E-Merchants who want to expand their base outside the United States must consider and evaluate certain things before proceeding with their decision to sell products online to an International Market.  It is not just about simply translating your site into multiple languages.  There are things beyond site language translation that a company needs to think about.  We have put together a list of the top ten things a company should consider before selling products, Internationally.

1). Product Demand:  Through proper Market Research and Analysis, you should find out if there is a demand for your type of product in other countries.  The recommendation is to start by looking at your log files and to see if there is any visitor traffic coming from other countries.  This is a good indicator that can show if any existing interest is there for your product.  In addition, it is recommended that you analyze Market Research data to gauge product demand and calculate sales forecast. It is also important to check if there are other players or competition in the market.

2). Ecommerce Order Fulfillment and Logistics: It is very important to formulate an order fulfillment and logistics strategy.  There are basically two options a company can take in regards to order fulfillment and logistics.  The first option is to fulfill orders and ship products from the United States using a logistics provider such as DHL, UPS or FedEx.  The second option would be to align your company with a local ecommerce enabled fulfillment and distribution center which makes delivery of your product much easier.   It is best advised that you go with the second option as significant problems can occur if you decide to go with the first option. Among the problems that can occur: Orders can get hung up in customs because the paperwork was not right or an order could be rejected by the buyer when it reached their doorstep because of VAT tax bill that came with the shipment.  Also you need to ask yourself, are buyers willing to pay the potentially high shipping costs from United States?

3). Cultural Awareness: Cultural Awareness is considered a very essential part of doing business abroad.  What may be appropriate in one country may not be another.  You do not want to offend your potential customer, so it is very important to keep in mind the cultural differences that may occur.

4). Language barriers: The English language has been widely recognized as a global language.  But, it is beneficial and necessary to know what languages your target market understands as language barriers could exist.  Barriers are not anticipated from countries that speak English as a native language but can arise from countries that have very little understanding of the English Language.  The very likely scenario where a language barrier can exist is in regards to online sales and support. What will you do if a customer calls from abroad that does not speak or understand English? To avoid potential language barriers, you might have to hire a foreign language speaking operator or set up an offshore multi-lingual call center that can handle product orders, pre/post sale inquiries or return requests.

5). Internet Usage:  It is recommended that you analyze World Internet Usage statistics of your International target market.  There might be strong demand of your type of product from the specific country but is population Internet Savvy?  Merchants have the ability to reach the basis of consumers in the world where Internet usage is growing, and the ability to reach a customer base able to spend more for each product than a U.S. consumer.

6). eCommerce Platform and Web Site Testing:   It is strongly recommended that you test your Web Site and ecommerce platform at different connectivity speeds and connections. Because connectivity speeds and connections can vary by country, it is essential that you have your ecommerce process tested by an individual from your potential new market.  This will minimize the transaction problems that may occur by consumers ordering from abroad.  One other thing you need to make sure is to see if your eCommerce platform is set up to take International orders.

7)  Internet Bandwidth:   Do you have enough bandwidth to support traffic?  The worse thing that you do not want to happen is your site getting bogged down and visitors not being able to reach your site and therefore negatively impacting your sales. It is strongly advised to check your bandwidth level and work out an agreement to increase your bandwidth to support the traffic as needed.

8) International Focus Groups:  It is advised to have a focus group administered in your target country to help engage people’s attitude towards your product. This in return, will help you to effectively market your product online overseas.

9) Laws and Regulations:  In conducting eCommerce transactions with consumers living abroad, businesses should be aware of the laws and regulations of that country and adhere to any exporting or shipping guidelines put into place by that country.  There might even be some restrictions on certain products that can enter that country.

10) Accept Payments in a Foreign Currency: There are payment gateways that allow your customers to pay for an order in their own currency, and with a payment method that they are familiar with.  By adding foreign currency pricing, there is a strong potential of effectively converting more browsers into buyers because it either looks like it’s in their country, or at least it’s intended for people in that country.

Launching and selling your products to an International audience does require a great deal of time and investment as well as careful research and analysis to ensure online success.

If you have any other suggestions or recommendations, please comment below.

Ankush Agarwal
Senior Search Marketing Analyst
MarketNet, Inc.

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