Choosing a marketing agency for an export or import business
What to ask a marketing agency before hiring them for an export business, and the signs they understand international B2B buyer behaviour.
4 min read
Many export enquiries, especially from B2B marketplaces, arrive as a bare request for an FOB price with no destination or quantity specified, forcing a slow email exchange before an accurate quote can even be prepared. A well-designed enquiry form on your own site can prevent this.
What the enquiry form should capture
- Destination port or country, since freight cost and terms depend heavily on this.
- Quantity or order size, even as an estimate.
- Preferred Incoterm, if the buyer already has a preference.
Handling time zone differences in response expectations
State a realistic response time accounting for time zone differences — a buyer expecting an immediate reply during their own business hours needs to understand your team's actual working hours and turnaround.
A bare FOB price request with no destination or quantity is not something you can meaningfully quote — the form should ask for both upfront.
Language clarity in form fields
Use clear, unambiguous field labels and units (metric, standard) appropriate to your major markets, and clarify if your default units differ from what a specific market's buyers typically expect.
The takeaway
Ask for destination port and quantity on the enquiry form — a bare FOB price request with no destination or quantity forces slow back-and-forth before you can even quote.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
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