If you’ve got a profitable online business you might not have thought about expanding to an international market. But it’s worth considering, especially as more and more people are becoming comfortable with buying products from other countries. Take the plunge and you might find that you’re able to give your revenues a healthy boost and grow interest in your brand – all by making a few changes to the way you operate. Going international won’t just happen, however: there are a few rules you’ll have to follow in order for it to be a success.
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Targeting the Right Areas
You can offer your products to the whole world if you so wish, but it’s probably not the smartest idea, because there won’t be a market for your products in every country. Instead, you should be conducting market research to determine which countries will be most receptive to what you offer. If your store is in America, it’s best to target those countries that are culturally similar to the United States, such as Canada and the UK and the rest of Western Europe. If those roll outs go out, you may wish to expand even further.
Making it Accessible
Just because you’re offering to a selection of new countries it doesn’t mean you should automatically expect a flock of orders to flood in. Unless you’re already a popular brand, people aren’t just lining up to buy your products – you need to go out there and actively market to them. Making your website accessible to the customers you’re trying to get will be a solid starting point. If you’re looking at shipping to Spain and/or Mexico, then offer your pages in Spanish. Similarly, be aware of the preferred payment methods of international buyers as they do differ from country to country (a good solution is offering PayPal payments as it’s an international company).
Logistical Issues
You’ll have to have a system in place to process these orders as they will be different to your domestic orders. You’ll have to take a look at international ecommerce shipping, including how much it costs and how long it takes to get there – and let the customer know. Also factor in any shipping delays there may be because of holidays (either in the States or in the country you’re posting to). Finally, international purchases may be more open to fraudulent transactions, so make sure you have a system in place to make sure all your orders are legitimate.
Customer Service
You face customer service issues each day, and there’s no reason to think that you won’t also get customer queries from your international orders too. The issue is, your domestic questions come during your regular opening hours – if you’re dealing with time zones on the other side of the world, you may never be open for business when your international customers are trying to contact you. Look at outsourcing your customer service so that there is always someone available regardless of what time it is. And while it’s not essential, if international orders become a big part of your business then offering customer service in multiple languages could also help.