Want Your Take Your Ecommerce International?
If you’re not already doing so, why not offer your products globally? That’s the wonderful thing about ecommerce; it allows you to reach a market that is beyond your immediate surroundings. If you already have an ecommerce site, then you know you have the possibilities of reaching new customers all over the US. So, why not consider selling your products within the global marketplace? Here are just a few of the many great tips to keep in mind when taking your ecommerce web site to the next level- International.
Enable Fraud Protection
This is very important. You must be cautious when dealing with transactions that are overseas. So, take the extra precautions and protect yourself and your company. According to Louis Camassa from Practical Ecommerce, “working with payment processors can help to reduce fraudulent orders. Although, experience and detective work usually trumps all technical firewalls.” Let the payment processors work for you, typically they will take the extra steps to make sure everything is correct and you are protected. Within your ecommerce site, you may want to let your customers know that you avoid fraudulent charges by not shipping to certain locations. If you receive a lot of requests for product to be available in specific location, you can always consider adding another shipping location in the future.
Limit the Promotions
When setting up your cart for your ecommerce site its important you have the option to exclude various promotions such as, free shipping, or bulk discounts etc. Remember you are dealing with International Orders now, so certain promotions will not make sense financially. Typically most companies offer a free shipping in the US only or something similar; your customers are familiar with this so don’t be afraid to limit those promotions. Cornerstone offers an integrated accounting and ecommerce software system called Comgine that allows you to do this as well. Comgine gives you’re the flexibility to offer what you would like when you would like.
Limit Shipping Options
So, what does this mean? Some carriers charge an extra fee to process an international order. Be sure to research your options. You may also want to consider the tracking capabilities the carriers offer. “Shipping options should be configured on a per country basis so the customers are not shown options that do not pertain to them, or are not profitable to the merchant.” Most of the more popular carriers such as UPS or FEDEX will offer more details regarding international tracking for your customers but it might be adventageous for you to consider when creating your cart as well.
Properly Identify the Postal Codes
The international the postal codes are not always a set of consecutive numbers. In many cases they are a combination of numeric and alphabetical characters. When setting up your ecommerce system, it is always a good idea to have your shopping cart identify incoming orders by the country and make sure those postal codes are correct. If you can design the cart to do a lot of the work for you, when you receive a web order, it will seamlessly flow through the system without any hesitation.
Understand all Payments
It’s known in the US, most customers use credit cards to pay for the goods they purchase when shopping online. This is not always the case when dealing with international orders. Many international online shoppers prefer using PayPal, Google Check Out and some others. Therefore, it’s important for you to consider all types of payment options ahead of time to ensure web orders are effectively processed through your ecommerce web site.
Contact Cornerstone Consulting for Global Ecommerce Expansion
These are just a few of the many great tips to consider when offering international shipping through your ecommerce web site. If you are considering expanding your business and offering your products internationally in the future, be sure to research your options in advance, and protect yourself. If you’d like to discuss your plans for global expansion, and would like specialists to provide you with ecommerce site design for the international marketplace, please call Cornerstone Consulting (813) 321-1300 today. Our experienced web team is happy to help you implement an integrated accounting, inventory control-tracking and ecommerce web site that can process international orders flawlessly. No time to call us? Please visit: Comgine
Author: Ashley Edwards
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