‘Not being limited to the UK market has allowed the company to grow quickly’
eSeller interviews Kate Olver of UStar Novels, a global publishing company, to discover best practice for ecommerce businesses expanding acros international territories.
Questions devised by Martina Mercer
Many companies offer comprehensive services that effectively mean you only need to act as a sales and marketing house – they do the warehousing and fulfilment. Do you think this is viable?
For some people these can work very well we did look at using this service but unless your margins are significant then an alternative needs to be found.
Is it possible to make a profit?
Yes it is possible to make a profit, as we have a number of resellers that have been using our products through a drop ship service for years, I have so much confidence in the way that this is progressing I have just bought a new company in Australia called Digigifts.com.au which is predominantly a drop ship service
How did you set up global trading?
Ustarnovels.com became a global trader almost as soon as it set up. We now have websites developed for different territories, allowing customers to pay in local currency as well. We are also in the progress of setting up a merchant account for our US orders specifically.
What preparation did you do and for how long before you rolled out overseas?
Very little preparation was carried out, we visited the main locations and sourced printers and delivery options but then we were already taking orders in these countries.
Are customer expectations different in different countries?
Most customers know if the shipping in their country is a little slow and as long as you do not exceed 10-14 days most people are more than happy where ever they are.
What steps did you take to ensure success?
We strive to provide a high quality product that is competitively priced and supplied in a reasonable time frame. Although we can’t see the finished product from our printers in other countries, the customers are the best source of quality control as you very quickly find out if there is a problem with your product.
We also use regular feedback surveys to gleam information from our international customers to ensure they continue to remain happy with our books.
Has the venture been profitable so far?
We have been making a good profit every year for the last five years with the recession having very little impact upon us.
Has it been easier or harder than imagined?
Nothing has been easy, but a little luck can go a long way. Long hours are required especially answering calls and requests from around the world, so opening hours need to be very flexible.
What’s been your highlight of going global?
Not being limited to the UK market has allowed the company to grow quickly and not be dependent on one market place.
What obstacles have you overcome?
The main obstacle has been the processing of orders, which used to take most of the day and now with much greater volumes we are able to process most orders within just a few hours a week.
Will you be expanding further?
We will be looking to expand into Asia in the coming year, which will bring with it a whole new range of challenges.
Where do you see your company in five years?
We will be looking to expand our range in to a number of new areas as well as developing our ebook range to adapt to the increased use of technology. We will also be looking to double our dropship resellers as well for a wider coverage of our products.
What advice can you give to retailers considering global trading?
Make sure you have the resource for customer service, this has certainly been intensive for our business. We used Grasshopper in the US to set up a local support line which sends messages to us via email, allowing us to appear as those we have a physical presence in the local territory, this again helped U Star to secure further sales.
For more, visit: www.ustarnovels.co.uk
Speak Your Mind