Despite eCommerce bringing the world to a seller’s feet, going global is still a big step for sellers. It overhauls everything sellers are used to so far, bringing with it new processes, potential learnings and experiences. And the challenges play tag-along.
Internet penetration is reducing timeframes and bridging distances, but it comes at a cost-high expectations for both delivery and quality. Put simply, sellers are expected to keep their word of fast and accurate deliveries, meaning that nothing less than ~99% will guarantee customer retention in a services on-tap economy.
In this post, we’ll look at the formula for global selling success without requiring heavy investments.
Tips to Ace Global Selling
Invest in eCommerce automation
A comprehensive AI-enabled eCommerce engine can remove several time-sensitive and labor-intensive tasks from your schedule, freeing you up to boost operational efficiency. By integrating courier services into warehouse management systems like Base, you can drive timely shipping and accurate fulfillment with updated data across order statuses, products, shipment tracking and returns. With comprehensive automatic actions preconfigured to business workflows, you can save time, cut down manpower and reshuffle them to deliver meaningful work.
Conduct market research
Before crossing international waters, find out how different markets respond to your product with ground research. You can drive demand only if you have a starting point in terms of popularity, otherwise you’ll find yourself winding operations down before you’ve truly adapted to the region. Examining the distribution of demand versus supply through a demand analysis can help you position your business and set up ahead of the competition.
The three aspects of market research to conduct include
- Demand Analysis: Leverage Google Trends, Exploding Topics and AnswerThePublic to find out how people in a different country search for your product and what keywords you should target in your localized website content. This pushes in-demand products higher up and matches it contextually to the search carried out.
- Supply Analysis: the cost of raw materials may be seismic based on availability of supplies. You can find out what materials are in high supply and cost less. This way, your value proposition can fulfill an unmet need quickly with what is locally available.
- Study online marketplaces such as Etsy, Amazon, Allegro or Lazada to see responses to products by country, which includes sales performance by channel, preferred payment modes and reviews.
The gist of it is that you need to know all factors that sway purchase decisions before launching in foreign markets. This allows sellers to personalize content and offerings to diverse audiences, driving customer loyalty without denting the pocket.
Make your website multilingual
Auto Detecting location and translating contents into the local language can make your website easily navigable and more engaging. It involves inserting a script into your code and presto! Your website reflects an understanding and respect of that country’s practices and culture. For example, Shopify allows multiple languages to be activated from the admin panel where you can create separate URLS for language-specific content. Extend this to customer support to bridge communication gaps and make customers feel at home. Multilingual support reduces response times and provides satisfactory resolutions, enabling you to surpass customer expectations!
Online store optimization
Ensure traffic flows to your website by optimizing it for visitors from other countries. Search engine traffic contributes to a third of the revenue of an online store and search engines have varying results based on region and search terms. The essential areas to focus on would be;
- SEO site audits.
- Website design and adaptability to different screen sizes.
- Determine sitemap and breadcrumbs to structure your site for easy navigation and simplified searching and filtering.
Optimise Cross-Border Logistics
There is no doubt that shipping internationally can prove to be a bit tricky and expensive if done without proper knowledge. But to scale your eCommerce business globally, you must streamline customs clearance and explore fulfillment centres closer to key markets to cut down costs and delivery times.
If you self-ship your products then make sure you are adhering to the regulations of the destination country and meeting compliance requirements to prevent shipment rejection. However, it is better to partner with a logistics company that can take care of all your shipping needs while you focus on your core competencies. Logistics companies like ShipGlobal not only provide reliable shipping services but also offer affordable rates and real-time tracking features to keep you ahead of your competition. Also, make sure that your logistics partner has a strong global network so that no country is far from your reach.
Leverage global reviews
Reviews go with the territory, and wield considerable influence in retaining existing customers, attracting visitors and converting guests to loyal customers. In fact, 91% of shoppers trust reviews in order to make a purchase. Even the why behind star ratings is asked for which is why ~56% of shoppers go for both written and starred reviews.
Remember, when you sell to a global audience, you need to give them something worth believing in, and earning genuine reviews and positive feedback drives up your credibility. Some tips to gain this is with reshares of customer reviews on social accounts, arranging for seller visits onsite to gain a deeper understanding of how your product or service solved a major problem and featuring customers across countries on your website.
The fact that eCommerce cannot be monopolized should be made use of, with sellers using digital capabilities and automated technologies to their advantage. With these tips, businesses can set their sights (and foot) on scaling globally.
