Your Ecommerce International Expansion Checklist

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1 Your Ecommerce International Expansion Checklist Everything you need to pack before you go overseas. Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne

2 About Gorilla 360 We gorillas live for ecommerce. The online jungle is our habitat. Our goal is a simple one. We want to help ecommerce pro s grow their business. Again and again. It s a 360 thing... Our team of online retail marketing specialists make up a dedicated ecommerce marketing agency with years of experience helping online stores grow their revenue. We re spread across two locations - in Sydney, and Newcastle, Australia. We re passionate about helping ecommerce pro s in any way, shape or form. Even if you don t need our services, we still want to share our knowledge with you and your team. Apart from this guide, we have a canopy of helpful downloadable resources waiting for you to explore. Our Ecommerce Jungle Gym blog is a haven of gorilla wisdom, and you can join thousands of online marketing pro s in receiving all the most important ecommerce insights, delivered once a week, straight to your inbox door. We re friendlier than your average gorilla. You really should join the learned tribe.

3 Is Your Online Store Ready To Go Global? You want to make sure you ve remembered to pack everything before you head off overseas. This ecommerce international expansion packing list will help you make sure you re all set to take on the world. Think of this as your departures card. Tick these checklist boxes, and you ll get through customs no questions asked. We ll have that ecommerce passport stamped, and you ll be ready to take on the world. Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 3

4 Packing list Things to remember Done Planning Country selection Definition of targets, KPIs Selecting the country you re going to enter is your first and last decision. There s a whole bunch of macro considerations involved in going global. Make sure you understand the language, cultural differences, relevant legislation, taxation, foreign competition, shipping ramifications and any specific issues effecting your product. Have you defined the target goals for your new market entry? Are these realistic given the resources available? You need to know exactly how much you need to sell at a specified price to make this thing work. If you can t make those targets in a designated period, it s a good idea to keep that parachute on board in case you need to bail out. An exit strategy will minimise your risk and help motivate your team with passion instead of fear. Market size Is the market for your products large enough? Is demand sufficient to support a new entrant to the market? It s a simple proposition, but often hard to pin down. Gather as much relevant research as possible on this one and try to get a financially astute helper to make an objective decision. Dominant players Who are the dominant players in your market? How does their product offering compare to your own? Find out what these folks are doing to succeed. Work out how you can trump them. If you re going to enter an international market, you want to reach number 1. Don t plan for profitability, plan for dominance. Gap analysis Are there gaps in the existing market that you can capitalise on? What can your brand bring to the table that other retailers haven t already. Your gap analysis will help you form the basis of your value proposition. Find your brand s key differentiator and shape your story around this new benefit you can provide for your customers. Products shipped from home or local Are you shipping from a local base or from your distribution centre in your home country? How will shipping rates be calculated? Explore your options with different providers - new markets may need more profitable opportunities with different partners. Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 4

5 Packing list Things to remember Done Fulfilment Returns Customer service Live chat Legalities Fulfilment partners Insurance How will returns be handled? Locally or from your home base? This can be a crucial factor in the success of your launch - to establish credibility within your new market, you ll need a clear, fast and customer-friendly returns process. Will customer service be handled locally or from your home base? Language and cultural considerations may force your hand here. Different expectation of retailers exist in different nations - even in online retail. Consider advice from a home country national with experience in the retail industry. Will you be providing live chat or live support on the website? If so, how will this challenge be handled? If these factors are important to your existing customers, there s a good chance your performance here will be critical. Are there any legal restrictions around importing your product? You ll want to cover off on the finer details of this one with an expert. Utilisng a fulfilment partner may speed up your entry into the new market - without establishing your own distribution channels from the start. Whether you re posting locally or internationally, insurance is a good investment for the long run. Most shipping carriers offer this for you, but be sure to double check. Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 5

6 Packing list Things to remember Done Tax and revenue Tax implications/gst Receipts and invoices What are the tax implications of importing or exporting your products? Is your CMS prepared for the new tax environment? You need to have this stuff sorted before you go live. The last thing you want crippling your new global operation is an administrative bungle. Currency conversion / local currency Will you offer payment in the local currency or your home currency? Will you provide currency conversion if needed? It really helps your conversion rates to show the home country price on your product and category pages. At the least, offer a currency claculator to improve your customer s experience. Website Content management system Will international customers use your existing online store? Or will you need a new website? Maybe a new sub folder or sub domain is required. There s some SEO implications here. Don t just leave this one to a developer - make sure you re not harming your chances with Google. Language functionality Payment methods Is your website set up to enable other languages as needed? If your customers can t read, they won t buy. Online retail 101. You already knew that - but offering different language options can come at a massive expense. You need to work out if this development will be worth the time and cost. What payment methods are most popular in the new market? Are you set up to utilise these? There are often one or two popular local providers you may not be familiar with. A simple scope of the checkout process of the most popular home country ecommerce sites will give you an indication of the customer s expectation. Fraud What fraud prevention methods are critical in your new market? What are the common scams and fraud activity? A little investment in prevention here could save you a stack of dollars (and heartache) down the track. Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 6

7 Packing list Things to remember Done Product Key focus products/services Are your products appealing to the new market? Are certain products more relevant or appealing than others? Cultural considerations Are your products likely to offend segments of your new target market? Team Localised team vs local reps vs outsourcing/agency How will you structure your team to manage the growth into the new market? Will you establish a local team? Maybe it s best to recruit new local resources supported by the management of existing team members. Can you outsource completely? Each option has its pro s and con s, but some knowledge of your brand s culture and values is paramount to keep the heartbeat of your business consistent. Local language Do you have access to team members or consultants who speak the local language? Even if you have no resources on the ground, you need a fluent customer service option to troubleshoot and prevent problems. Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 7

8 Packing list Things to remember Done Marketing Key retail dates What are the key dates to be aware of in the new market? Public holidays, school periods and retail peaks and troughs will be slightly different in each market Acquisition cost estimates Which channels will be central to your marketing push? You need to work out where your new target audience likes to hang out online. These are the areas to patrol. Find a way to drive interested traffic to your site with helpful, entertaining or interesting content, then set up your site with a mechanism to push new users to subscribe for regular updates. If you know the estimated customer acquisition cost for each channel, you can add an element of paid advertising to the mix. Google language/country localisation Is your website organic search ready? Are you using language and location meta data? If this stuff sounds more foreign to you than your new market, it s a good idea to get some expert help from a specialist SEO agency. Device usage Which devices are prevalant in the new market? Does your website work suitably across key devices? Keyphrase research based on competitor keywords Have you conducted keyphrase research to identify demand for key products/product groups? The way people search for your products and services may be slightly different in each new market Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 8

9 E C R E M ECOM N O I T A S I L A B O GL T R O P PASS Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 9

10 Keep Your Ecommerce Knowledge On Point One annual wisdom-refresher is not enough. You need regular ecommerce marketing insight to stay ahead of that rapidly chasing pack. Lucky we Gorillas are committed to stalking anything that moves in the online retail jungle. Our ecommerce online magazine is a canopy of educational resources, fresh insights and in-depth analysis. Once a week, we send our tribe of subscribers a neat little article package delivered free to their inbox door. Inside you can unwrap a bunch of little learning gifts: >> The best of the bunch from our Ecommerce Jungle Gym >> Our favourite online retail articles and resources from around the web >> An innovative ecommerce brand you can learn from >> An influential industry pro to follow on social media If you want a super simple, entertaining way to banish that learning FOMO and stay across the latest ecommerce developments, you need to add our weekly newsletter to your subscription cart. Sydney / Newcastle / Melbourne 10

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