As a digital company, we often get asked from our customers, “Why do I need a website?”. Even if you already have an established & successful brick & mortar store, your business can increase revenue with a small investment by utilizing e-commerce. E-commerce improves your ROI in some ways, from expanding your reach of an established business, or keeping low overhead costs if you’re a startup business. Why wouldn’t you get a website?
Setting up an e-commerce website to reach international customers has never been easier. Even so, there are a few key tips that will help small businesses achieve success
One of the key features of the Internet is that it opens up a world wide market for buying and selling. This means that with very little in the way of extra effort, a company can reach a massive market place that at one time would have been almost impossible with out significant time spent in travel and planning.
Planning an E-Commerce Website to Reach International Customers
While this is a great opportunity for small companies and individuals to enter the world wide market, there are some key elements that often get overlooked. Selling internationally is not simply a case of setting up an e-commerce website and sitting back and waiting for the orders to come rolling in.
There are some important pieces of planning and preparation that need to take place first. This is as applicable to the company selling high end and high-value products as it is to an individual looking to make a few dollars by selling handmade items through a small e-commerce site. Getting the foundations right will help to build a good, sound international business.
Here are a few basic ways e-commerce can benefit your small business.
Reduce Any Barriers to Purchase
Anything that makes the purchase decision complicated or protracted is putting a barrier in front of the potential customer. In addition to sorting out distinct features such as whether or how to take international payments, there are some other key aspects of setting up an e-commerce web site to sell internationally.
Language
Even if the target customer base is solely English speaking, understanding language differences is an important part of the planning process. It is important that the website is clear and concise with any product descriptions and that there is no room for any misunderstandings. The saying, ‘divided by a common language,’ is as relevant today as it has always been. Many countries outside of the US call ´Diapers’ by the name ‘Nappies.’ A website selling baby products would need to know this so international visitors to the site could find what they require quickly. This is also important for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes to ensure that the website is found by prospective international customers.
Measurements
Many countries use different measurements values and as such providing decimal or imperial equivalent measurements will be a service to prospective customers. While it is tempting to think that a customer can easily find out the information themselves, when building a successful international e-commerce website it is important to make it as easy as possible for the customer. At the very least, when building the website, a conversion feature should be included so the customer can make their conversions.
24/7 Availability
E-Commerce allows your store to be available 24/7. This means that you are not only getting sales when your real store is open, but also at any time of the day or night. Mostly, e-commerce enables you to run your sales on auto-pilot, decreasing your liabilities while increasing your earnings. By having an online representation of your store available, you can increase foot traffic to your physical location as well, but I’ll touch more on that later.
Delivery
Unless it is necessary, telling a customer to ’email for a delivery cost’ should be avoided. Not only does this mean that the customer may go elsewhere while they are waiting for an answer, but it also means that somebody needs to be on hand to answer. Many products are a standard weight and giving delivery options and costs is a significant benefit to international customers.
Integration With Social Media
Finally, e-commerce is beneficial to your social media marketing plan. By marketing your products online, you can quickly convert social media activity into sales & take advantage of cost-effective advertising. There are also services that allow you use social media data to create more efficient marketing. You can get to know your customers better, monitor their behavior, & adjust your marketing strategy around your findings.
As a digital company, we often get asked from our customers, “Why do I need a website?”. Even if you already have an established & successful brick & mortar store, your business can increase revenue with a small investment by utilizing e-commerce. E-commerce improves your ROI in some ways, from expanding your reach of an established business, or keeping low overhead costs if you’re a startup business. Why wouldn’t you get a website?
Setting up an e-commerce website to reach international customers has never been easier. Even so, there are a few key tips that will help small businesses achieve success
One of the key features of the Internet is that it opens up a world wide market for buying and selling. This means that with very little in the way of extra effort, a company can reach a massive market place that at one time would have been almost impossible with out significant time spent in travel and planning.
Planning an E-Commerce Website to Reach International Customers
While this is a great opportunity for small companies and individuals to enter the world wide market, there are some key elements that often get overlooked. Selling internationally is not simply a case of setting up an e-commerce website and sitting back and waiting for the orders to come rolling in.
There are some important pieces of planning and preparation that need to take place first. This is as applicable to the company selling high end and high-value products as it is to an individual looking to make a few dollars by selling handmade items through a small e-commerce site. Getting the foundations right will help to build a good, sound international business.
Here are a few basic ways e-commerce can benefit your small business.
Reduce Any Barriers to Purchase
Anything that makes the purchase decision complicated or protracted is putting a barrier in front of the potential customer. In addition to sorting out distinct features such as whether or how to take international payments, there are some other key aspects of setting up an e-commerce web site to sell internationally.
Language
Even if the target customer base is solely English speaking, understanding language differences is an important part of the planning process. It is important that the website is clear and concise with any product descriptions and that there is no room for any misunderstandings. The saying, ‘divided by a common language,’ is as relevant today as it has always been. Many countries outside of the US call ´Diapers’ by the name ‘Nappies.’ A website selling baby products would need to know this so international visitors to the site could find what they require quickly. This is also important for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes to ensure that the website is found by prospective international customers.
Measurements
Many countries use different measurements values and as such providing decimal or imperial equivalent measurements will be a service to prospective customers. While it is tempting to think that a customer can easily find out the information themselves, when building a successful international e-commerce website it is important to make it as easy as possible for the customer. At the very least, when building the website, a conversion feature should be included so the customer can make their conversions.
24/7 Availability
E-Commerce allows your store to be available 24/7. This means that you are not only getting sales when your real store is open, but also at any time of the day or night. Mostly, e-commerce enables you to run your sales on auto-pilot, decreasing your liabilities while increasing your earnings. By having an online representation of your store available, you can increase foot traffic to your physical location as well, but I’ll touch more on that later.
Delivery
Unless it is necessary, telling a customer to ’email for a delivery cost’ should be avoided. Not only does this mean that the customer may go elsewhere while they are waiting for an answer, but it also means that somebody needs to be on hand to answer. Many products are a standard weight and giving delivery options and costs is a significant benefit to international customers.
Integration With Social Media
Finally, e-commerce is beneficial to your social media marketing plan. By marketing your products online, you can quickly convert social media activity into sales & take advantage of cost-effective advertising. There are also services that allow you use social media data to create more efficient marketing. You can get to know your customers better, monitor their behavior, & adjust your marketing strategy around your findings.
W3 Eden
We’re a team of thinkers and makers. We approach work and play with curiosity and experimentation, using what we learn to create meaningful digital products that connect with people, just like you.