Which Markets
Finding a suitable market can be difficult and requires research and maybe some travel. Right now that is tough with covid restrictions.
China is a huge opportunity. But there are issues.
NZ, UK, EU and USA and Canada, are safe markets and well prepared for ecommerce.
India – huge market but developing
Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia etc)
South America / Mexico
TIP: Fraud is a greater risk in some countries, and you need to look at security and cyber insurance.
SEO & SEM – International Markets
There is no trick or shortcut to getting found online the key factor is the website content and quality.
Most modern website platforms do a good job of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Google is not worldwide and covers most developed markets. Some countries like China have local search engines for example;
China – Baidu, Sogou and others
India – Qmamu
Korea – Naver
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) generally means paying for higher results in search engines and social media.
TIP: If you are going to spend money on SEM I recommend finding a local digital marketing company or service provider to assist.
International Markets
If you are looking at international markets, then there are some issues to address:
Domain name and website
Multiple domains
Multiple websites single language, price and tax vs;
One website with multiple regions, prices, and taxes
Performance – slow delivery overseas if website hosted here and visa versa
Language – people want to see information in their own language
Payments and Prices – see prices in local currency or have a convertor.
Shipping costs can impact SEM results in some marketing platforms like Google Shopping, Amazon and eBay.
Payments and Foreign Exchange
All in one provider – i.e. Stripe, Square, PayPal
Aust – all in one – eWAY, Windcave, Klarna, SecurePay, most banks
BNPL – Afterpay, Zip Klarna
TIP: Ask about foreign currency accounts and cost with your bank.
Issues:
Foreign currency exchange cost
Foreign bank account and tax issues
Foreign Exchange providers:- e.g. AFEX
Shipping
Cost for O/Seas shipping can be expensive
Aggregator services e.g. Shippit
Shipping time can be slow
Shipping in bulk can reduce costs but you need a forwarder or freight service
Government controls and issues:
Dept of Agriculture, Water and Environment (AWE):
Commodities controlled by the department
Export commodities controlled by the department are listed or ‘prescribed’ in the legislation. Prescribed goods—or goods included in a class of prescribed goods—include:
milk and milk products
eggs and egg products
fish and fish products
live animals
meat and meat products
poultry meat and poultry meat products
rabbit and ratite meat and rabbit and ratite meat products
wild game meat and wild game meat products
organic products
plants and plant products
wood and woodchips.
International Taxes
GST / VAT generally focused online for B2C and small personal sales.
UK – VAT on incoming online sales https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-overseas-goods-sold-directly-to-customers-in-the-uk
Europe – VAT applies and can vary by country and product https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_3098
USA – state based sales tax https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/e-commerce/faqs
Custom duties – may vary by product
NZ – GST online https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/online-shopping/
Building a Solution
International support
Hosting and Content delivery
Cost and location
Security
Domains
Multiple domains for different countries
Emails
Payment providers
Support for foreign currency transactions
Shipping calculations and Solutions
Shipping international
Customers and Tax
Insurance
Languages and translations
Google Translate
Multiple content pages with different languages.
Regions
Support for multiple countries / currencies / tax rates
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