Every entrepreneur dreams of becoming big. While setting up your online store, one of your prime motives will be to sell more products and gain higher profits. Throughout your entrepreneurial journey, you might have dreamt of selling products internationally but could not due to many reasons. Or, you tried going global but failed. So, here is a complete guide to help you sell and promote your products in the global market.
When we talk about eCommerce, we talk about going global, “Go global”, “sell products anywhere”, or “get your products to the “international market,” and much more. However, only 5% of business owners actually try and sell products internationally even after they are excelling in their local or national market. Why?
- Because they don’t know where to begin
- Because their website is not ready for the international market
- Because they don’t know how to promote their products internationally
- Because they are not aware of how to ship their products internationally
The abovementioned can be considered to be the major hurdles faced by every entrepreneur because of which they hesitate to go global. If you are one of them, then don’t worry. In this blog, you will get the answers to all the major questions, which will help you sell products internationally without any trouble.
Why Should You Expand Your eCommerce Business Internationally?
Let’s look at the three main reasons why you should expand your eCommerce business internationally.
1. Large customer base in target markets
When you expand your business from just selling locally to internationally, it can help you significantly grow your customer base. Some of your products may sell out faster in other locations as compared to when you were selling them in a single location. Several reasons, including higher customer demand, lack of competition in the market, larger population, etc., can work in favour of your eCommerce business.
2. Opportunities to expand your eCommerce business
When you expand your eCommerce business internationally, there are chances more people will recognise your brand. However, when spreading your business globally, it’s essential to tailor your brand’s messaging to the beliefs, cultures, and values of international buyers and markets.
3. Faster growth in global markets
Taking your business to the international market will help you grow faster since you can reach more customers on a global scale quickly. However, you need to have a top-notch international shipping strategy. The lower the shipping logistics cost, the more profit your business will make.
How To Get Started?
The major question which haunts many eCommerce entrepreneurs is how to get started. Check out how to take the first step of selling internationally.
- Market Research
Firstly, you need to do a little market research. Start with your product. Keeping in mind the USP of your store, research the demand your product would receive once launched in the global market. You can learn about it by researching on the internet, social media or consulting your relative or friend who stays abroad. This will help you determine if your products are worth selling online.
- Analyse Your Product Demand
To analyse the local buying trends and demand for your product, you can leverage digital marketing tools and SEO. Research and find the top countries with the highest demand for your product. You can also try to understand the spending patterns of customers, what sells more, what are the peak seasons, etc. It will help you narrow down the target market to fit those who actually matter. You can also conduct surveys and reach out to your potential customers in different regions. It can help you gather insights about their preferences and needs.
- Decide on Your Target Countries
Selling to some countries may be more profitable for your business compared to others. You have to understand where your target audience is and where your products will be highly valued. Not just demand, you’ll also have to factor in other aspects. These include competition level, market size, cultural affinity, purchasing power, etc. Initially, you can start with one or two countries and then expand your business further.
- Learn The Rules And Regulation Of Your Market
The next step is to get aware of the export rules and regulations of that particular market. Know the customs rules with shipping regulations and much more. In short, know about any obstacle which can disallow you from selling products on that particular market and check for any loophole to solve it.
- Is Your Website Ready To Sell Products Internationally?
After you finish the previous steps, the next step is to ensure your website is ready to face your global audience. Since your website will be the face of your company and brand for your international buyers, it is necessary that you showcase them the best one. Here are some of the major shipping barriers and how you can overcome them easily.
- Consider Payment Methods
So, your international buyer liked your product and is ready to buy it. The next step is initiating payment procedure. Since you cannot go for the Cash On Delivery Payment option, you have to offer a payment gateway to accept online payments. Different countries will have different preferences in terms of how people make and accept payments. For instance, you may find credit cards as one of the most popular payment methods in the US. However, in China, people prefer making payments via Alipay or WeChat. You can integrate payment gateway like PayPal, PayU, Stripe, etc., which accept payments in international currency and transfer them to your account.
