustomers prefer in style, size, and price range Packaging, fashion trends,advertising, in store promotion and merchandising are necessary skillsrequired in the marketing of branded goods These skills and a heavybudget is the difference in a Japanese consumer paying $800 for a Pradapurse at a fashionable store or $8 for an item looking much the same in thelocal market It takes a huge amount of advertising and promotion toconvince consumers that a Mercedes Benz automobile or an Armani suitgives the purchaser the look of elegance and success Several Vietnamesecompanies have successfully been able to build wholesale and retail brandsfor the domestic market These have not translated well when the attemptwas made to transfer them to international markets

Many companies with a large domestic presence have a difficult timebecoming successful in selling private label goods on an international basis.This is usually because the thought process necessary for success is so verydifferent between the two A long established business that manufacturersfootwear for its own stores and independent retail network in a domesticmarket has likely built up systems and procedures, that while beingnecessary, slow down its market response and add cost to the products Thebest example of this is the Canadian company Bata, which has a hugepresence in many countries around the world in wholesale and retail but hasnever become a factor in the international sourcing and distribution offootwear, outside its own network If this sounds like your company hereare a few suggestions:

1 Consider forming a joint venture instead of attempting directinternational marketing Joint venture partners are not easy to findbut the sphere of companies you will be contacting for this purposewill be small and can be done directly by you, as the companydirector The joint venture partner will bring many strengths whichcombined with your will make you both better companies

2 If you are committed to direct international marketing, consider hiring

a manager from outside your company and let him/her choose thestaff from within and outside your company

3 Locate the operation in another building or another city The newoperation needs to be able to respond quickly to its customers andprovide the services needed at minimum cost but maximum quality.The theme should be looking forward and not so much the history ofthe parent company

4 Communicate well to everyone in the organization that the newinternational exporting operation may be the future of your companyand it is imperative that its needs and requests are supported by therest of the company If this message comes from the top it has amuch better chance of being understood and accepted

5 Consider licensing an international brand name for distribution inselect countries Licensed brand names in footwear and clothing havebecome multi billion dollar businesses Many international licensingagencies have been skeptical about the distribution of their products

in many Asian countries, including Vietnam, because of potentialillegal use of brands and trademarks An established domesticcompany has a much better chance of obtaining the licensing rights to

an international brand than an upstart company Accurate records andtimely licensing payments made and domestic success can allowexpansion to countries within the region

There are examples in Vietnam of companies who have begun as processingcompanies, formed joint ventures, and have begun direct export marketing.Those companies have continued to operate on all three levels This givesthe company a good foundation and allows them the security of having asecure amount of business to absorb overhead when other portions of thebusiness are not going as well This type of business requires exceptionaltop and mid level management to insure that all areas of the business runsmoothly without undue conflicts Much credit should go to companieswho can make this complex operation work and their methods should bestudied by others

This section of the guidebook has focused on showing you the stepsnecessary to move from export processing to some form of full productionand marketing Most of these steps are knowledge based and can beaccomplished by even a small company who is willing to properly train itsemployees in the critical tasks outlined There are examples in Vietnam ofthe largest companies failing to continue to upgrade the knowledgeprocesses of its staff and even though they had the resources of plant andequipment and were well known with access to capital, could not keep upwith smaller, more nimble companies

A key for smaller companies is to try very quickly to identify the type ortypes of products you wish to specialize in and become the best at producing

them A buyer who sees a small factory trying to produce leather andsynthetic dress shoes and suede hiking boots at the same time understandsthat this is a company that is unlikely to be efficient in producing either Assoon as possible find your specialty and strive to become the most efficientproducer of that type of shoe.

