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3.4 Channels, customers and promotion

Define which channel your product will use to reach customers, who your ideal customer is, and how you will find and convince them. A fair does not pay off through the first order, but through follow-up and repeat purchases.

Module 3: International marketing · Reviewed on 20/10/2026 · Español

Goal: Tell apart the players in a distribution channel, vet a client before shipping and calculate whether a trade fair pays for itself with the orders it brings.

The distribution channel is the path your product takes to the end customer. It can be short: you sell directly to the consumer from your online store. Or long: you sell to an importer, who sells to a distributor, who sells to a retailer, who sells to the consumer. Each link adds reach and also keeps a margin. The longer the channel, the more people you reach, but the less you control the price and image of your product.

At the destination you will find different players. The importer buys abroad and clears the goods through customs, that is, pays tariffs and taxes and handles clearance in its country. The distributor resells to retailers and handles warehousing and delivery. The wholesaler sells large lots to other merchants. The retailer or chain sells to the consumer. Sometimes a single company plays two roles.

Do not sell “to the market”: define your customer. An end consumer (B2C) buys for taste, price and brand. A company (B2B) buys for volume, consistent quality, lead times and total price. Within B2B there are importers, supermarket chains, restaurants and hotels, and industries that use your product as an input. Build your ideal customer with five questions: who they are, how much they buy, how often, what they require and how they pay.

To find buyers use international fairs, business meetings (meetings with appointments already scheduled), trade missions and directories. PROMPERÚ offers support through its Peruvian Trade Offices Abroad (OCEX). Before shipping goods, verify the customer: that the company exists, its commercial and bank references and its payment history. How to get paid safely is covered in the Finance, costs and payment methods course.

Promotion is everything you do so people know you and buy from you. In B2B: catalog and technical sheets in the customer's language, samples, website, fairs and follow-up. Samples can also go out through Exporta Fácil, with a payment voucher. In B2C: online store, social media and reviews. The push strategy gives incentives to the channel so it prioritizes you; the pull strategy generates demand among consumers so they ask for your product in the store.

A fair pays off if you prepare for it. Before: set goals for contacts and appointments, schedule meetings and bring samples and catalogs. During: note down each contact with their need. After: write to each one within a few days and send samples. Without follow-up, most contacts are lost.

Key ideas

Short channel: more control and margin, less reach. Long channel: more reach, less control over price and image.
Importer, distributor, wholesaler and retailer play different roles; the agent only connects, on commission.
Define your ideal customer before looking for them: who buys, how much, how often, what they require and how they pay.
To find buyers use fairs, business meetings, trade missions and PROMPERÚ's OCEX.
Verify the customer before shipping goods: existence, commercial and bank references, payment history.
Follow-up after the fair turns contacts into sales; evaluate the fair by customers won and repeat purchases.

Player	What it does	What it expects from you
Importer	Buys abroad and clears the goods through customs	Clear price, correct documents and on-time deliveries
Distributor	Resells to retailers; handles warehousing and delivery	Reasonable margin and brand support
Wholesaler	Sells large lots to other merchants	Good price for volume and continuous supply
Retailer or chain	Sells to the end consumer	Turnover, in-store material and fast restocking
Agent or broker	Connects seller and buyer on commission	An easy-to-sell product and a clear commission

Worked example

Cacao Selva Central S.A.C. evaluates whether a fair in Europe is worth it

Setup. Cacao Selva Central, a fictional company from Junín, sells cocoa beans and single-origin chocolate. It will go to a food fair in Europe, inside a Peruvian pavilion, with the goal of finding importers.
Estimated fair costs. Tickets and lodging, US$ 2,800; participation, US$ 1,500; samples and shipping, US$ 600; catalogs and materials, US$ 400. Total: 2,800 + 1,500 + 600 + 400 = US$ 5,300.
Result of the fair. It gets 40 contacts. Of those, 12 show interest (12 ÷ 40 = 30%). It writes to the 12 within three days and sends samples to 6. Two ask for a quote and one closes a first order.
First order: US$ 18,000 at FOB price, with a net margin of 22%. Profit: 18,000 × 0.22 = US$ 3,960. Against the cost of the fair: 3,960 − 5,300 = a loss of US$ 1,340. The first order does not pay for the fair.
Break-even point. Sales needed: 5,300 ÷ 0.22 = US$ 24,091. In orders of US$ 18,000: 24,091 ÷ 18,000 = 1.34. A second order is needed to recover the investment.
Before the second order, the company verifies the importer: it confirms that it exists, asks for commercial and bank references and agrees on a safe payment condition, for example an advance and the balance against documents.
Result at 12 months with three orders. Sales: 3 × 18,000 = US$ 54,000. Profit: 54,000 × 0.22 = US$ 11,880. Final result: 11,880 − 5,300 = US$ 6,580.

Result: The fair paid off because the company followed up and the customer reordered. It is best to evaluate a fair by customers won and repeat orders, not by the sale of the first order.

Real cases

Ruta Exportadora: PROMPERÚ's support for reaching buyers

10/2025

In October 2025 PROMPERÚ published the first edition of the brochure “Ruta Exportadora”, a free program for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. To join, it requires an active RUC with “habido” (locatable) status, at least one year of operation, a good credit history and completing the Exporter Test. It promotes the offer with official-pavilion fairs under Marca Perú, business meetings with predefined appointments and trade missions, and has 30 Peruvian Trade Offices Abroad. With figures as of July 2025, it reports 23,000 participating companies and presence in 155 markets.

Before paying for a fair on your own, check whether you can join an official pavilion or a business meeting with appointments already scheduled.

Source: PROMPERÚ – Ruta Exportadora: la mejor ruta hacia la internacionalización (1.ª edición, octubre de 2025)

Selling online abroad: shipping is part of the offer

19/05/2021

On 19/05/2021, in a virtual seminar of the “Exporter's Wednesday” series, DHL Express Perú explained how to internationalize a business with online sales. It recommended knowing the consumer and the competition, having a payment platform, setting prices that include international logistics and choosing a logistics partner. According to figures cited in the presentation, 58% of consumers would choose a seller only for its delivery options and 50% abandon a purchase because of limited shipping options.

If you sell directly to the consumer, design delivery as part of your offer: clear shipping options, tracking and returns.

Source: PROMPERÚ, repositorio – Seminario «¿Cómo internacionalizar tu negocio?», DHL Express Perú, 19/05/2021

Common mistakes

Choosing the channel out of habit or because of the first contact. Compare two or three channels by reach, margin, control and risk before deciding.
Going to a fair without goals or follow-up. Set how many contacts and appointments you want, and write to each contact the following week.
Shipping goods to a customer you did not verify. Confirm that it exists, ask for commercial and bank references and agree on a safe payment condition.
Presenting catalogs and sheets only in Spanish. Prepare the material in the customer's language.
Giving exclusivity to the first distributor with no term or minimum sales. Agree on a short period and clear targets.

Practise with the calculators, the COMEX Simulator and the review questions on the main page.

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