- Study Legal Regulations
When it comes to international trade, each country will have different laws and regulations. Before you start selling your products abroad, you should familiarise yourself with import duties, taxes, and other legalities. You should also learn about consumer protection laws in your preferred target market. Complying with these will not only help you avoid legal issues but also build trust with your customers. You can consult with local business advisors or even legal experts to ensure your eCommerce business meets all the legal requirements of the target country.
For shipping your products to another country, you can tie up with courier companies like FedEx, etc., which offer shipments to international markets. Or, you can tie up with ShiprocketX, which offers an international shipping solution by tying you up with major courier companies which will deliver products to any country at lower rates.
- Review Your Shipping and Returns Policies
International shipping is definitely complex, but you don’t have to make it challenging for your customers as well. You should clearly outline policies for overseas shipments. It should specify the delivery times, customs duties, costs, and more. Make sure your customers are aware of how returns and refunds work. You can also set up a dedicated page on your website to quickly and efficiently handle queries related to product returns and refunds.
- Localise Your Online Storefront
You may have to go beyond simple translation to localise your eCommerce website. You’ll have to adapt it to cultural preferences, local languages, currencies, etc. Optimise your eCommerce website for native keywords so it can rank higher for related regional search terms in search engines. Display prices in the local currency and provide customer support in local languages. You should also ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. It’s important because mobile commerce is more prominent in some countries.
- Conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis
Lastly, you should perform a cost-benefit analysis. It can help you determine how feasible and profitable it’ll be for your business to sell products online internationally. You can conduct a cost-benefit analysis by considering the shipping costs, marketing expenses, taxes, and expected ROI. It will help you set realistic product prices and profit margins. You should also evaluate whether the potential benefits will outweigh the costs in the long run.
How to Promote Your Products on the International Market?
Store promotion to sell products internationally is a big challenge. Since you are new to the market and, of course, the international audience is not aware of your brand, firstly, you need to establish your brand and make it visible on the global platform. How to do that? Find out here.
1. Search Engine Optimization
Let’s start with the basic yet most effective marketing tactic, SEO or Search Engine Optimization. If you want to sell products internationally, make sure that you target keywords that are popular in your target market, either national or international. Google will help you know which keyword has got traffic from which demography. Work on those keywords to get yourself listed on popular search engines in your international market.
2. Show Your Products On Social Media
Follow and connect with the audience based in your international market and target them using different social media channels. Try to put your market research knowledge in here while posting your social media posts and products.
3. Advertising On Google And Facebook
The best thing about Google and Facebook advertisements is that they let you choose the demographics where you want to showcase your advertisement. Select the demography where your target market is and run advertisements easily.
4. Sell On Marketplaces
Another way of selling online to international markets is to sell on marketplaces that have a global presence. You can list your products and start selling online. Here are the top 10 marketplaces to sell your products in the international market:
- Amazon
- eBay
- Rakuten
- Etsy
- Shopify
- Zibbet
- Fruugo
- Alibaba
- Bonanza
- Newegg
Tips to Sell Your Products Internationally
Here are some essential tips to help you succeed in the international market:
- Start by researching and choosing a reliable international shipping provider. Then, clearly communicate shipping options and costs to your customers. This will help you avoid unexpected delays.
- Assess how much investment you’ll require initially to enter a new market. Some common expenses you may have to incur include the cost of marketing, legal compliance, website localisation, shipping, etc. You must create a clear budget to manage this outlay.
- Based on your market research, expand in countries or regions with the highest potential for your products.
- Decide whether you want to sell in the international market via your own eCommerce website, online marketplaces, social media platforms, or a combination of all. Carefully analyse the pros and cons of selling on each of these channels before getting started.
- Different countries and regions may have different marketing methods and channels. You should tailor your marketing strategies to your target market.
- Pick fulfillment centers in your target regions to handle storage, packaging, and shipping. They can help you reduce both shipping times and costs.
- Hire multilingual support staff to offer customer services in local languages. It can help you increase client satisfaction and build a loyal customer base.
