Think of having access to one of the most popular natural resources in the world: Pakistan’s globally recognized Himalayan pink salt (HPS). Yet, you don’t have any idea how to find potential international buyers. This scenario illustrates the challenge of thousands upon thousands of new exporters and entrepreneurs every day.
The good news is: it’s not as hard as you might think to locate ideal buyers; you simply need to apply a combination of strategies that actually produce results. In this guide, you’ll be provided with two very effective and time-proven techniques currently being utilized by successful exporters attempting to locate their ideal buyer for HPS and other export items from Pakistan.
At the conclusion of this comprehensive guide, you will have a step-by-step structure established to successfully:
• Locate international buyers for your products
• Contact and deal with them directly
• Develop a successful long-term export
business that consistently receives inbound inquiries
And best of all? These strategic methods can be applied regardless of whether or not you’re selling HPS, as they will work for any product that you export.
Pakistan Himalayan Pink Salt is a fabulous mineral for exporters.
Pakistan’s Himalayan Pink Salt is harvested from the Khewra Salt Mine in Punjab, and it is one of the most sought-after specialty minerals being sold around the globe. It is mined from deposits that were formed over 250 million years ago, and is rich in over 84 trace minerals and many beneficial properties. Today, Himalayan Pink Salt is being sold around the world as a gourmet cooking salt, a spa product, a lamp material, and a health supplement.
The worldwide market for Himalayan Salt is growing rapidly, with many of the major importing countries being the USA, Canada, Germany, the UK and Australia. This provides tremendous opportunity for Pakistani exporters, as long as they know how to find and approach the right buyers. This guide will show you how to do just that.
Increasing Your Chances of Finding & Contacting a Buyer Yourself
The first strategy of the four presented in this article is the most straightforward: you can find potential buyers to contact for yourself in a direct manner. This approach gives you immediate control over who you want to contact, and also allows you to start establishing a pipeline of leads quickly. There are three main methods for carrying out this strategy:
Using A Google Search to Find Companies that Import Pink Salt into Canada
While many companies that export pink salt to Canada have turned their back on Google altogether (and a good number of exporters are using Google to find buyers), you should have no hesitation in using it as a resource to find buyers. Here’s how you can make the most out of Google when searching for potential importers of pink salt in Canada:
- Open a browser and conduct a Google search for “Pink Salt Importers in Canada” (change “Canada” to your targeted importing country).
- Scroll through the results until you see any websites that belong to an importer or distributor of pink salt (generally, it is best to ignore entries such as “Yelp” and “Yellow Pages” which are generic directories).
- When you find a website belonging to an importer/distributor, click on the “Contact Us” link from their home page; you should be able to find their email address and/or telephone number.
- Create a new row in an Excel spreadsheet using the company’s name, email address and telephone number; this becomes your buyer database that will continue to grow as you contact new importers/distributors.
- In order to find more importers/distributors in Canada that import pink salt, refine your search for importers/distributors within specific cities in Canada.
Tip For Success: Searching with near-perfect accuracy has become commonplace on the Internet. For example, when searching for supplies related to Himalayan Pink Salt wholesale distribution: use a specific, targeted search phrase like “Himalayan Pink Salt wholesale distributors in New York” or “bulk buy-my-Pink-Salt” in orders to receive qualified leads customized to your exact needs.Once you settle on an adequate keyword(s) set you’ll find a higher quality of lead.
Use Google Maps to Find Local Importers
Many ways to find importers exist, but Google maps is often used and does not get the credit it deserves. When using Google Maps to search for importers directly you will find many importers listed with all their contact details, including address, phone number, email, website, business hours, and sometimes reviews from their customers.
An easy way to speed up this process is to use the Instant Data Scraper, which is free to download from the Chrome web store. Below I have outlined the steps on how to use this tool for your market research:
- Search for your desired importer. Example Himalayan Pink Salt Importers.
- After you have your search result, launch the Instant Data Scraper extension.
