Selling through your own website gives you control over your own data, and content design, and special pricing. For a technical and strategic look at the internationalization of your website, please read more on our Website Globalization Review Gap Analysis Service, which is intended to help increase overseas sales.
Pros of Selling Through Your Website
- You are able to own your data, and maintain control of content and product pricing;
- You are able to control the design of your online brand and how it will be accessed;
Cons of Selling Through Your Website
- Websites require routine search engine optimization (SEO) audits, and will require the use of professional service providers to achieve your desired ecommerce sales goals;
- Bandwidth, internet speed, and internet access vary across markets. Also, language may be a barrier to access, is your site intuitive to find products?
Online Marketplaces are a great addition to your sales channel mix in that they present your products to a wider audience from a trusted source. Potential downsides of online marketplaces deal with returns, dispute resolution, fee structures, and intellectual property rights issues.
Online marketplaces may differ in overseas markets— Which online marketplaces are most popular in your target overseas market? Contact a Trade Specialist today to find out more for your online business!
Pros of Selling Through Online Marketplaces:
- Reach more consumers than you would on your own, and can help with market entry;
- eCommerce payments can be received in other currencies, and backlinks from your marketplace storefront to your website boosts SEO;
Cons of Selling Through Online Marketplaces:
- Along with reaching more consumers, more competitors are also on marketplaces, and you have no control over your consumer data;
- Service interoperability varies with marketplaces, and post sales service such as returns & disputes is often an issue;
Social Media as a sales channel is a great way to build brand following and connect directly with your consumer base, as well as using your social media accounts correctly it can boost your website’s SEO rankings. If you are new to digital marketing, it’s recommended that an ecommerce service provider get involved for any in-depth planning with your overseas online marketing campaigns.
Pros of Selling Through Social Media:
- Has been great success in building brand following through connecting directly with consumers;
- Even non-retail business can promote industry thought leadership in the correct social media settings;
- Backlinks to your site from your social media postings boosts website SEO and sales;
Cons of Selling Through Social Media:
- Results vary selling through social depending on product, industry, and current events, and requires constant monitoring to avoid potential issues;
- Sales through social depend on the activity, and for overseas markets local social media representation is recommended;
Having a local overseas partner or distributor that has used SEO to improve their sales allows you to more quickly and cheaply enter a local online market than if you were to attempt to enter the market on your own. Check out our Gold Key Service, which provides U.S. companies with matchmaking appointments with up to five interested partners in a foreign market.
Do you have an in-country distributor as a part of your online strategy? If so, then you need to work on an in-country strategy to avoid channel conflict with existing distributors.
Pros of Selling Through 3rd Party In-Country Distributor:
- They are local and have local market research & understanding, and understand the customers in your target market;
- Brand presence is quickly and cheaply established through your distributor, as well as an immediate purchase of product;
- Providing online content and backlinking to an in-market distributor that has a SEO web presence can boost your own website SEO;
Cons of Selling Through 3rd Party In-Country Distributor:
- Requires finding of distributor with a market network and credibility;
- Distributor must already have localized website with SEO best practices to make the product content you provide sell;
