E-commerce has evolved rapidly over the past decade or two, and it is more important than ever for companies looking to reach new customers in international markets. Whether you work for a major multi-billion dollar corporation or run your own small business, there are e-commerce solutions you can use to grow.
For companies who have never engaged in e-commerce before, getting started could understandably seem a little daunting. To explore these opportunities and help you understand how to start and succeed in e-commerce, we asked some of today’s leading experts to share their thoughts in this month’s #TradeElite Twitter chat. Here’s what they had to say.
Moderator: Doug Bruhnke (@GlobalChamber) is based in Arizona, and is CEO of Global Chamber, a community of CEOs, executives and leaders in hundreds of locations worldwide. His personal Twitter handle is @DougBruhnke.
Panelists:
Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) is based in the Boston area, and is the co-founder and CEO of Trellis, a full service digital agency specializing in digital strategy, SEO, e-commerce, web design, web development, Magento, WordPress, and conversion optimization.
Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) is based in the Toronto area. She is a content marketing lead at Shopify and is the co-founder of @LibertyVilBeer.
Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon), based out of British Columbia, is a digital marketing and media specialist who writes extensively about e-commerce for CanadiansInternet.com, the Huffington Post and several other companies and publications.
Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06), located in the Atlanta area, is the founder and head analyst of Logistics Trends and Insights. She also writes about and works on projects related to e-commerce, market research and marketing.
Emil Stickland (@Thrive_Digi) is in Edinburgh, and serves as director for Thrive Digital, an agency specializing in helping companies to develop and improve their international e-commerce.
James Tobyne (@JamesTobyne) is in the San Francisco/Bay Area. He is working for an international localization tech startup, and previously worked in strategic partnership and business development for Alibaba.
Why do e-commerce? What types of businesses are ideal or not ideal for it?
@GlobalChamber I think a lot of businesses can benefit, so long as they offer differentiation and are not purely cost focused #TradeElite
— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017
A1 Suitability: Consider product shipping cost, support staff, inventory capacity, market saturation & growth potential. #TradeElite
— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber #TradeElite I think every business that sells product that can be standardized or shipped should be considering eCommerce to optimize sales.
— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017
A1: If your product is shippable, it’s worth localizing for international markets for many product categories & business sizes. #TradeElite
— James Tobyne (任翔） (@JamesTobyne) April 13, 2017
Once a company decides to start selling via e-commerce, what should be the next step?
A2 – do your homework on what countries/region you want to expand to. #TradeElite
— Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06) April 13, 2017
and understand all regulatory requirements, customs, border taxes etc. #TradeElite
— Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06) April 13, 2017
A2 If the business is already established offline, the next step is to choose an ecommerce platform provider. #TradeElite
— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017
A2: Step 1: is deciding whether to go standalone, off-the-shelf technology, or marketplace listing. It’s cost vs control #TradeElite
— James Tobyne (任翔） (@JamesTobyne) April 13, 2017
What kind of budget might you need to get your e-commerce started?
A3: There are way too many variables to estimate cost, but there are eCommerce & eMarketing solutions for virtually any budget. #TradeElite
— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017
@Thrive_Digi Are there any guidelines, or ranges? #TradeElite
— Global Chamber® (@GlobalChamber) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber #TradeElite A very basic Shopify site might only be 5 to 10k and a big enterprise site could be millions to implement, a very large range.
— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017
What are the best ways to set goals and evaluate success?
@GlobalChamber A4 Having a growth plan is key. Figure out how you will acquire customers and backwards. #TradeElite
— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber #TradeElite Focus on small goals that can be attained quickly that add up to larger big goals. Update design, update feature x, grow traffic
— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017
Hey this sounds like hard work! #TradeElite … but worth the climb if you do the up-front work.
— Global Chamber® (@GlobalChamber) April 13, 2017
Is there a common approach? How would you summarize the main steps?
@GlobalChamber A5 Step 1 – Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance #TradeElite Steps 2 – ∞ TEST! #TradeElite
— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017
What are the biggest e-commerce mistakes companies make? How can you avoid them?
A6: Huge inventory. Test & explore the market via online marketplaces or drop shipping before investing heavily in inventory. #TradeElite
— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017
A6 shipping costs – there’s alot of options but folks don’t seem to know these options. #TradeElite
— Cathy Roberson (@cmroberson06) April 13, 2017
And expecting traffic to just show up once you launch. You need to promote online sales just like any other channel. #TradeElite https://t.co/VViYOTnBaa
— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber Failing to gather data, and doing things because they “like it” #TradeElite
— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber #TradeElite 1) Not detailing out requirements for launch & Thus under resourcing 2) No continuous improvement plan for post launch
— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber A6: The biggest mistake made by the big players is underestimating the value of customer service & the power of social media. #TradeElite
— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017
What special considerations do you need to make when considering specific target customers or countries?
@GlobalChamber @Casandra_Camp It varies massively, particularly in social. China (WeChat) vs USA (Facebook) #TradeElite
— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber Preferred payments, these differ to great degree cross-border #TradeElite
— Thrive Digital (@Thrive_Digi) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber A7 In many cases it will vary country to country. Different acquisition channels have different adoption rates across the globe. #TradeElite
— Casandra Campbell (@Casandra_Camp) April 13, 2017
Anything else important you want to share?
A8: Partnering with bloggers & influencers in my target market is one of the most effective & economical ways to promote. #TradeElite
— Melody McKinnon (@MelodyMcKinnon) April 13, 2017
@GlobalChamber #TradeElite we have had the most success from improving existing eCommerce sites, re-platforming is a painful process that is expensive.
— Isaiah Bollinger (@IsaiahBollinger) April 13, 2017
Read the rest of the chat and follow future discussions by following the #TradeElite hashtag. Stay tuned for the next #TradeElite chat, coming up Thursday, May 11 from 2:30-3:30PM ET.
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