- While searching, click on the button labelled Try Another Table multiple times until the extension captures the entire list of companies in the search results.
- The extension will automatically format all of the company names, contact numbers, address, and website links into a table format.
- With a single click of the mouse, you will export all of the information into an Excel file (no need to manually copy/paste).
Using this method will provide exporters with dozens of verified buyers within just a few minutes across multiple countries and cities. This is one of the fastest ways to find buyers for exporters today.
Global Trade Data Platforms
You can find global trade data showing complete records of what goods have actually been shipped around the world. You will also see which companies are already importing Himalayan Pink Salt from Pakistan so that you can target them as your best leads.
Since these companies are already buying from Pakistan, they are already established buyers who have experience with the product and supply chain and will likely be more receptive to your contact and marketing efforts than cold leads. Use one of the global aggregate trade platforms that provide shipping and customs data to identify verified importers in your target market.
After you have developed your buyer list by any of the three options above, the next step is simple. You will contact them by email or phone using a professional introduction that is personalized and contains the details about your product specifications, pricing, minimum order size and certifications.
Get potential buyers to seek YOU out (the Long-Term Goldmine).
For those who want quick results, then the first strategy will be the answer. However, the second strategy is where the true long-term strength of your business lies. Instead of you looking for buyers, you will establish your business in a manner that allows buyers to find you, get in touch with you, and show up at your doorstep with a purchase order in hand.
Realistically, to build this type of relationship with your potential customers through the second method will take longer than if you were using the first method. Usually, you’ll start to see substantial incoming results from this approach within 4 to 6 months of having your website up and running. After you begin to see results from your website and your marketing efforts, you have now established a long-term supply of buyer inquiries that continue to grow year after year with minimal further work on your part. Below are the detailed steps to implement this strategy:
Step One: Establish a Professional, SEO Optimized Website
Consider this example. If an international buyer wants to purchase Himalayan Pink Salt from Pakistan, where are they going to search for this product first? Google! Most likely the buyer would enter something in Google’s search bar like, “buy Himalayan Pink Salt from Pakistan” or, “bulk supplier of Himalayan Pink Salt from Pakistan”.
Your focus with your website should be to ensure that it appears in a prominent position in the search results when buyers type those types of search phrases online. To do this your website must be a professional site that provides good user experience, is easy to navigate, is SEO optimized – which means it must be well structured and be attractive to the search engines.
• Fast loading and responsive for buyers when using any device.
• Optimised for key phrases e.g( exporter Himalayan pink salt, bulk pink salt supplier Pakistan)
• Rich in detailed product information, professional images, and good quality specifications of the product
• Clear contact forms, WhatsApp chat buttons, and many other options for buyers to make contact
• Professionally designed to create trust with international buyers that will be making buying decisions for large quantities.
Make an Investment in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
It takes more than just having a great website for your business to succeed; your website has to show up in Google’s ranking of results when a buyer is searching for products similar to yours. Search engine optimization (SEO) is an ever-evolving method of maximizing how frequently a search engine displays your websites and pages in relation to the products and/or services on each page.
Some SEO activities you’ll want to incorporate into your export business may include the following:
1. Keyword research – finding out what specific phrases international buyers use when searching for your product
2. On-page SEO – how title tags, meta descriptions, product page copy and heading layout will appear on the pages
3. Content marketing – producing articles, guides or blog posts not only to help to answer buyers’ questions, but to help build your credibility
4. Backlinks – obtaining links from industry reputable websites, trade directories, and export portals to your site
5. Technical SEO – ensuring your website loads quickly, it is indexed properly, and has a good cohesive structure for all of its pages
In addition to the many other words you could target when exporting Himalayan pink salt from Pakistan, your major high-value target keywords may include: ‘bulk supplier of Himalayan Pink salt; wholesale pink salt from Pakistan; buy pink salt directly from Pakistan; and edible Himalayan salt exporter.’
