What to budget for digital marketing as an export or import business

Fibvo editorial · 27 September 2023 · 4 min read

A single new overseas buyer relationship, once established, can produce repeat orders for years — sizing a marketing budget against this longer-term relationship value, rather than a single order's margin, changes the calculation considerably.

What the spend typically covers

• Website and marketplace listing maintenance, an ongoing cost.
• Targeted Google Ads on product and market-specific search terms.
• Trade fair participation, which remains highly valuable in export marketing.
• Cold email outreach tooling and deliverability management.

Why trade fairs and digital marketing should work together

Digital marketing works best as a complement to trade fair activity, not a replacement — search interest in your company typically spikes around and after fair attendance, and content should be ready to capture it.

A single new overseas buyer relationship, once established, can be worth far more over several years than the margin on the first order alone.

Adjusting for new market entry

Budget extra for content and outreach when entering a genuinely new market, since you start with no existing search presence or buyer relationships in that specific region.

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Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.