Manish Dudharejia / 5 Mins Read
Updated: October 1, 2024
Are you facing the challenges associated with building brand loyalty? Here are a few marketing challenges you can expect if you are planning to explore the global marketplace with your e-commerce brand.
With digitization, a whole new world of opportunities has opened up before marketers. With customers increasingly preferring omni-channel shopping, you can offer products to customers in virtually any part of the globe, anytime.
However, along with this come challenges associated with marketing to a diversified audience, enabling payments across the globe, navigating complex legal and regulatory frameworks, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
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The digital economy has blurred traditional boundaries between countries, leading to a global marketplace worth trillions of dollars. As vast as the market is, so is the competition an e-commerce company can face. If you are trying to sell in foreign markets, you have to fend off competition from both local and foreign companies.
E-commerce companies also face the challenges associated with building brand loyalty. With several products, customer loyalty can be fickle, where your audience is always looking for the next big thing.
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If you plan to explore the global marketplace with your e-commerce brand, here are a few marketing challenges to expect.
Global outreach cannot be accomplished at once. Suppose you have built a market for your product locally and have acquired experience and confidence in marketing and selling your product/ideas. In that case, you can consider expanding to newer territories.
There is a robust global demand for US-made products. Customers expect the products to be genuine and high-quality. Despite this, it is essential to check whether your product will be well-received in a foreign market. What works in the US may not excite a customer in Germany.
If your e-commerce site is built with Shopify or Magento, you can efficiently study traffic flow and where it comes from. These tools also provide scalable options to cater to international customers.
Even if you can convert a small portion of that traffic into sales, it will be worthwhile to enter global e-commerce.
Google Trends also helps you study search volume in specific regions for particular keywords associated with what you sell. Also, check where you get most queries about shipping from. This makes marketing to the audience easier.
The awareness level of established American brands is high, and there is a substantial aspirational value associated with several products produced in the West.
As a marketer, it becomes imperative to focus on how easy it is for global customers to get the same products and excellent customer support, irrespective of location.
It is also important to note that companies cannot afford to dilute the customer experience they provide and must strive to maintain the standards they set for their home-based shoppers.
One of the biggest deterrents to building a good e-commerce customer base in foreign markets is exorbitant shipping charges. International delivery is not cheap, and country-specific duties and taxes add to the cost.
You can streamline shipping and operation costs by partnering with a third-party logistics (3PL) company. 3PL companies can also act as fulfillment partners and reduce your operational burden to a great extent.
Logistics and fulfillment service providers have warehousing and distribution facilities worldwide. They store and manage your inventory at locations that allow for optimal delivery. Leading 3PL companies, like FedEx, have their own freight and parcel networks that ensure your products are shipped internationally in the least possible time. Shipments are also made via the lowest–cost carriers—be it FedEx, UPS or DHL.
Customs, country-specific trade regulations, taxes and duties can prove to be a maze impossible to navigate. Global 3PLs like UPS, Kuehne+Nagel and DB Schenker allow you to ship to customers no matter where they are. They also calculate taxes and duties, access custom forms and do all the paperwork for you. Opting for the UPS Paperless Invoice tool will ensure that commercial invoices are electronically submitted to Customs offices without any effort from your end.
Easyship and Pitney Bowes are e-commerce shipping tools that integrate with your online store to show dynamic shipping rates at checkout, determine import duties, calculate taxes and fees for individual shipments, and pick, pack and ship your products under standardized international packaging, labeling and classification systems.
Since warehousing and inventory management costs are spread over multiple clients, you can save on overheads. Small e-commerce companies can also access flexible and discounted solutions to make international e-commerce easier.
Most shippers allow tracking shipments, which gives customers transparency and peace of mind. According to Baymard Instiute, high shipping and related fees are the topmost reasons 60% of customers cite to abandon online shopping carts. 23% cited the inability to get a consolidated total cost for the order as a main reason.
Your marketing strategy will need to consider shipping and logistics strategies. ASOS prioritized shipping and warehousing solutions and ensured that their free worldwide shipping and returns policy built brand warmth and a massive customer base. Free shipping is not a distant dream for your brand. Smart cost-control measures like opting for flat-rate shipping containers and consolidated shipping can allow you to pass on the savings to your customers.
If you want to sell your products in a country that does not speak your language, getting the local dynamics on your website right is fundamental. Your online store needs to be spruced up to welcome the new audience.
Almost all major websites now offer language/country options, allowing you to choose the languages you prefer. These localized websites also match currency, regional shopping patterns, brand preferences and cultural influences. This ensures your online store makes customers feel at home and be comfortable shopping.
You also need to facilitate popular local payment gateways. For example, Konbini is a preferred payment method in Japan, whereas mobile wallets like M-Pesa are popular in Africa. Cash-on-delivery is popular in India and China.
Geography and currency selectors are must-have features on your global website as they help provide global customers with an easy and expedited shopping experience. Product descriptions and checkout should be in the local language to give a truly customized experience to your shopper.tre
In China, Singles Day celebrations present a massive marketing opportunity. Alibaba clocked sales over $25 billion during last year's celebration. So, it is important to up the sales pitch during the run-up to local festivals that stir the buying frenzy.
Social media marketing through micro-influencers is critical. Identify social media influencers who have shared values and who identify easily with your brand and customers. A study by Snap Inc. found that 31% of users rely on influencers and celebrities to make a buying decision.
Finding local influencers who rank high for the specific keywords in your business niche would be best. Reach out to them and help them get to know your brand. If they are already brand advocates, reward them for their loyalty and try to make them a part of your customer outreach programs.
Micro-influencers have a small but highly engaged and loyal following. You can use influencers to drive contests, promote free giveaways and other online initiatives. Testimonials, reviews, and influencer feedback should be acknowledged and used to improve brand perception.
You can also collaborate to create unique content for potential customers. It is essential to know that there are several towering rivals to Facebook and Twitter in many countries. So, learn the social milieu before investing in marketing channels.
Reverse logistics have the potential to make or break your global e-commerce company. Getting the products on time and in perfect condition to your customer's doorstep is hard enough, but when it comes to refunding or replacing goods, the supply chain becomes all the more stretched.
It is important to have an effective return policy in place to ensure a rich purchasing experience and a high level of customer satisfaction. The policies and procedures for returns should be visible to the user on the website.
You will have to work out a viable method for returning returned goods. Some companies do not bring back the goods to the US and liquidate and reimburse customers in the foreign country itself. Others opt to receive the returned goods and reimburse the merchandise, including the additional taxes and duties. The reimbursement is made in local currency at exchange rates prevailing when placing the original order. Fluctuations are absorbed by the logistics provider or by the e-commerce company.
Going global with your e-commerce venture is no mean feat. It requires extensive planning and coordination between multiple stakeholders, from the logistics company to the delivery staff.
But with physical borders blurring and online shopping advancing, it would be foolish to limit your business to geographical boundaries. With the correct planning, a winning attitude and the willingness to learn as you go, your growth potential is virtually limitless.
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Manish Dudharejia is the President and Founder of E2M Solutions Inc, a San Diego Based Digital Agency that specializes in Website Design & Development and eCommerce SEO. With over 10 years of experience in the Technology and Digital Marketing industry, Manish is passionate about helping online businesses to take their branding to the next level.
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