C Marketing Guidelines & Real World Suggestions

Your company has decided that it should become involved in the exportmarket as a full production company Now what should you do? Marketingtextbooks might spend 100 pages in telling you the studies you shouldundertake and the formal process you should follow in order to determinehow to convince a buyer in another country to buy your product.Experience teaches us that selling is not rocket science but occurs when abuyer understands that what the seller offers is of enough value to cause him

to spend his money It’s that simple The difficult part is locating the buyerand convincing him that you are the right person to supply that product.Here is a 6 step approach that should give you the best opportunity forsuccess:

1 Contact LEFASO VN

2 SWOT Your Company

3 A Professional Presence

4 Familiar Is Better

5 Selling Begins With A Discussion

6 Success Follows Persistence

7 A Critical Mass Is Necessary For Long Term Industry Success

Contact LEFASO

LEFASO should be your first point of contact as soon as you decide thatexporting is the right path for your company Membership in thisorganization brings with it benefits in the years of experience that LEFASOhas It would be helpful to explain to the LEFASO staff what you wish to

do and ask them what types of information they can provide you fromprevious foreign trade missions, inquiries, and from other member’sexperiences The ability to use the information LEFASO can provide willput you a step ahead in the export process LEFASO has very nominalmembership fees and you should take full advantage of the services theyoffer The same is true of your local footwear trade associations whichshould also be a point of contact

SWOT Your Company

A huge mistake that companies make is in not understanding what theyhave to offer a potential buyer or company with which they want to develop

a long term relationship SWOT stands for strengths – weaknesses –

opportunities – threats It is sometimes difficult for a company to analyze

themselves and you might consider having someone at LEFASO or abusiness associate you deal with to look at the answers you arrive at and seewhat he comes up with A good start is to answer the questions in section

A The answers to these should begin to give you some idea of your presentsituation Next take a piece of paper and start taking inventory of yourcompany by function Start from manufacturing from the first operation.Here is an example:

1 4 clicker cutting machines (3 operators and 1 manager trained incutting leather)

2 45 sewing machines for the fitting operation (25 experiencedoperators, 20 trainees, and 1 manager) Follow this process for theentire factory

3 Our current machinery can produce 800 pair of vulcanized outsoleshoes per 8 hour shift We can easily find more workers, trainthem, and increase to 2 shifts per day Employees for stitching areeasy to find and train

4 Our Vulcanized molds are in European sizes 36-45 Weunderstand how to convert these to American sizes New moldswill cost us $2,500 each and are required for each new size perwidth We buy these in Taiwan and it takes 2 months to receivethem from order date

5 We currently have dies to make a low top and high top basketballshoe in canvas New dies for a full set of sizes cost us $3000 andalso come from Taiwan We have an experienced patternmakerwho can develop the paper patterns we sent to the die shop Thetime to receive these is 3 weeks

This process should then be followed to your office staff:

1 1 individual with finance training in letters of credit transactions

2 1 individual with previous export experience who speaks Englishand Russian Has training in export document preparation Noexperience in footwear

3 1 individual with design and patternmaking experience Canduplicate samples from pictures or supplied sample

4 1 individual with purchasing and material sourcing experience.Can locate materials necessary for samples and select reliablesources

5 1 engineer with experience in formal costing

6 I (owner) speak Italian and Vietnamese My expertise is finance

7 We have e mail, which we check every 2 hours

The total of the above inventory is your resources How you put these resources to use becomes your company’s strengths Use the same inventory to determine your weaknesses Here is an example:

1 Our process equipment is for making vulcanized footwear If acustomer wished cement lasted or stitchdown footwear we cannotproduce that without major equipment changes

2 We can make 800 pair per day per shift or 1600 pair per day on 2shifts We now sell 600 pair per day so to sell more than 1000additional pair per day will require longer delivery times or anotherfactory

3 Our molds are made in European sizes and widths It will take majorexpenditures to make Japanese sizes and widths

4 We cannot obtain raw materials for leather shoes in less than 60 daysafter an order receipt

by telephone or fax (opportunity)

2 Our biggest customer opened an office in China He likes our shoesbut says the prices in China are 20% lower (threat)

The SWOT analysis tells us a few things about this company:

1. The primary export markets this company should consider are thosethat speak Italian or Russian

2. The primary products the company should consider offering arevulcanized outsole canvas shoes in low and high tops We can easilyoffer 200 pair per day for early delivery and another 800 pair per dayfor slightly longer delivery

3. The company should consider offering to sell uppers of somewhathigher quantities

4. We can make samples of other products using the same processes andgive an accurate cost quote on them

5. We should not attend the trade fair in Japan next month as suggested

6. We should make a longer trip to Russia and see if we can developmore customers there

It is important that you answer the questions in section A and in the SWOTanalysis very honestly The purpose is to get an accurate understanding, notpaint a better picture of your company than is there It is also ok to have along term plan Maybe in 3 years you wish to have a new factory with a

different type of construction and 1,000 employees Now is the time todevelop a strategy as to how you can make that happen Your SWOTanalysis should be for today and your long term strategy for tomorrow.Next we try to put this information into a saleable form.

