Expanding your business into international ecommerce markets offers the potential for a great deal of selling success. You can appeal to a deep, diversified pool of clients as you accumulate additional revenue. 

At the same time, you might even extend the lifespan of products as you bring them to shoppers who have never encountered your brand before.

But just how do you set up your store for success to cross-border buyers? 

Follow these suggestions to enhance your brand, scale up your business, and potentially mitigate risks.

1. Familiarize yourself with your new target markets.

The first rule of success for any retailer, regardless of their size or scope, is to know the audience you are attempting to attract. This becomes even more crucial when selling to a shopper base who is unfamiliar with your brand and may be less trusting of a seller headquartered outside their country. 

Therefore, your job is to become so familiar with potential foreign buyers that you can narrow the gap, and instill confidence and trust in spite of distance and cultural differences.

In order to gain this knowledge, take advantage of accessible informational resources, including market research databases and country profiles. Glean details about customer preferences, demand, and existing competitors, and get additional support and advice from experts on the ground. 

These can include local trade organizations and chambers of commerce in your market countries.

2. Customize your products and services to reflect what you have learned.

Now that you have become aware of the culture, preferences, and competitive challenges to be found in your new commercial stomping grounds, the time has come to adjust your offerings accordingly. 

This may mean making small or significant modifications to your quality standards, packaging, design, or other product features to make them more appealing to your international customers as well as to comply with the legal or cultural standards that apply to each geographical area.

Additionally, you will want to look at details such as the warranty, returns, delivery, pricing, and payment options that apply to the products you sell. To that end, partnering with a secure payment processor with expertise in selling internationally is a must. 

They can be a vital ally in helping you navigate the customs procedures, taxes, currencies, exchange rates, and regulations that apply to each specific area.

3. Build a strong international online presence.

As an international seller, you will not be able to interact face-to-face with buyers. 

This limitation makes it even more important to find alternative ways to introduce your shop and your brand to buyers in ways that transform you from an anonymous foreign entity into a unique, personal brand with whom they can interact and identify. 

Your website gives you a way to converse, communicate, and distinguish your brand to anyone around the world.

Engaging with foreign customers involves showcasing your products and services through a variety of channels on your website and via social media forums that are familiar to your global buyers. 

Start by crafting a website that is accessible in the language that your customers speak, and focus on creating ease of navigation, rich textual and visual content, and opportunities for interaction and feedback. 

Concentrate on transparency, particularly when it comes to product warranty, delivery, and return details. Doing so will help to inspire trust, boosting sales while reducing the likelihood of chargebacks that frequently stem from customer confusion or incomplete information.

4. Focus on cultivating relationships with international customers.

Although you will probably never be in the same room with your shoppers, you can still establish a connection with each of them that will become deeper and richer over time. 

Maintaining a dynamic social media page on the forum of your customers’ choice gives you a way to converse directly with them and to share your dialogue with others so that even more people can benefit. 

Additionally, technological features such as online chats, video conferences, and even answering basic questions via bots will let your followers know that you are available for them and concerned about providing them with the best possible buyer experience in spite of the miles that separate you.

As you enhance your bonds with international customers and suppliers, never lose sight of the fact that there may be differences in language, customs, and culture of which you need to be aware. 

Enlisting support from staff who are local to the areas you serve can prove to be vital in preventing confusion and smoothing out any misunderstandings or mistranslations that might occur.

5. Enlist, respond to, and use feedback.

One of the best ways to understand if your international payment processing, sales strategies, and product choices are on the right track is to gain insights from your customers. After all, these are the people who best know what they want and can tell you if you are delivering to their satisfaction.

Use tools such as online surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gain direct feedback that is targeted to your specific questions. Also pay attention to the reviews, testimonials, and opinions expressed by buyers both on your website and via various social media channels. 

Then, most important of all, take their views into account, making adjustments and improvements in your products and processes as needed. Be sure to publicize the modifications that you have made, emphasizing that they were inspired by popular demand.

Think of international expansion as similar to hiking on a new trail. 

Be aware of the local customs, preferences, needs, and wants, and be sensitive and willing to listen. Without sacrificing your unique brand identity or voice, be willing to modify your advertising techniques, products, and communication strategies to be compatible with the local area. And, most important of all, listen to the feedback and suggestions of the customers whose trust and business you want to earn. 

When you succeed at accomplishing these goals, your international sales numbers will rise organically, and you will be on the path to international sales success.