The internet has given online sellers a very low cost of entry to the world of retail. For successful brands this also means the opportunity to reach a global audience. But how do you attract international customers to your site, encourage them to buy your goods and then ship them in a timely manner? You can start by investing in logistics and website localisation, and a good first step is the establishment of new top-level domains.
The OC&C Strategy Consultants in a study in collaboration with Google report that online sales from outside the UK will rocket from the £4bn generated in 2012 to an estimated £28bn by 2020, accounting for around 40% of total sales revenue. Martijn Bertisen from Google has also pointed out that the top UK fashion e-commerce retailers are seeing approximately 70% of their traffic originating from outside the UK. It is therefore clear that internationalisation and global customers are an important part of doing business in the UK. So what are the key areas you should be considering if you’re planning on going global by acting local in 2015?
Firstly, know your market and go to where the customer is. Consumers should be able to access your site via a local domain name and pay in their local currency. Our recent expansion into Australia, Canada and Switzerland saw us focus on localisation. Your internationalisation strategy should be about making things easy for your customers and this might mean your brand and website appearing local.
Make sure you are good in your local market first though! Expanding your brand internationally does not make up for a poor uncompetitive product or service. Poor usability or service will be poor everywhere, going global will just multiply the problem. Win at home first and then expand. Do not allow yourself to think 10%-15% of orders coming from overseas via auto translate and international shipping is being global. You are not truly global until you have a clear route to 50% of overseas orders. 10% may just be a happy accident that can be stolen by someone locally.
Remember that a good quality translation on its own will not attract customers to your site. You will also need to consider the relevant SEO keywords and practices to appear in search engines, which will then bring customers to your brand.
You have to be local and global at the same time. To do this we’re always working on increasing local domain names, currencies and shipping information, as well as marketing tools like banners and teasers. Consider what you can do to make your site relevant. It wouldn’t work in the UK to have a .co.uk domain name, but only accept payment in euros or dollars, and it won’t work elsewhere. A local currency makes it easy for buyers to understand exactly how much everything costs.
Most consumers want to buy from a local service and some of our sellers are only interested in reaching their local market, so we have to provide that, alongside a global service for those that want it. Having a practical and feasible international strategy is vital in order to reap the rewards of your brand’s global expansion.
Consider the possible complications of growth in different regions. Are they culturally similar to your initial countries? This is not just language but consumer attitudes. For example, the US and UK are vastly different in their consumer behaviour.
Look at the possibilities of partnering or acquisition in countries where doing business might be complicated. Often, the quickest route to success in a region is to find locally successful companies to partner with. For us, the cultural, language and geographical considerations involved in moving into the Brazilian market meant that partnering with an established company, which already had a presence in the country was the best option.
Finally, don’t forget that expansion is about planning and establishing good logistics with reliable shipping partners. You may be able to get your package out of the country easily, but who will be responsible for it once it arrives at the border of the delivery country? Last mile issues can often be a challenge for businesses looking to expand.
Growing through website localisation is an important initial phase for e-commerce companies wanting to expand into new territories. Spending time localising your marketing activity and content and establishing reliable shipping logistics is a good investment. If not, you take the risk of losing customers and the money you spend on your expansion campaign. And given the increasing competition out there, in particular within the e-commerce sector, this isn’t something most businesses can afford to do.
By Philip Rooke, CEO of Spreadshirt.
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