A Professional Presence

All of the resources that your company has to offer are of little benefit ifthey can not be communicated to your potential customers All of yourexperience as a owner/manager of a company is of no benefit to yourcustomer if he is unable to communicate with your company or itsrepresentative It also makes sense for you to spend no more of yourresources than you have to in order to provide this ability You could havesales offices around the world but your costs might soon becomeuncompetitive What you should strive for is to give your company asprofessional presence as possible without taking undue risks You can dothis by looking at your company from the buyers eyes Here are a fewsuggestions:

1 Develop a company profile This is not a product catalog but a nicely

printed summary of what your company is about, such as: XX Company founded in 1975 Located in xx industrial park, 5 miles west of Hanoi Vietnam 500 employees producing 3,000 pair per day

of vulcanized canvas shoes and 1,200 pair per day of leather footwear uppers Currently exporting to Russia, Italy, and Poland Capability of producing extreme sizes, small order lots, and short notice orders Our company is ISO 2000 and WRAP Certified We have received best supplier awards from Xxx Company in Italy This

information can be put together in a single page and should includethe same contact information on your business card You can includepictures of your office and factory on the profile, if you desire Also

if you have future plans for expansion, include as something like this:

Phase III is planned to open in 2005 This will expand production to 5,000 pairs per day, employment to 1,200 and increase production capability to produce 2 shot p/u outsoles on leather footwear Do not

mislead your customer by making false claims The profile is not theplace for pictures of your product unless you concentrate on only oneproduct The profile should be easy to update and should be inEnglish and the primary language of your customers It should begiven out to all potential customers in person and through e mail andfax

2 Develop a business card This sounds simple but many companiesassume they don’t need one A readable business card is the mostimportant piece of information you can have Please make itreadable Block letters instead of a fancy print that is difficult to read.Current telephone, mobile, fax, and e mail address should be included

and new cards produced if that information changes Also insure thatthe physical address of your office/factory is included so the potentialcustomer can send something to you by mail or courier or he couldshow it to a taxi driver to find your company It needs to be inEnglish or the language of your primary customers.

3 Produce an album of products you have produced Unless you areselling branded in stock merchandise, you don’t need a catalog Forsales calls you will have to produce samples but you can also easilyand cheaply produce an album of styles you have produced in the pastfor other customers You should be using a camera to take a photo ofevery style you make, for reference, and a number of these can be puttogether to give prospective customers an idea of the products youhave made previously and what other customers are purchasing fromyou

4 If you have an internet website insure it is up to date Outside ofcommunications, internet websites are not of a great value to smallercompanies unless they are well promoted Many companies spendthousands of dollars on creation of a website and wonder why they donot get visitors It’s simple; no one knows it is there If you want awebsite to be visited insure it is registered with the major searchengines, LEFASO, and the major footwear industry websites such as

shoeinfonet.com If you are selling products in the domestic market, a

more substantial effort in creating and marketing your company’swebsite is appropriate

5 Produce a material folder for each style For reference as well as toshow professionalism you should create a tri fold that contains the cutpieces of material for every style produced for your customers Thiseliminates potential problems in the future, especially if the customersigns off on it and is an easy way of keeping records

6 Professionalize the staff A potential buyer is impressed when notonly do you act professional but when the staff does too A goodmethod of accomplishing this is to train several key members of yourstaff (manufacturing, customer service, engineering) to be able tomake a quick and accurate presentation of their job and how they areresponsible for some part of the production and shipping of thecustomers order This should be done in advance of customer’s visitsand the presentation should be gone over to see that it is accurate but

no confidential information is provided The goal is for the customer

to know that his order is being attended to professionally from thetime it is received until it is shipped

