D&B Hoovers helps Ukrainian exporters find potential buyers, importers and distributors abroad and verify them before negotiations begin.
Ukrainian manufacturers entering the markets of the European Union, the United States, the Middle East and Asia often begin their search for foreign buyers through trade fairs, recommendations, open directories or personal contacts. However, this approach does not always make it possible to assess the actual scale of the market and quickly distinguish promising companies from inactive or unreliable counterparties.
One of the tools for systematically searching for clients abroad is the international business data platform D&B Hoovers. It makes it possible to compile lists of potential buyers, importers, distributors and corporate customers by country, region, industry, company size, sales volume, number of employees and other parameters.
In particular, a Ukrainian furniture manufacturer can find distributors in Germany, Poland or Romania, an agricultural company can find food importers, and an IT business can find corporate customers of a certain size and profile. D&B Hoovers also contains information about executives and individuals who may influence purchasing decisions.
“A Ukrainian exporter often begins searching for partners through trade fairs, personal contacts or open online directories. Business data makes it possible to turn this into a systematic process: first compile a list of potential buyers, then verify each of them and only after that spend resources on negotiations,” said Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine, Head of the D&B–Interfax-Ukraine business unit and Candidate of Economic Sciences.
According to him, the search for buyers abroad should consist of at least two stages. At the first stage, the company identifies its target market and compiles a list of potential clients. At the second stage, it verifies the legal status, scale of operations, corporate links, financial stability and business activity of each candidate.
For an effective search, a Ukrainian exporter must define the profile of the desired client in advance. Important criteria may include the country, type of activity, annual turnover, number of employees, presence of its own retail network, import experience and affiliation with an international corporate group.
This approach helps avoid the mass distribution of identical commercial proposals and allows efforts to be focused on companies that may genuinely be interested in Ukrainian products. Additional reasons for making contact may include the expansion of a potential buyer’s business, a change in management, the launch of a new business area or the conclusion of major deals.
Dun & Bradstreet is an international business data and analytics company founded in 1841. Its solutions are used for finding clients, identifying businesses, verifying counterparties, assessing credit and commercial risks, compliance and supply chain management. D&B Hoovers is the company’s solution for prospecting potential clients and sales intelligence.
The Interfax-Ukraine News Agency is the official representative of Dun & Bradstreet in the Ukrainian market. The specialized D&B–Interfax-Ukraine unit provides Ukrainian companies with access to international business data, helps them find and verify foreign partners, obtain a D-U-N-S Number and assess commercial risks. The agency has operated in the Ukrainian political and economic information market since 1992.
Inquiries can be submitted through the specialized D&B resource, dnb.ua, or by telephone at +38 (044) 270-65-74.
