seizing international opportunities
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INTERNATIONAL SELLINGMADE EASY
SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES OVERSEAS
SPONSORED BY
Contents03 A big hello from Webinterpret
05 Introduction
07 Overseas trade in numbers
10 What they are saying about the British opportunity
12 How to be an effective overseas seller
16 Resources that help e-commerce businesses export
18 Tips to take advantage of international trade
20 How to boost international sales on eBay
23 Selling in the US and Australia
26 Opening up Brazil and Russia with Webinterpret
28 Conclusion
A big hello from Webinterpret
01
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Dear readers,
As you probably know, online Cross Border Trade is becoming more and
more of a necessity. Indeed, year-over-year growth in the UK is decreasing
while at the same time the number of online sellers is growing.
On the other hand, online Cross Border Trade is set to increase
fivefold by 2018. To be competitive in today’s global market,
professional sellers have to look internationally.
We decided to write an ebook in order to provide all retailers with the
relevant tips and guidelines to help facilitate international trade. All of
the information is based on our profound understanding and involvement
in international sales coupled with our long-term experience in making
localised international ecommerce available to everyone.
It was a great pleasure to write this ebook and I believe it will meet
the expectations of anyone who is selling internationally and wishes to
grow their business!
Wishing you a pleasant read,
Patrick Smarzynski
01 A big hello from Webinterpret
HeLLO!
Introduction02
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International selling presents a huge opportunity to develop business,
find new customers, increase global exposure to product lines and,
importantly, develop new revenue streams.
Services including Amazon, eBay and Rakuten have provided retail businesses with a channel to the global market place and a great opportunity to grow businesses internationally without significant riskBut barriers remain to international trade. Sellers must understand
the unique DNA of each territory in which they want to sell and, most
importantly, the languages spoken by people in each target market.
Webinterpret is a specialist solution that helps facilitate cross-border
trade. Its core mission is to make international ecommerce accessible to
all businesses.
This ebook addresses some of the key modern day issues facing UK
ecommerce businesses and aims to provide answers to some of the
biggest problems associated with selling overseas.
02 Introduction
Overseas trade in numbers
03
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03 Overseas trade in numbers
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03 Overseas trade in numbers
What they are saying about the British opportunity
04
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“Over the next decade, online retail will become increasingly
international. This represents a great opportunity for British retailers, by
providing new ways to grow and expand.
“At the same time, international expansion poses many challenges and
will require retailers to master new capabilities and complexities.
“As a market matures, and new pockets of demand emerge, localisation
will be crucial – from tailoring the range on offer, to ensuring that
delivery and payment methods work for each market.”
Anita Balchandani, Partner, OC&C Strategy Consultants
“The opportunity for UK consumer brands to export is huge. Today, the
most effective route to new markets is through online shopping platforms.
“The rapidly growing Chinese middle class are turning to digital malls
to satisfy their desire for luxury, high quality goods, with British brands
appearing high on their shopping lists.”
Laura Faulkner, Consumer and Retail Global Lead at
UK Trade & investment
“The UK is the world’s second biggest online retail exporter, beaten
only by the USA. These new BRC-Google figures show UK retailers are
investing heavily in international online experiences, localised websites
and faster delivery times to drive exports.”
Helen Dickinson, Director General,
British Retail Consortium (BRC)
04 What they are saying about the British opportunity
How tobe an effective overseas seller
05
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Cross-border trade (CBT) is no longer the domain of major international corporates. Small businesses and even sole traders are increasingly including CBT as a cornerstone of their sales strategiesMarketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Rakuten have opened up
access to international customers, and businesses throughout the UK
have taken advantage.
But people branching out into international markets should understand
the differences between strategies for grabbing market share in
domestic and cross-border regions.
To help, keep in mind the ‘three Cs’ of best practice when positioning
your products for sales overseas:
Comprehension To fully capture the potential for overseas sales, you must become
an active cross-border trader. That means posting translated and
localised product listing to international marketplaces. It also means
communicating with customers in their mother tongue.
The point of this is to give your product listings the same exposure
as local listings and providing the same (or better) customer service
than native businesses can offer. Fail to do this and you rely on foreign
buyers being able to read and correspond in English – which of course
limits your audience dramatically.
