Although international selling offers huge opportunities forgrowth, some online business owners feel intimidated bythethought ofselling globally. However, with some planning andresearch, you can start selling abroad faster than you think.
Taking time toprepare forexpanding your business internationally can help ensure you have asuccessful launch when you open upyour online store toforeign
Find out how toprepare your store forexpanding its reach andstart making sales around theworld.
Step 1:Recognize Your Opportunities forSelling Globally
Before prepping your international selling strategy, make sure you have areal, valid opportunity with unique products.
How doyou dothat?
Start byconducting market research around your products todetermine product viability. This isthesame thing you did when you developed your domestic business plan, only this time, you’re analyzing global markets.
Begin with aSWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) todetermine how your product will stand out inthis new market.
For example, let’s say you want tosell your
Strengths: You sell
Weaknesses: Your current line only includes four designs, andtherefore your product offerings are limited.
Opportunities: Noone intheinternational market iscurrently selling your brand, soyou can offer something completely new tothis audience. You also plan toinvest another $4,000into printing four additional designs this year, which will help expand your offerings andaddress your weakness.
Threats: You don’t have acopyright onyour designs, soanother retailer could potentially steal your designs andmake your store obsolete.
Notice how conducting this analysis helps you prepare forthechallenges andopportunities that can make
Not only will this research help you determine whether ornot you’re pursuing alucrative opportunity, but it’s also thefirst step indeveloping your global marketing strategy. And bydoing this research beforehand, you minimize risk. That includes losing time andmoney onexpanding globally when your products won’t sell ininternational markets.
Read more: How toDoSWOT Analysis For Eсommerce
Step 2:Research theGlobal Market
Before you switch to
Research theNeeds ofGlobal Customers
մconduct international market research, you can start bylooking atdata from your current customers. Doyou have some international customers? Ifso, where are they located? What products are they buying?
Ifyou don’t have international customers, you can use tools like Google Trends andGoogle AdWords toget anidea ofwhat people indifferent countries are searching for.
With Google Trends, you can compare interest inaparticular product ortopic byregions
Work with Focus Groups
Before selling globally, you want tomake sure customers inyour desired foreign market will respond positively toyour offerings.
Conducting focus group research with people who live inthecountries you want totarget will beagood indicator ofwhether ornot your products will dowell inaglobal market.
Notravel necessary: you can hire companies that conduct market research. For example, CRI orFieldworkHub conduct international focus groups online. You can look formore market research companies inthe directory.
Look atYour Competitors
You can also look atyour competition tosee how they’re selling ininternational markets. What products dothey offer for
Use Tools forMarket Research
Ifyou’re willing tospend some money onmarket research, there are also anumber oftools you can use. For example, Attest andAnswer thePublic are both tools forcontent marketing, surveys, andconsumer research.
While some market research tools cost money, free ones are also available.
For example, tools allow you tofind target markets indifferent countries andexplore what these markets are interested inbuying. You might bealready familiar with Google Trends, but make sure toutilize theMarket Finder andFind MyAudience tools toachieve best results.
մstart using theMarket Finder tool, you need toenter your store URL
Another straightforward way tolearn more about potential customers inforeign countries isbybrowsing Statista. Itisadata visualization website that collects data from reputable reports andsurveys across theweb. Statista then turns that data into
Step 3:Research theRequirements forCross-Border Selling
Once you’ve determined whether ornot your products have areal chance inaglobal marketplace, you should start tothink about afew specific international markets you’d like tomarket to. This will help you better understand your new audiences andcraft more relevant marketing messages.
Business Etiquette
First, besure you read uponthecustoms andstandard business etiquette ofyour target countries.
Learn which phrases are considered polite touse inemails, thecorrect way togreet customers, andabit about thecountry’s history toensure you don’t make anunintentional culturally insensitive error.
Competitor Research
Next, start toget familiar with your main competitors intarget countries.
See ifyou can differentiate your brand andproducts from existing brands. Ifyou’re not sure where tobegin this research, you may consider hiring help from abrand consultant within thetarget country tospeed uptheprocess.
Legal Compliance
Besure tocheck thecountry’s legal restrictions tobecertain you’re not attempting tosell anddistribute anillegal product. For example, CBD products cannot beshipped orsold incertain countries.
մavoid fines, get toknow border regulations before you start selling globally. The requirements anddocumentation needed toimport goods can vary from country tocountry.
Some products may have restrictions orspecial regulations. For instance, animport permit isrequired forleather goods inBelgium.
Nomatter what country you decide toexpand your international business to, stick tothebest practices forselling globally. That means using fair business andmarketing practices, creating secure online payment methods, andprotecting consumer privacy.
Pricing andCurrency
You’ll want todetermine thepricing structure ofyour products andcurrency exchange rates when selling globally.
First, figure out theexchange rate. Online currency converters can help you with that. They will also show you how theexchange rate has varied over recent months.
Anexample ofanonline currency converter
When pricing your products, besure tofactor intheexchange rate sothat you’re not losing money oninternational selling. Keep inmind that your prices may need tobeadjusted over time toaccount forvariations inexchange rates.
մdetermine anappropriate pricing model, besure tocheck your competitors’ prices inthemarket country forspecific types ofproducts.
