E-commerce myths (part 6)

MYTH: I SHOULD FOCUS ON SELLING GLOBALLY ON DAY ONE

One of the greatest benefits to online commerce is the fact you can increase your exposure to customers almost anywhere in the world. Regardless of your own geographical location. This and the fact that you can be open around the clock are some of e-commerce’s key strengths.

But, too often, sellers try to target everyone, rushing to cover the largest area possible, instead of starting small and working outward.

What many don’t realize is that in most cases, working with SEO locally can be a much more attainable goal than trying to immediately reach out across the globe.

Also, working with AdWords in your area will be far cheaper as well because of a more limited audience.

Once you have gotten a steady foothold on your local market, you can start researching the possibility of expanding. But, before you start increasing your reach globally, you need a game plan, and there are several things that need considering before moving into new territory.

Among the first things to look into should include checking if there is a demand for your type of products and seeing how well your prices match those of the competition, as most times, the actual product, or something like it is already being sold, and most likely at a lower price. And drastically lowering your prices will bankrupt you in the long run.

Other things worth noting are foreign exchange rates, relevant taxes and tariffs, exporting logistics, international fulfilment practices etc.

Therefore, it is vital that you do your research before expanding into a new territory. If there’s no demand for your products at your price range, there is no point in selling there.

But there also seems to be a tendency of not wanting to expand, believing your business too small to be able to compete globally, thus limiting your potential exponentially. In most cases, this is not true and not limiting yourself to your immediate surroundings can be vital in succeeding in the e-commerce game.