7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products

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2 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products Whether you sell software downloads, SaaS, or digital content like ebooks, online courses, videos, or WordPress themes your business needs to run a successful online store in order to grow. With billions of people around the world accessing the internet every day, and cross-border shopping expected to rise to $627 billion by 2020, businesses selling digital products face a massive growth opportunity in the global marketplace. However, scaling your business into new markets requires a global strategy and the right ecommerce partner to support your growth with localized shopping experiences, global tax and regulation compliance, subscription management tools, and more. To help get you on track to scale your business globally, take a look at seven ways you can increase global sales for your digital products. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 2

3 Tip #1 Build a seamless shopping experience directly on your website. Consumers around the world have high expectations when they are shopping online. And they are not afraid to walk away from a less than ideal shopping experience. In fact, a study from the Baymard Institute found that the global average cart abandonment rate is at 69.2%. There are several reasons why consumers are choosing to abandon their cart during the purchase process. Some of the top reasons include: 1. A complex and/or lengthy checkout process 2. Unexpected taxes, fees, and unclear pricing 3. Security concerns 4. Limited payment methods available 5. Forced account creation Abandoned carts have a direct impact on your business bottom line. Before you begin scaling your business into new global marketplaces, take the time to create an optimized shopping experience that will drive more sales. The checkout experience is an extension of your brand. Make sure it is consistent and matches your customers expectations. Add your logo to the checkout and feature recognizable brand colors throughout the process to help put customers at ease. Remember, the checkout process is another moment where you can delight your customer and turn them into a lifelong fan. A popup checkout increases sales by 40% compared to third-party hosted checkouts. Your customers don t want to click through lengthy checkout processes that include redirects to third-party sites. Instead, host a popup checkout that overlays on top of your product page to help make the purchase experience as frictionless as possible. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 3

4 Tip #2 Think global, act locally by showcasing a localized checkout for every customer. The days of the one size fits all ecommerce approach are behind us. Today s online shoppers expect tailored experiences that fit their unique needs and expectations. And businesses who make the effort to provide localized pricing consistently outgrew those that didn t by as much as 30% or more. It s official, localization has shifted from a nice-to-have to a must-have for a business scaling globally. If you are wondering where to start, here are four essential elements of a localized shopping experience. 1. Languages. Showcasing your online store in one language is holding you back from earning more global sales. Consider including versions of your website in the following languages: Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, German, Portuguese, Russian, French, Japanese, and Hindi. 2. Currencies. One of the top reasons for abandoned carts is unclear pricing. Don t force your customers to do the math on their own to figure out the price of your digital product. 3. Payment Methods. Not all payment methods are created equal. While most online shoppers in North America prefer to use a bank credit card for their purchases, more than half of shoppers in Latin America prefer to use a digital wallet like PayPal. Take the time to research the popular payment methods of your unique audience so you can reduce friction in the shopping experience. 4. Taxes. Businesses selling digital products online do not escape the effects of taxes. The recent Wayfair State Tax Ruling now requires businesses selling online to take on the responsibility of sales tax remittance for each state that requires one whether or not the business has a physical presence in a particular state. While the Value-Added Tax (VAT) applies to all imported goods and services bought and sold for use or consumption within the European Union. Global taxes are a complex territory that continues to evolve over time, but it s extremely important for businesses to keep up. With the right ecommerce partner, your business can automatically calculate taxes and fees for every customer around the world which saves you time and money. An all-in-one ecommerce platform makes it simple to provide localized shopping experiences for every customer that visits your site. The ecommerce platform will pull the geolocation of your customer and identify the appropriate language, currency, payment methods, and taxes to increase conversions by 30% or more. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 4

5 Tip #3 Maintain global regulation compliance. Trust plays a large role in the purchase experience. Majority of consumers are willing to share their personal data with businesses as long as they can see a clear benefit. However, they will not hesitate to take action if they are concerned about where their data is existing and how it is being used. Governments and regulatory groups around the world are easing consumers fears with a series of evolving regulations and standards all businesses selling online must follow. One of the most prominent regulation is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The PCI DSS applies to any business that accepts card payments and processes and transmits cardholder data. The goal is to provide a framework for providing secure online payments and reducing credit card fraud. As consumers become more aware of how their personal data is being shared and used by companies, communities around the world are pushing for stricter regulation. Recently, the European Union unveiled their own guidelines for data privacy and security known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR is focused on protecting the personal data of all European Union residents and regulates the way businesses collect, store, and use the personal data. Every business that interacts with EU residents must be GDPR compliant. When you ignore key regulations like the PCI DSS and GDPR, your business cannot scale into key markets like the European Union. And that will hold you back from scaling your business and earning more revenue. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 5