05 How to be an effective overseas seller
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Competence Retail businesses must have the right tools and partnerships in place
to succeed in the international marketplace. With new territory comes
new obstacles and only by becoming an expert in the trappings of
overseas trade can sellers expect to make sales.
It’s okay to consult secondary sources of information and conduct
online research, but for real insight it’s important to speak one-on-one
with people who can offer specialised, first-hand knowledge of sectors
and segments you hope to enter.
ConfidenceWith the right information and appropriate tools, online sellers should
feel confident in their international sales strategies. Success breeds
confidence and consulting with foreign marketplace experts can
make all the difference when developing an effective, scalable and
personalized international selling strategy.
Webinterpret is the leading all-in-one solution. It is a cloud platform
offering full international listing consultation and management:
• A focused CBT strategy for your business
• Clear metrics to measure your success
• A substantial portion of your overall revenue is generated
from CBT
• The ability to scale your inventory in a variety of
international markets
05 How to be an effective overseas seller
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The Rakuten opportunityThe worldwide ecommerce industry is increasing rapidly, particularly in
Asia where each country’s ecommerce growth rate correlates with their
existing infrastructure and readiness.
Rakuten is an electronic commerce and Internet company based in
Tokyo, Japan, which is expanding massively in this environment. Its
B2B2C ecommerce platform Rakuten Ichiba is the largest ecommerce
site in Japan and among the world’s largest by sales.
Rakuten Ichiba is transforming local ecommerce by embedding
the domestic market with the global ecommerce platform Rakuten
Merchant System Global (RMSG), and as such removing boundaries
throughout the global market.
Rakuten’s ecommerce business is in thirteen countries around the
world, including Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand with service
in Singapore planned to start soon. Malaysia, Indonesia and Spain
have already started to use RMSG with Thailand moving to the system
soon too.
Rakuten has 52,000 merchants in Japan and 87,000 merchants globally.
Currently among the top four global ecommerce sites, Rakuten is
aiming to be the number one globally by 2020. Rakuten’s innovative
ecommerce business is a great opportunity to expand international
sales revenue.
If you would like to take advantage of it register your interest here.
05 How to be an effective overseas seller
Resources that help e-commerce businesses export
06
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UK Trade and Investment (UKTI)UKTI is a government department that works with UK business to help
them achieve success in overseas markets, as well as to encourage top
foreign businesses to partner with the UK.
It has a mine of online resources, including country guides, tax
calculators and hundreds of guides to help inform would-be exporters.
For bigger businesses it also partners with private sector entities to host
trade missions to popular overseas markets.
Open to ExportOpen to Export is a social network for exporters who can come
together and help each other achieve expansion plans abroad. As well
as access to a large online community, the site offers advice, webinars
and useful contacts to help get businesses going.
British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC)The BIPC is part of the British Library dedicated to helping business
start-up, get established and grow. It stages events that are inspiring and
informative and it holds a large trove of information useful to UK exporters.
This includes information on protecting brands abroad, innovating
to increase sales and the legal implications of selling or setting up
shop overseas.
Institute of Export (IoE)The IoE is a professional membership body offering formal
qualifications in doing business abroad, including a Certificate in
International Trade and Advanced Certificate in International Trade.
These certificates are designed to develop exporters’ skills base, as well
as knowledge and understanding of global business, online and offline.
06 Resources that help e-commerce businesses export
Tips to take advantage of international trade
07
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Free shippingOne thing that puts off international customers from pressing the ‘buy’ button is high shipping costs. By including a variety of shipping options at different prices points, you will convert more browsers to active buyers. Free shipping, for example, can increase sales by up to 30 per cent.
[See infographic in next chapter].
How you can lower postage costs• Air delivery is expensive, use it sparingly• Monitor delivery charges for parcel weights and sizes• Use rewarvd credit cards to pay for shipping• Shop around using a freight brokers such as Freightquote.com or
FreightCenter.com• Consider outsourcing your fulfilment to a specialist company• Join a trade organisation to get group discounts
Removing VATVAT only applies on sales made within the EU. By selling to customers beyond EU territories you can effectively reduce the cost of your item by the prevailing VAT rate – currently 20 per cent. It’s a significant saving for you and your international customers.
