Selling internationally is probably the dream of many entrepreneurs and business owners, but it is actually not as easy and simple as it may seem at first.
The tips outlined in this article will help you understand how to create a powerful international selling strategy to take your business to a new level.
9 Key Tips For International Selling
#1 Make Your Product Listings Stand Out
First and foremost, you need to make your product listings stand out. Your listings are the ones that will be selling your products, so you always need to make sure that they are as good as they can ever be.
If the listings are poorly written, you could lose a fair share of your potential customers who will be discouraged to purchase from you when they see the listings.
For instance, you need to include multiple images in your listings to show your products from different sides. When selling internationally, most of the purchases will be done online, so your customers need to be sure that they are buying exactly what they see.
With images showing your products form different sides, they will have a better idea of what they get.
#2 Customize Your Shipping and Delivery
Shipping and delivery are extremely important for international selling. After all, you are selling products to customers located in different parts of the world, so it is obvious that you need to make sure they get these products quickly and safely. Here are some things to keep in mind about your shipping and delivery options:
Try to have delivery options for as many countries as possible. It’s fine if you start out with just a few, but if you really want to be successful with international selling, you need to ship to any place in the world.
Have multiple options for local delivery. If you have a store, you can even allow self-pickup for customers who want to touch the product before they buy it.
#3 Improve Your Return Policy
Another important element of international selling is your return policy. As mentioned earlier, it’s very hard to make an objective decision when your customers are purchasing something online, so there is a big chance that many of your customers will want to return the items they bought from you.
That’s exactly when you need to make sure that your return policy works properly. You need to think about every detail (e.g. the number of days that pass after the purchase when customers can send the product back; how good the product should look to be eligible for return, and so on). For example, if the product is too damaged, perhaps it’s better not to allow it to be returned.
#4 Don’t Try to Hide Taxes and Duties Information
When it comes to selling internationally, there will be a whole array of new taxes, duties, and international fees you will need to be paying.
Consequently, it is vital that you inform your customers about all of these before they decide to make a purchase.
At the same time, by informing them about these fees, you explain why your products and delivery cost as much as they do, especially if delivery might be more costly than your customers expect it to be.
#5 Work on Your Content
Content is king, and everyone knows that. If your website, social media accounts, emails, etc. are filled with low-quality content, you won’t be able to attract new customers, make more sales, and so on. Here are some things to keep in mind about working on your content:
Outsource part of your content creation. If you decide to focus on the most important pieces of your content, you will be able to make their quality better while letting others work on less important content. For example, you can hire a writer from a writing services review site like best writers online who will create written content for you while you focus on visual content.
Create a posting schedule and content guidelines. A posting schedule will ensure that you publish all your content on time while content guidelines will help you maintain a certain quality level for all of your content.
Rely on visual content more. Text is important because it conveys the bulk of your information, but visuals are crucial too. In fact, you need to rely on your visuals more to make your content strategy work better.
#6 Use Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization or SEO is the best way to make your content visible for customers in different countries.
When you are selling internationally, you are basically trying to get your product to people who live in different regions which is why you need to optimize your content for these regions.
For example, your customers in France will be looking for content in French while your customers in Australia will be looking for content in English. This is why it could be a good idea to translate your website into several languages.
#7 Keep an Eye on Your Competition
Your business doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and you need to realize that what your competitors do will impact how well your strategy works.
At the same time, the actions of your competitors need to impact your own actions as well as the decisions you make.
Always look at what other businesses like yours are doing in terms of marketing and consider adopting some of their tactics to implement them as a part of your own strategy. But remember that some things that work for your competitors might not work for you.
#8 Improve Your Brand Reputation
Your brand reputation often defines what kind of brand image your customers will be getting. And your brand image is important for two reasons. First, your customers need to like your brand. Second, your competitors need to treat you seriously.
There are multiple factors that influence your brand reputation including your marketing techniques, your brand voice, the channels you use for communication and customer service, and so on.
#9 Adapt to Seasonal Trends
Last but not least, you need to adapt to seasonal trends. Holidays are the best time for having big sales while the start of every new season is perfect for introducing new products into your product lines.
On the other hand, there are other trends too that come and go all the time. It could be anything from the pattern used on clothes to a new toy like a fidget spinner suddenly becoming a hit.
Final Thoughts
All in all, selling internationally is one of the biggest steps you can make to get your business to a different level.
Follow the tips in this article and you will be able to expand your target audience and start selling internationally.
You May Like To Read:
- Improve The Shopping Experience & Boost Your Sales in 2020 with Catalogs
- 4 Tips To Increase Sales For Your Brick And Mortar Store
- 5 Effective Ways to Drive E-commerce Sales Using Push Notifications
Author Bio:
This article was written by Ana Mayer, a project manager with 3+ years of experience. While projects can do without her participation (which means almost never), she likes to read and create expert academic materials for the Online Writers Rating writing review website. Such work gives her the opportunity to write articles on the most relevant topics of today.
