Scale your Business for International E-commerce
By: Sally James
Tags: E Commerce Business, Ecommerce Solution, Small Business, Business Intelligence, Software

So, you’re aiming to take your e-commerce business global, that sounds exciting!

But we all know that expanding business operations into other countries is not an easy task. Selling goods and services into other countries comes with a host of regulatory measures and procedural considerations, regardless of whether you’re doing face-to-face business or selling online. The environmental and cultural difference is also important to consider as it influences the way you offer your products and services to the local consumers.

In this article, I am going to share some considerations you need to keep in your mind as you expand your business from the national to the international level.

Availability of enough Resources

The first thing that comes into mind when expanding a business that is there enough capital and resources (technology, personnel, marketing tools) in hand to take this step. You have to make important decisions for different functions like sales, marketing, design, and translation services to remote providers.

These preparations take time to complete, and the conversations that lead up to the final decision rarely progress without a substantial amount of discussion and reconsideration. But this will help you to choose which markets to enter or what marketing messages to use according to the resources you have.

Complete Market Research

Scaling business on an international level is the best way to reach a new audience and mitigate the risk associated with the local marketplace. As you scale, you need a strategy that helps you stand out in a new marketplace. Your differentiation prospects arise once you study your competitors, see what they are doing well and where they’re lacking. Fill in your operational gaps while working towards outperforming them.

Evaluate customer communication for a country on different e-commerce platforms, their delivery timelines, and their sales pitch for the local customers so you can get an idea of what you need to come forward to stand out.

Availability of Required Tools

Scaling should be a well-balanced approach because paying consideration to one area of your business while ignoring another may lead to disaster. If you manage to drive tons of your traffic to your store, receive lots of orders but can’t fulfill these orders on time, you will lose your customers and end up with a bad reputation in the market. Invest in automated tools to take care of all the areas of your business such as:

· Marketing tools

· Order management tools

· Inventory Management Tools

· Analytics tools

· Customer Services Relationship Tools

· Shipping Tools

Strategy

Plan a comprehensive strategy to scale your business slowly and steadily. Scaling too fast and too wide at once may consume all your budget and you won’t be able to reap any profits from it. So I won’t recommend scaling a dozen places in a single go. You need a strategy based on culture for every country you are looking to be your marketplace. Analyze how different countries’ cultures impact advertising, pricing, shipment, payment procedure, packing, and growth of a similar product. Check how products are taxes and regulated in this country and which means will be most suitable to adopt for its promotion.

Effective Communication

Don’t overlook the aspect of getting started with international e-commerce is communication. Misinterpreted messages or a lack of cross-functional communication is harmful to the businesses trying to stand up an international presence. Be prepared for proactive communication and deploy solutions if any hurdle occurs. Creating a remote team in the country you want to sell will help overcome communication and cultural barriers. This team may consist of a translator, lawyer, advertising agent, product consultant, and economist to assist you to cover all aspects of your business hurdles in that country.

Concluding

Scaling business beyond the border is no doubt a tough goal to achieve and it’s not going to happen overnight but with proper planning and preparations, you can overcome all challenges. My recommendation is that you take your time, thoroughly analyze the expansion from every angle, and take your steps by equipping yourself with the remarkable strategy to scale and deliver an excellent shopping experience for international buyers.