7 Professionalize your communications Although it is not likely, it ispossible that a customer will buy from you but never visit your office

It is likely that a customer or potential customer will communicatewith you for some time before visiting your office A mistake many

companies make is to not make a major effort to professionalize theiroffice communications You should insure that if you have e mailthere is a policy that it is checked and responded to promptly Even ifthe response is, “we have received and will answer you tomorrow.”Fax machines often run out of paper and continue to ring or customerfax’s are collected but not acknowledged Company telephones areanswered by people who speak only the native language and hang up

if it is a foreign language on the other end The way your companycommunicates says a great deal to a potential customer about youremphasis Professionalizing your office communications is very

inexpensive and pays off many times over

Familiar Is Better

Marketing textbooks go into great detail about the process you should use toselect your potential markets There is also a wealth of information aboutthe characteristics of various markets on various websites We suggest thatyou take some time and look over the market information on the UN/ITC’swebsite www.intracen.org The best advice we can give on market selection

is start with the market that is the most familiar to you If your previousexperience has been in selling goods to Western Europe The most costeffective market you can solicit is Western Europe You have somecontacts there You may have traveled there and have an idea of how to getaround You may have an agent or agents there and can go about findingothers in the same manner You can ask your current customers if they cangive you leads on other potential customers The familiar market alsomeans that if you are selling in France learn as much as possible about theFrench market by using the information sources contained in thisguidebook, information from LEFASO, information you can obtain from theVietnamese embassy in France, and every other source possible includingbuying French fashion publications and looking at the ads from Frenchcompanies The initial sales in many markets come about just by chance Abuyer might find about your company and visit you in Vietnam or a walk incustomer at a trade show You can look upon this customer as anopportunity to build upon You now have 1 customer in France There is

no reason you can’t have 20 You now have also become much moreprofessional about the French market You know how much it costs to shipgoods there, how long it takes for shipments to arrive by sea, you know thetop trade fairs in France, and the usual size range used in France In short,you are becoming an expert on the French footwear market Textbooksaside, this is the exact process that is followed by most companiesmarketing goods today Build upon your small successes and obtain asmuch information as possible

If you are totally new to exporting and looking for your first overseasmarket, there are a few considerations The usual suggestion would be thecloser the market the better It is easier for you to travel to and have buyersvisit your company from Hong Kong, Singapore, or Tokyo than it is fromLondon or Chicago You could take the approach of selecting test marketswherever there might be a direct international flight from your city.Alternatively, the success of the Vietnamese pavilion at the GDS Fair is areason to participate in that and similar events and build upon any successthat you find there Build upon the success you have in the markets youbecome most familiar with, using all the sources of information at yourdisposal, before you spend resources chasing after another market

You obviously can’t be an expert on the first market you approach but youcan familiarize yourself by learning as much as possible before you go Ifthe GDS is your first international trade fair it is important to ask others whohave exhibited previously what to expect You should professionalize yourcompany by insuring that the booth is manned at all times during showhours, have a supply of business profiles with your business cards to passout, and insure your display area is decorated along the same lines of theother Vietnamese exhibitors A professional presence does not mean anelaborate display but it is critical that you create an attractive booth that willcatch the attention of passing buyers Make sure that you get the businesscard or contact information from every prospective customer who visitsyour boot Keep these cards separate and after the show send them a letter

or e mail thanking them for their interest and asking them how we canproceed in establishing a business relationship

While we are on the subject of trade shows, many companies spend theirresources going to a trade show one time and come away disappointedbecause they did not write orders The real purpose of trade shows is toidentify and begin a discussion with new accounts If you have currentaccounts who will attend the trade show, perhaps you should makeappointments to see them before or after the show or outside business hours.You can then devote the major part of your time to prospective customerswho visit your booth A few suggested steps in maximizing your tradeshow experience:

1 Before attending the show obtain from the organizer a list ofexhibitors and attendees from the previous show

2 Go through both lists and mark out any names that are not complete

or not relevant to your needs (vendors, press, etc.)

3 There might be several thousand names in the list so eliminate fromthe attendees list any names that are outside of your target market

4 Many exhibitors could/should be your customer Go over this list andweed out unfamiliar names and those that produce products much