How to get export enquiries: what makes a buyer write to you

Key takeaways

• Enquiries start with a product. Buyers search for what they need to buy, so each product needs its own page [1].
• Proof comes next. A real address, real photos and certificates you hold let a buyer trust the page.
• Make contact easy. Use a short form, a WhatsApp button on each product and a company email address.
• Test your own form. A form that fails loses enquiries without telling you.
• Count by source. Log every enquiry, so you can see what works before you spend more.

Where do export enquiries come from?

Most come from five places. Each needs something different from you.

Start a simple sheet today. Record the date, source, country, product, quantity and outcome of each enquiry. After three months, you will know more than most marketing reports can tell you.

Why does an export website get no enquiries?

It is usually one of five reasons:

1. No product pages. One page that lists 40 products gives Google little to show for any one of them.
2. No specs. The page has product names but no grade, packing, MOQ or port.
3. Nothing to check. There is no full address, no real photos and no certificates.
4. Hard to reach. The form fails, or the phone number on the site is old.
5. Nobody has found it yet. A new site can take time to appear in search.

Run this test in ten minutes:

• Search your product name with "exporter" and "India". Note where you appear.
• Search your company name. Note what a buyer sees first.
• Open your site on a phone. Find your own product and contact details.
• Send your own form. Check that the message reaches an inbox someone reads.

What should a product page show?

A buyer should be able to judge fit without writing to you. Use one page per product, or per product family, with:

• the product name, forms and grades;
• packing options, MOQ and shipping port;
• the specs you test, or a spec sheet to download;
• real photos of the product and packing;
• an enquiry button that names the product.

Use the words buyers use. CBI says essential keywords include the product name and words like "exporter", "producer" and "supplier", with your country [1]. Our spec sheet guide covers the technical fields, and our SEO guide covers the rest.

What proof does a buyer need before writing?

A new buyer is asking one question: is this a real company that can supply me? CBI lists what a good supplier website shows, including contact details, facilities and capacities, certifications and quality procedures [1]. In practice:

• a full address, matching a verified Google listing;
• photos of your own facility, stock and packing;
• only the certifications you hold today;
• a named person with a role;
• your capacity, stated in a number you can meet.

Leave out claims you can't back up. "Leading exporter" proves nothing. "Ships 20 containers a year to 6 countries" can be checked, if it is true for you.

How do you make it easy to write?

Remove every small obstacle:

• Keep the form short: name, company, country, product and message.
• Add a WhatsApp button on each product page, with the product name already filled in.
• Use a company email address on your own domain, not a free account.
• Show the person's name. A name tells a buyer that someone is responsible for the reply.
• Say when you will answer. "We reply within one working day" sets a clear promise. Keep it.

The first reply decides what the enquiry is worth. Our guide on how to reply to an export enquiry has a 6-step method and a template.

How do you know it is working?

Measure three things each month:

• enquiries by source and by product, from your sheet;
• the search terms and pages that bring visitors, from Google Search Console, which is free;
• how many enquiries were real buyers, not sellers or spam.

Give it time. Google says some changes show within hours and others take several months, and suggests waiting a few weeks before you judge a change [2].

Next step. Find out which of the five reasons applies to you. Our free Buyer Check is a 1-page report on your Google listing, website and spec gaps, with the 3 fixes that matter most, within 24 hours.