Vietnam, a fascinating country that blends Chinese tradition with French elegance. Hanoi’s old buildings make you feel like you’re in Guangxi, while Ho Chi Minh is like a vibrant, internationalized economic zone, gathering large amounts of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese foreign investment. The market potential here is enormous, but truly understanding it is far from as simple as imagined.
Pre-Departure Preparation: Zalo, Data, and an “Unreliable” Translator
Before departing, we screened a batch of target customers through data and tried to contact them using Zalo, Vietnam’s most popular social app. Although we could contact some customers, we quickly discovered that many companies’ online phone numbers were either inaccurate or belonged to salespeople, making it difficult to directly reach bosses or procurement managers.
The most effective method seemed to be finding a local translator, sending her the customer list in advance, having her call each one, and getting the key contacts’ Zalo accounts. However, reality dealt me a heavy blow.
At the time, through a colleague’s recommendation, I contacted a Vietnamese translator. I laid out the task completely, but the result was that she couldn’t schedule meetings with almost any customers.
The “Chance Encounter” Plan: A Pursuit Full of Sweat and Futility
I wasn’t willing to give up just like that. I thought: “If you won’t meet me, I can always ‘accidentally run into you,’ right?”
So, I opened Google Maps and, following the addresses on the customer list, looked for them one by one.
That day in Ho Chi Minh, the temperature reached 38°C. I still clearly remember that to find the address of one company, I crossed through a local cemetery and was even chased by dogs in narrow alleys. When I finally stood, drenched in sweat and disheveled, at the location marked on the map, I discovered—it was just an empty house.
It doesn’t seem like there’s anyone there.
Later, I learned a “bloody lesson” from another more professional translator: In Vietnam, company registration addresses and actual office addresses are often different!
This failure made me understand how important it is to find a professional, business-savvy translator. Later, this professional young lady took over my customer list and, using Vietnamese that I couldn’t understand but was obviously much more effective, successfully scheduled face-to-face meetings with several companies for me.
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh: Two Extremes
My first Vietnam trip presented drastically different results in the two core cities of north and south.
- In Ho Chi Minh: Although I visited many customers, I didn’t close a single deal. However, the most important gain was establishing contact with several core local distributors, one of whom provided valuable market information for a new product we were developing.
- In Hanoi: We unexpectedly secured a decent order. This was thanks to very sincere face-to-face communication with the boss.
Speaking of this Hanoi order, there’s an interesting episode. In a previous cooperation, because we failed to provide the certificate of origin in time, it caused the customer some losses. During this face-to-face meeting, we proactively compensated her losses in cash and sincerely explained the reason, promising it would never happen again. The customer was moved by our honesty and placed a new order not long after.
Conducting field promotions by motorcycle in Hanoi
Vietnam Market Summary: Two Key Insights
This exploration trip gave me two core understandings of the Vietnam market:
- Don’t Underestimate Market Demand: Don’t assume Vietnam is a low-end market. A large part of what supports its industrial development is foreign enterprises with strict standards. Therefore, their requirements for equipment quality are not low. For example, high-quality conveyor belts like Habasit are very popular locally.
- Sincerity is Always the Ultimate Weapon: Whether it’s proactively compensating customers for losses or being honest in communication, a sincere attitude is the sharpest weapon for breaking through cultural and language barriers.
The Vietnam trip is just a beginning. This vibrant market has more stories waiting for us to write in the future.
I love my work—it gives me the opportunity to read, to travel, to personally experience this wonderful world. I hope I can always walk through this life in the way I love.
- What unexpected difficulties have you encountered when developing a completely new market? What do you think is the most important “key” to opening doors? Feel free to share your valuable experiences in the comments.
Arabic 
English 
Portuguese 
Russian 
Spanish 
Turkish 
Hindi 
Vietnamese