This presentation is from Performance Marketing Summit 2014 in Denver, CO (June 17, 2014). Session description: Should you go global? This session will help you decide & create your international expansion plan.
3. Where to
go first?
• Do you already
accept orders and
ship to other
countries from your
basic .com site?
• Review your site
analytics to
determine where
the highest traffic
and conversion are
• K-I-S-S – just keep
it simple with
English speaking
only country for
now
4. • Does my brand have international recognition
• What are my best selling products in this region?
• What is my company’s value add?
• Who are my competitors in this country?
• What does my company do better ?
• What do my competitors do better?
• Do I have the labor resources to devote to this expansion?
• Do I have the budget for this expansion?
• Do I have the time for this expansion?
• Do I have the endurance, enthusiasm and sense of adventure?
5. Logistics – how to begin?
Host site on top level domain – e.g. .de - Germany,
.co.uk, .fr – France
Equip your site with specific language and currency
Know local customs and holidays
Know delivery and payment options
Know what marketing channel works best
Fulfillment – outsource?
Customer Service
Offer equity – make sure your offers are open to all
Social media – interact through the channel of choice
6. • Engage the services of a
shipping expediting
service
• Partner with larger
shopping sites already in
your target country
• Outsource some of your
business needs locally
7. Use all of your toolbox
SEO & SEM
Affiliate Marketing
Social Marketing Channels – what works best in that
country?
PR
Product placement in local brick & mortar retailers
Speak to your consumers in their language
8. Don’t try to conquer the world all at once
• Start in one or two
countries
• Establish your brand
there
• Then move on to the
next
• Remember this is a
marathon not a sprint
Hinweis der Redaktion
Grow revenue
Many parts of the world are ripe for adoption of new brands and products.
Asia has new wealth – China has a middle class that is powerful and building their wealth
Australia has been underserved in online retail until present and is hungry for more product and product diversity
Latin America and South America are ripe for growth and have new wealth
Country expansion is like starting afresh. Remember how long it took your company to achieve where you are now.
.co.uk enables your site to have relevancy in localized search. Higher ranking for search traffic in that location
Make sure that your entire site including FAQs, policies, shipping is consistent in language – don’t forget shipping and invoice
With English language sites – taking the time to include specific regional language is essential to assure the consumer that you know who they are
Can use a translation API to minimize project management time and reduce admin updates
UAE – work week is Sun through Thurs – Friday & Saturday is their weekend.
Does social media work better, search. In China social media is the top sales channel. Pinterest and Instagram is huge in Asia
Shipping services to consider -
List your products with Ebay or Amazon country site specific or test the waters in Asia through TaoBao/Alibaba or Rakuten
Contact local businesses or networks to outsource business needs locally – e.g. warehouse for bulk returns, center for repairs
Networks – Rakuten, Affiliate Window, WebGains, A8net, CHan
Weibo in China
Pinterest not in Europe but big in Asia
Instagram