If you’re an eCommerce business owner, expanding your business internationally can be a great way to increase revenue and reach new customers. However, expanding your business to a new market in new territories can be overwhelming and challenging, especially if you’re not familiar with the culture, regulations, and customs of the new market.
That being the case, below, we’ll be sharing some tips to help you take your eCommerce business international.
- Get your market research down
Before expanding your business internationally, it’s essential to conduct market research to determine the viability of your product or service in the new market. You should consider factors such as competition, local regulations, language, cultural differences, and shipping costs. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Google Trends, and Facebook Insights to gather data about the target market. This will help you to develop a solid plan for your international expansion and ensure that you have an audience, and that you know how to target that audience most effectively to get results.
- Go local
One of the most important things you can do when expanding your eCommerce business to a new market is to localize your website. This means translating your website into the local language and adapting your content and product descriptions to the local culture. This will make your website more accessible and appealing to local customers, and it will help you to build trust with your new audience. You can use translation software like Google Translate or hire a professional translator to help you with this.
- Let them pay their way
Different countries have different payment methods, and it’s important to offer the most popular payment options in the new market. For example, credit cards are the most popular payment method in the United States, while bank transfers are more common in Europe. You can use payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, or Braintree to offer a wide range of payment options to your customers.
- Get to grips with shipping and customs
Shipping and customs regulations can vary significantly between countries, and it’s important to understand them before expanding your eCommerce business to a new market. You should consider factors such as shipping costs, delivery times, customs duties, and taxes. You can work with a logistics provider to help you navigate these regulations and ensure that your products are delivered to your customers on time.
- Support your customers
Providing excellent customer support is essential when expanding your eCommerce business to a new market that may not be familiar with your company and what you do. You should offer customer support in the local language, and ensure that your support team is familiar with the local culture and customs. This will help you to build trust with your new customers and ensure that they have a positive experience with your brand.
- Make your presence known
Building a local presence is essential when expanding your eCommerce business to a new market. You can do this by partnering with local influencers or bloggers, attending local events and trade shows, and sponsoring local charities or organizations. This will help you to build brand awareness and establish your brand as a trusted local player.
Of course, the best way to build a local presence is to build a local website for each territory you are going to be selling your products and/or services in. The easiest way to do this, by far, is to switch to the Magento platforms using a good Magento 2 migration service. This is a good idea because Magento does not require full-scale implementation, allowing you to create new stores far faster than the average.
- Be patient and adaptable
Expanding your eCommerce business to a new market takes time and patience even if you have been in the industry for a long time. You should be prepared to invest time and resources into your international expansion and be willing to adapt your strategy based on local feedback and market conditions as they unfold. You should also be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them, as this will help you to refine your strategy and improve your results over time, and eventually lead to a successful overseas wing of your company.
As you can see, it is totally possible to take your eCommerce business international, but if you want to do so successfully right from the off, you should undoubtedly incorporate all of the above into your expansion plans. That way, you can successfully take your eCommerce business international. Good luck!
