Five Steps to Global Success

With the right information and realistic expectations any etailer can expand abroad. Here’s how to take your business global in five simple steps.

In this article I’ll explore:

•    Where to start
•    Who to partner with
•    Research you need to carry out

Selling abroad isn’t simply a case of swapping your eBay delivery to overseas, for ecommerce growth, long term profits and global establishment many facts need to be considered.

Here I’ll reveal the steps that can take you global today.

1.    The Paperwork

Before you invest in ANY overseas enhancements find out what paperwork you need. For instance, the red tape for selling online in China can take over a year to complete. The legislation varies from country to country, along with laws on tax and VAT. Luckily the internet and Google has all the information you need to apply and register as an international seller.

2.    Research

While you wait for the paperwork to be approved you need to research your new market considerably. Different countries have different expectations, tastes and even manners.

You need to discover:

•    How customers expect to receive goods. Japanese for example have a same day collection service where they can pick up most items they have bought online from their local grocery shop. That’s a large expectation to fill for a UK retailer who is just grasping next day delivery concepts.

•    The tastes of the customer, for example big and brash may work in the US as Americans tend to trust those with confidence yet this could be seen as arrogance in China.

•    The marketing opportunities. As if getting to grips with the ever changing algorithms of SEO in the UK isn’t enough you need to choose how you will market yourself abroad online. Fortunately Google is global and although many have resisted the keyword change, embracing ad words can ensure you thrive.

Solomon Drury the founder of Funky Giraffe Bibs has noticed a difference in tastes for his products across the globe, he says, “German customers tend to be very critical about size, so we have to amend our size guidelines accordingly. Italian customers are happy to buy a wider selection of items so it has been useful to offer them more products at checkout.”

3.    The Partnerships

It’s unrealistic to expect to handle everything from the same headquarters as you use now. In order to infiltrate a new market abroad you must ingrate seamlessly with the locals, encouraging trust and showing you understand their needs.

This is where partnerships come in. Consider a local person for your buying, pricing or customer relations.

4.    The Delivery Options

Delivery is one aspect that needs to be considered before you go global, not just the fulfilment of orders but the reverse logistics too.

You may find that drop shipping services your needs as your supplier takes on the day to day delivery of items, or you may find that to avoid all the red tape a warehouse and local bank account is advantageous.

Delivery can be quite simple to fulfil when compared to reverse logistics. It’s naive not to consider this aspect of business that has an incredible impact on customer loyalty and profits.

You can retain custom if returns are handled well but note that 80% of customers will not shop with a supplier again if they are expected to pay for returns. If your products need to cross borders to reach you, they could face interruption and inspection as the stringent regulations on faulty products is put into practice.

This is where sound, loyal, trusted partnerships come in. It’s best to join with a delivery company or logistics provider that can help ensure all of these areas are covered. Quite simply it’s up to you how much you outsource.

Suzanne Cannizzo is the export manager for Cuski, she says, “Cuski’s manufacturing factory is in Turkey , so we send out from there, and also direct from the UK depending on stock availability. We use DHL who have been reliable, competitive and consistent.

Incidentally we won Best international trader 2012 with DHL. It has been a journey and more! With most days like glorious sunshine, some pouring with rain, and some mild and moody!

I will give you one inspiring example of determination: many moons, and a couple of blue moons, ago we used to sell 24 Cuskis every six weeks to a distributor in a country far away. We would send them by surface mail which took six weeks to get there. This country has now grown to be our biggest consumer and these days they receive their orders by container loads direct from our factory.”

5.    Payment Methods

Depending on which country you venture into the preferred payment method will differ.

As an example:

In Germany customers like to pay using direct debit or bank transfers, even for a single transaction. This could mean you need a local bank account in order to receive cleared payment for quick delivery.

The French prefer PayPal, while the Chinese prefer their own debit card.

It’s important to get the best method in place for the company you are set to infiltrate along with examining the costs a third party payment provider may bring or the costs of converting currencies.

In summary it’s much easier to enter the global market if you become part of that market rather than expecting the shoppers to embrace who you are right now.