Step 3: Get Listed on B2B Trade Platforms
Besides having your own company website, getting listed on top-tier B2B trade portals will increase your exposure as a supplier to foreign buyers. Trade portals like these are designed specifically for wholesale and export transactions, and millions of foreign buyers utilize them on a daily basis.
Some of the best B2B trade portals for Pakistani exporters are:
• Alibaba.com – The biggest B2B portal in the world with buyers from all countries
• Made-in-China.com – Popular with importers of bulk products worldwide
• ExportHub.com – Pakistan’s biggest B2B portal for exports
• GlobalSources.com – Especially popular among buyers from USA & Europe
Make sure you create an informative business profile along with high-quality pictures of your products, certificates, tiered pricing, and descriptions. Business profiles that have complete details always get a better ranking on these portals and generate more buyer inquiries.
Step 4: Utilize Social Media and Video Marketing
Foreign buyers don’t only use Google; many find new suppliers via LinkedIn, YouTube, and other social media sites. Some social media strategies to consider include:
• LinkedIn: Network with importers, distributors, and individuals in the food business from your target foreign markets. Provide frequent updates on your products, the Khewra Salt Mine, the process of exporting, and certifications.
• YouTube: Make short yet engaging videos demonstrating your salt mining process, your processing facilities, how you ensure high-quality standards in your products, and the types of products you offer. Foreign buyers are highly impressed with behind-the-scenes videos.
• Instagram: Great for promoting visually appealing Himalayan Pink Salt products like decorative lamps, kitchen slabs, bathing salts, and gift packs.
Which Strategy Should You Use – #1 or #2?
The truth is, you should use both. They complement each other, and when used together, they create synergies that make them even more effective than when used separately.
Strategy #1, Active Outreach, produces fast results. Once you understand its principles, you can implement it right away. In a few days after reading this guide, you can start reaching out to your potential customers. It will take just a few weeks before you see your first positive response from them.
Strategy #2, Inbound Marketing, provides sustainable growth over time. At first, it will take 4 to 6 months to see any success, but once it starts working, it will be your customers contacting you automatically, without any need for you to follow up with them. You will have created a self-sustaining model for your business.
Analogy: Strategy #1 is like growing your vegetables in the garden by hand. Strategy #2 is like installing an irrigation system in your garden to water plants automatically.
Extra Tips for Pakistan’s Pink Salt Exports
• Certify your product: FDA certification (for USA buyers), EU food safety certifications, and organic certifications add great weight to your product, removing a huge hurdle for potential international buyers.
• Consider quality packaging: Poor packaging may turn off many international buyers at the start. Packaging which matches the premium value of Himalayan Pink Salt can be a game changer.
• React quickly to buyer inquiries: When an international buyer contacts you, be sure to reply quickly; a few hours at most. Lack of quick reaction is one of the biggest reasons why Pakistani businesses fail in making deals with foreign buyers.
• Create a professional product catalog: Create a detailed catalog in PDF format that lists down all your products with their technical specs, minimum order quantities (MOQ), and prices.
• Provide samples of your products: Potential buyers generally demand samples of your product before going ahead with bulk orders. Allocate money for sample shipments.
Conclusion: Your Export Venture Begins Now
The goal of getting buyers for Pakistan Himalayan Pink Salt overseas is possible; however, by using the two methods mentioned above, you will get a guaranteed way of doing so. Whether it’s your first time exporting products overseas or you want to improve an ongoing venture, applying Strategy #1 and Strategy #2 will ensure the success of your export efforts.
It all starts now. It requires consistency and following through on the plan to have the greatest chances at success. Each year, the demand for Himalayan Pink Salt grows and buyers keep searching for Pakistani suppliers. The only thing left is to help the international buyers locate you.
Pakistani Pink Salt is top-notch and the whole world is after it. Utilizing the strategies above will allow you to develop a successful export business in no time. Your first buyer may be just an email away.
