Considerations For Selling Globally

When you have a brick-and-mortar store, you often rely on local trade, but that changes when you have a website. Selling online often starts locally too - and it can be tricky to know where to start when you want to bring in a bigger audience. 

Here are a couple of tips to help you sell on a global scale. 

Website

It will all start with a website - one that is easy to navigate, has all of your products beautifully photographed, and allows you to see pricing. There are a lot of eCommerce website builders at your disposal, so you can try a few out until you find the one that you like.

The bonus to using a website builder is that they are designed for people to be able to use and build without any knowledge of coding - and offer good levels of security.

You should make sure that you use payment solutions for global businesses, as this means you can accept more payment types - and still offer the highest security.

Marketplaces 

If you don’t like the idea of setting up your own website yet - but you do what to see how online selling can benefit you, then you can use an online Marketplace. Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and even many social media websites now offer online selling. The customer base is already global, and you can get access to it. 

Although you’ll need to be great at writing product descriptions that stand out from the crowd, it is usually easy to set up a storefront and start selling. 

When you use these options, there is typically a charge per sale - so factor that in.

Research 

While you are selling globally - you’ll need to think locally. And what that means is that you will need to look at the language, currency, taxes, and import rules for every place that you intend to sell in. Localization can be done using the software. Here are a couple of options: Lokalise, Phrase TMS, Alconost, and Trados. 

The right software will offer translations and some guidance so you ensure the end user (no matter where they are) is catered for. 

Payment methods 

When you sell globally, you will need to accept many different payment types because only some countries have PayPal and Visa (although most do). Instead, you’ll need to offer a range of payment types that are applicable to the location you wish to sell to. 

It can be worth expanding your market slowly so that you don’t overload yourself with too many options. 

Shipping & Returns

A local return will likely get to you in a matter of days, but international returns can be an expensive endeavor and may take weeks for you to receive. In the meantime, your customer is left out of pocket and without the item. And, you’ll need to factor in import and export costs too. 

Luckily you have access to everything you need online and a whole range of technology to help you run your business to the best of your abilities: ​​Using Technology To Boost Your Business Beyond Your Expectations.