- Pre-calculate the shipping costs and display them on your website. This will help you reduce cart abandonment rates due to unexpected fees. You can also offer free shipping for orders above a certain amount, which will help you incentivise bigger purchases.
- Allow your customers to see prices and make payments in their local currency. This will also help you reduce cart abandonment rates and improve customer experience.
- Lastly, plan for unexpected shipping challenges. Anticipate potential shipment delays and have contingency plans in place to handle them quickly and effectively.
Factors to Consider Before You Start Selling Internationally
Let’s look at some of the most important factors you should consider before you start selling internationally.
1. Cultural and consumer behaviour
The most important factors you should account for are consumer behaviour and the cultural norms of your target market. Analyse whether the market in which you’ll be selling your product has a need for it. Moreover, some products may not be acceptable or completely legal in some countries. You should keep an eye on international market and product trends. It will help you make better decisions regarding which product to sell in a particular country.
2. International pricing
Next comes the pricing of your products to sell in the international market. To add a rate to your products, you may have to consider the purchasing power of average customers. If the per capita income is comparatively low in the country you’re planning to expand to, you may have to offer the product at lower prices. International shipping logistics are also more expensive than domestic shipping. If the shipping cost is higher than the product price, you may experience a higher cart abandonment rate. Make sure you carefully analyse the landing cost. This takes into account the shipping charges and import duties.
3. Payment and buying habits
You’ll find most countries have their local currencies. However, payment providers often don’t support the currency of all countries. Since your eCommerce business can’t accept cash, you must ensure there’s a way your customers can pay for international purchases. Though credit cards are one of the most common online payment choices, you may have to allow your customers to pay through digital wallets or PayPal as well, depending on the market you choose.
4. Advertising and marketing differences
When scaling your eCommerce business internationally, you may find success through advertising channels you’re not used to. Research and experimentation are the key here. If you grow your business via Instagram and Facebook ads in the domestic market, you might find that paid social media advertising does not work the same in the target market. You’ll have to understand where customers begin their search online. You may have to come up with a completely different marketing strategy than you’re used to. You should also spend some time learning how eCommerce businesses in the target market operate and which social media channels offer maximum opportunities. Keep a close eye on your competitors, especially the ones already selling online. Carefully analyse how they’re marketing themselves online.
5. Fulfillment costs
One of the most important points to remember when selling your products online internationally is to optimise your supply chain. This includes moving your inventory and fulfilling customer orders. You can choose to work with a fulfillment center if you don’t want the cost of international fulfillment to keep adding up. They can help you fulfill international orders at discounted shipping rates to support your eCommerce business’s strategy.
6. Laws, fees, and taxes
When selling your products internationally, you should also consider factors like import restrictions, cost considerations, customs processes, shipping options, and more. Some countries may have specific requirements regarding which products you can sell in their market. Even a single ingredient can make your product illegal to import in some countries. If you can legally ship a product to a country, there will be additional costs involved. Make sure you research the country’s laws regarding taxes, fees, and duties. This will help you understand in which nations you can sell products legally and how much it will cost.
When an international product arrives in a country, it often has to go through a customs check. This process often delays orders. Make sure your customers know if they have to pay any additional duties. If they aren’t aware, they may refuse to pay the fees. They may not claim their package, and you may end up being responsible for it being stuck at customs. To avoid situations like these, you can consider using delivery duty paid (DDP). Though it may be more expensive, it lets you pay all duties upfront. It reduces delays and the risk of packages being sent back due to unpaid duties.
Are There Any Products That Can’t Be Sold Internationally?
Yes, there are several products you can’t sell online in the international market. For instance, CBD oil. You can sell it online only in select countries. However, the process involved in selling the product is quite complex. The CBD must be hemp-based. In addition to this, there are other regulations, including how much THC should be in CBD oil. Other products that can’t be sold internationally or come with a strict set of regulations include firearms, radioactive substances, hazardous materials, etc. Products you can easily sell domestically may be entirely illegal in the global market. Thus, it’s essential you conduct proper market research when planning to sell internationally.
