MARKET EXPANSION STRATEGY FOR EXPORTERS IN BUILDING MATERIALS INDUSTRY

The seminar “Foreign market expansion strategy” was organized by SACA Association Ho Chi Minh City on 02/11/2023 at C-SPACE Exhibition Center, address 12-13 N1 Street, Tan Thuan Dong, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City. This event attracted the participation of more than 100 representative members from enterprises in the field of building materials and the construction industry, creating an interesting forum for sharing experiences and building networks. The seminar program focuses on practical topics related to foreign markets, to equip businesses with valuable knowledge and share experiences from successful professionals in expanding their business activities to international markets.

3 keys to open foreign markets

In the context of the global economic crisis and declining demand in the domestic market, Vietnam’s construction materials industry faces many difficulties. Rising raw material costs, high inflation, and an unstable real estate market, … This is putting great pressure on manufacturing businesses in the industry. The global economic situation is also affecting export markets, with many countries stepping up trade protections.

Despite difficulties, Vietnam’s building materials industry is still struggling to find solutions. In the presentation at the seminar, Ms. Ngo Phi Phung – Founder and director of Metta Shared Marketing Service Joint Stock Company shared “3 keys to open foreign markets” for enterprises in the industry to do it the right way to confidently seek new export markets and build their brands in the world market of OBM – Original Brand Manufacturing.

The desire to export Vietnamese-branded products is a challenging journey. In addition to ensuring product quality and standards, the most important thing for construction materials enterprises is “understand the market and consumers” there. The product may be very good in Vietnam, but if it does not meet the needs and consumption habits in the export market, it will be very difficult to penetrate that market. Therefore, a business needs to thoroughly understand the needs of customers, customer expectations, and consumption habits of customers in the target market that they want to target.

Consumption habits in foreign markets are completely different from the Vietnamese market. According to consumer studies, overseas consumers generally classify products into only two groups: branded products and unbranded products. Unbranded products, no matter what country they come from, are often viewed similarly by foreign consumers. This means that, when Vietnamese enterprises have not built a strong brand, they have to compete with all other brands in the world when entering foreign markets.

When entering foreign markets, Vietnamese enterprises often have few resources and have to compete with big branded competitors. Instead of confrontation, they need to find a “niche“ and apply a step-by-step “disruptive strategy”. The market approach can be Direct export through major international e-commerce platforms (Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, …) or major retail hypermarkets (Home Depot, Ikea, Home outlet, Walmart, …), or Indirect export through export trading units and brokers. With a deep understanding of the market and the relationships that these units have, it will be a bridge to help businesses penetrate the market effectively and quickly.

Ms. Ngo Phi Phung also emphasized an important point about building a brand for foreign markets is the need to convey an inspiring brand story, enough to persuade customers to make decisions. Communication tools such as corporate websites, Google search, YouTube, Email Marketing, and LinkedIn need to be used properly for effective communication. In the process of communicating abroad, enterprises need to comply with legal regulations on customer data, and information security, … and understand the habits and preferences of target customers to communicate in the right direction to be effective and avoid the risks of regulatory violations.

The last key when exporting, Vietnamese enterprises need to anticipate and predict the political, economic, and social situation in the world, the region, and the importing country. They need to understand new laws, regulations, exchange rates, international logistics, and other factors that may affect exports. This helps construction materials enterprises develop contingency plans and minimize risks in the process of entering foreign markets.

What conditions do export products need to meet?

In the current era, the trend of “sustainable products” or “green products”, is those produced with a focus on minimizing environmental and social impact. They usually meet strict standards of quality and environmental protection. These products are often favored in the international market because of the increasing awareness of environmental protection and sustainable development. Ms. Vo Thi Lien Huong, General Director of Secoin Joint Stock Company shared “Experience in bringing Vietnamese brands to the international market – Lessons from Secoin” emphasized that global supply chains when working with suppliers from Vietnam often make requirements for supply “sustainable products“, “green products”. Without adapting to the general trends of the world, Vietnamese enterprises can only develop in the short term and lose the opportunity to participate in the global supply chain.

Vietnamese exporters to compete strongly in the international market need to focus on “Green Supply Chain Management” (GSCM) making products suitable for the circular economy, capable of regeneration, and contributing to fighting climate change. This not only ensures compliance with international standards but also helps them create added value for products and build a positive image of the brand.

Expanding relations and connections for export

Also at the seminar, Ms. Van Thi Anh Thu – Head of the International Cooperation and Development Department of SACA Association / Director of Business Development and B2B Marketing of Dien Quang Group Joint Stock Company introduced the launch “ICDD International Development & Cooperation Committee” with the important goal of building the SACA International Ecosystem. This goal sets the mission of building a comprehensive ecosystem for export activities and developing foreign markets in the construction and building materials industry.

The SACA International Ecosystem will create an environment for extensive cooperation among members, enabling them to jointly develop overseas markets. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises in the building materials industry to access and exploit new markets, build strong partnerships, and promote comprehensive development.

By building the SACA International Ecosystem, SACA is committed to supporting businesses to succeed in the international market, promoting the development of Vietnam’s construction and building materials industry, and contributing to building a positive image of the industry on the global stage.

In the final speech of the program, Mr. Dinh Hong Ky – Permanent Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the SACA Association shared that the programs of the Association always try to bring practical values to members and the Association will launch a new program named SACA CONNECT with a new organizational form has its own SACA brand, creating unique values for each member business participating in the program.

Metta Marketing Shared Services
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