Listing optimisationThere are many considerations to take into account when listing items for
customers in foreign countries. To optimise your listings, it’s essential you take the following steps:
• Translate the listing title taking into account popular local keywords• Remember that category structures are different in different
marketplace sites• Price your product in foreign currency, prices must reflect changing
exchange rates• Increase prices to account for currency conversion fees• Adjust shipping options so they are relevant to the country• Professional translation of description is essential in some countries –
notably in France• Auto-translation software is insufficient as a communication tool • You must find ways to communicate with customers in their language
08 Tips to take advantage of international trade
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For proven tips that have already helped online retailers in optimising their sales.
How to boost international sales on eBay
08
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eBay is one of the best conduits to successful international sales, but it’s not just a case lumping your products onto international eBay sites and hoping for the best
To maximise your potential cross border sales, you must become an
active seller and make all the necessary changes that will appeal to
international customers.
Think localA localised listing is a listing that is modified to contain the correct title
keywords in the correct language, with the correct currency, postage
information and category structure.
It helps foreign buyers find your items on their local eBay site when they
search in their native language or filter their results by category.
Consider the feesPublishing the same items on multiple foreign eBay sites means that
you will incur additional eBay insertion fees.
However, this extra cost can be factored into the price of the item and,
as eBay selling fees differ from eBay site to eBay site, you may even
increase your margin.
10 How to boost international sales on eBay
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Language gapLanguage is a major part of the localisation process. You must write
titles in relevant languages using the correct keywords, making the
currency conversions, find the right categories and dealing with
customers in foreign languages.
Synchronising stockHaving to manage stock synchronisation between each of your foreign
listings, is a chore, but it is essential to a successful business.
Remember that if your stock level decreases or you change the
description or price of an item, these changes need to be made across
all of the individual eBay sites where that item appears; otherwise you
run the risk of receiving negative feedback
National sensitivitiesYou also have to know the specific policy for each eBay site in order to
avoid listing an item that may be forbidden in a certain country.
For proven tips that have already helped online retailers in optimising their sales.
10 How to boost international sales on eBay
Sign up for a free webinar
Selling in the US and Australia
09
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11 Listing in the US, Australia
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11 Listing in the US, Australia
Opening up Brazil and Russia with Webinterpret
10
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Emerging markets are adding to the international revenue that Webinterpret created for our clientsBy creating active listings on ebay.com, we will open your inventory to
Brazil and Russia with added customs protection from eBay.
Russia and Brazil are currently two of the world’s hottest e-commerce
markets with more Brazilian and Russian consumers are discovering
eBay as a source for selection and value. In 2012, Russian shoppers
generated over $400 million in revenue for eBay sellers.
By listing on ebay.com and including Russia and Brazil to your shipping
destinations, eBay will show this specified inventory to Brazilian and
Russian buyers. In Russia, eBay also translates your listings into the
Russian language and currency.
eBay knows that doing business in emerging markets carries some risk,
so there are added protections in place when shipping your inventory
to Russia and Brazil.
If a Brazilian or Russian buyer leaves negative or neutral feedback or
ratings due to customs delays, eBay will remove all feedback if you
resolve the issue promptly with the buyer.
12 Opening up Brazil and Russia with Webinterpret
Conclusion
11
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Without a doubt ecommerce has a great impact on businesses since it
has become a huge part of how online trade functions. We understand
its great importance and expanding influence.
We made it the priority of our work to understand our customer’s
needs and challenges so that they can easily increase their businesses
potential to sell internationally. And we are proud to be a leading
company able to provide our customers with far more than just basic
services. We deliver innovative selling tools that help thousands to
successfully sell abroad.
We hope that this ebook will give you the taste to work with us in the
near future if you aim to differentiate from the competition and boost
international sales!
If you have feedback on this ebook, or are would like to get in touch, do
not hesitate to send an email to: [email protected]
Also, if you’d like to try our service, simply click Set Up Your Account.
13 Conclusion
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