Use websites that compare thecost ofliving intarget countries. For example, states thefollowing prices forapair ofjeans indifferent parts oftheworld:
Asyou can see, theprice forapair ofjeans differs alot from country tocountry. InGermany, itcan cost $77, while inIceland itcosts $113.
You should consider theaverage cost ofgoods indifferent countries when pricing your products. You may have tocreate separate pricing structures forproducts sold globally.
Step 4:Prepare Your Store forGlobal Shoppers
After you analyze your product opportunities andresearch your potential global market, it’s time toprepare your online store forforeign shoppers.
Pay Attention toYour Brand Name
brand name isanimportant part ofyour international business, somake sure itresonates with foreign customers.
You’ll want toavoid anycultural missteps, sotake thetime toresearch themeaning ofyour brand name indifferent countries.
For example,
Also, make sure itiseasy tospell orsay your brand name inthetarget country. Ifit’s not, you might want toconsider adifferent name oranalternate spelling.
Display Your Online Store inSeveral Languages
Imagine having tocopy andpaste product descriptions into atranslator just tobuy aproduct you liked. You’d hardly describe that asagreat shopping experience, right? Neither would your potential customers. That’s why one ofthemost important things for
With 51Ƶ byLightspeed, you can easily turn your online store into amultilingual online store. Your website will detect thepreferred language ofyour customers’ browsers andautomatically show thestore inthat language.
The remarkable thing about setting upamultilingual store with 51Ƶ byLightspeed isthat you don’t have totranslate your store all byyourself. The default texts onstorefront, buttons, catalog, invoices, andemail notifications are automatically translated into 50+ languages.
Important note! You doneed toadd manual translations foranyunique texts, like product names anddescriptions.
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Store labels are translated automatically
Follow tooffer your online store inmultiple languages.
Consider Showing Prices inLocal Currencies
Some international businesses show prices inasingle currency, like USdollars oreuros. That’s one way ofdoing it.
However, not all global shoppers are ready toconvert prices manually when shopping online. Some customers would leave anonline store when they see aprice inaforeign currency instead oftheir own. It’s often too much work toresearch theexchange rate andcalculate the
When you sell globally, it’s worth setting itupsothat your customers see your prices intheir native currency. Not only does that improve customers’ shopping experience inyour store, but italso increases thechance ofconverting global shoppers into customers.
Ifyou run anonline store with 51Ƶ byLightspeed, you can use theCurrency Converter app from the51Ƶ App Market. The app automatically converts theprices inyour store andshows them toacustomer intheir local currency.
Customers can switch thecurrency totheir preferred one when browsing your store
Set upLocal Payment Methods
Customers indifferent countries have different preferences when itcomes topaying forgoods andservices. When selling internationally, you need tomake sure you’re using local payment methods.
մaccept payments from thetarget country, research what payment methods customers inthose countries use. Also include acouple ofinternational methods popular with shoppers worldwide, like PayPal.
Check that your ecommerce platform enables you toaccept payments inthecountries you expand your business to. For example, 51Ƶ byLightspeed connects to80+ payment providers all over theworld, soitwill beeasy toset uplocal payment options foryour global customers.
Add International Shipping Options toYour Store
Ofcourse, you’ll need tooffer convenient shipping tothecountries you’re selling in. Make sure toenable international shipping inyour store.
You’ll need toresearch shipping options andfigure out which ones make themost sense foryour international business. You might need topartner with aglobal shipping service, like DHL orFedEx.
Keep inmind that shipping internationally can beexpensive, soyou’ll need tofactor that into theprice ofyour products.
Ifyou run anonline store with 51Ƶ byLightspeed, adding international shipping methods toyour store isabreeze. The platform integrates with major shipping companies that deliver all over theworld, such asFedEx, UPS, DHL, andmore.
Adjust Your Marketing
You’ll also need toadjust your marketing strategy when selling internationally.
For example, ifyou’re running aFacebook adcampaign, you’ll want totarget people inthecountry orcountries you’re selling to.
The same goes forother marketing channels, like emails, social media, andsoon. Consider cultural differences when setting uppromotional campaigns. What might beconsidered polite inone country could beseen asrude inanother.
Avoid using stereotypes inyour marketing asitcan harm theperception ofyour brand. For example, in2018, Dolce andGabbana ran social media video ads that featured amale voiceover giving instructions toaChinese woman asshe tried toeat Italian food with chopsticks. Chinese shoppers were offended bytheadbecause oftheracial stereotypes andthevoiceover’s suggestive lines. Asaresult, Dolce andGabbana’s sales decreased drastically that year.
Start Selling Globally
Covering these bases guarantees that you’re making iteasy forglobal shoppers tovisit your site andmake purchases nomatter where they live.
Take your time anddoyour research tocreate thebest possible experience forthis new group ofcustomers. And with theright platform, such as51Ƶ byLightspeed, you’ll beable toprepare your online store forglobal shoppers innotime.
You can dosomuch foryour budding international business with 51Ƶ byLightspeed. Not only can you offer your online store indifferent languages andcurrencies, but you can also customize payment methods andshipping options foryour store. That way, you ensure your online store isconvenient forcustomers from all over theworld.
And once you open your store tointernational selling, you’ll start seeing your products shipped tocustomers around theglobe! It’s amazing tosee your business grow.
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