6 Tip #4 Simplify file management to quickly fulfill orders from all over the world. While businesses selling digital products avoid the logistical headaches of managing physical inventory, shipping, and returns, one challenge they do face is securely fulfilling digital products like software, ebooks, audio files, and more. The goal is to streamline the fulfillment process after the customer has completed their order and this is yet another opportunity to delight customers around the world. Whether you choose to provide a download link on the purchase confirmation page of your website or a license key to your customers, delivering your digital products should be fast, easy, and secure. An all-in-one ecommerce platform includes reliable and secure fulfillment for digital products. They provide hosting for digital files so you don t have to worry about the costs of storing large files on a server. You can even customize access to your digital product. For example, you can set a time limit on download links and license keys or you can restrict the number of times a single file is downloaded. By closing the loop on the purchase experience with a seamless fulfillment process, your business will delight your customers and in turn, build a loyal customer base. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 6

7 Tip #5 Turn one-time purchases into long-term customer relationships with subscriptions. The way people are buying goods and services is changing. It s become less about traditional ownership and more about buying access. This shift in behavior has led to the rapid growth of subscription-based businesses. In fact, Credit Suisse reports that $420 billion dollars were spent on subscriptions in the US alone in 2015, and that number continues to increase. Switching to a subscription-based business model has a clear impact on the success of businesses selling digital products. Some of the benefits of a subscription-based model include: 1. Increased customer loyalty. Consumers enjoy the flexibility and convenience of subscriptions. Multitiered pricing allows them to select the plan that best fits their needs and budget. 2. Consistent revenue. Subscriptions open up a predictable cash flow for your business so you can more easily forecast and plan the growth of your company. 3. Increased lifetime value of each customer. Providing add-ons and upgrades to your existing customers will grow their overall value for your business. 4. Ability to scale. With subscriptions, you can constantly update your product or service without disrupting your users. This enables you to reduce churn and supportrelated costs. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 7

8 Tip #5 (continued) Subscription-based businesses using an all-in-one ecommerce platform experience 50% growth year over year with the key subscription management features like: 1. Dunning Management. Reduce churn without manually checking up on delinquent subscription accounts. Whenever a payment fails in your subscription system, you can send an automatic alert to notify your subscribers when it is time to update their payment information. 2. Automated Correspondence. Your subscribers expect an open line of communication between them and your business. Send invoices, receipts, reminders, and renewal information automatically. 3. Pricing Flexibility. Easily create and managed tiered pricing structures that include add-ons, upgrades, and cross-sells. 4. Promotions. Create special promotions, flash sales, coupons, and rebates to drive more subscribers. Successfully managing a subscription-based model requires a clear strategy and the right tools to make it all happen. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 8

9 Tip #6 Sync your ecommerce with the rest of your tech stack. Your online store does not exist in a vacuum. It is a crucial part of your overall business, and it should be fully integrated into your tech stack. All of the tools you need to grow your business from marketing to paid search, analytics, and conversion optimization, can work in tandem with your ecommerce platform. So you can seamlessly integrate your online store with your website, reach new audiences online, improve visibility into business performance, increase conversions, and so much more. Tip #7 Expand your marketing reach with affiliate partnerships. The digital landscape is a very competitive space. Your business needs to stand out from the crowd and find your customers wherever they are online. One effective way to extend your marketing reach is affiliate partnerships. Affiliate partners are performance-based, meaning they get paid a percentage based on the traffic they drive to your website. When you find the right mix of affiliates, they become trusted partners in your success who can increase sales for your business by up to 220%. Whitepaper: 7 Ways to Increase Global Sales for Digital Products 9

10 Conclusion Remember, your consumers expect a fast, frictionless experience each and every time they make a purchase online. And shoppers are no longer tied to their geolocation when it comes to the businesses they choose when they purchase digital products. So when your business is ready for the next chapter of growth, make sure to keep these seven factors in mind. About FastSpring FastSpring s industry-leading, all-in-one ecommerce platform helps Software, SaaS, and digital products businesses sell more globally. FastSpring is a privatelyowned company headquartered in Santa Barbara with offices in Nebraska and Amsterdam. For more information, please visit FastSpring enables global subscriptions & payments for thousands of digital businesses around the world. FastSpring.com sales@fastspring.com Copyright FastSpring. All Rights Reserved.