Expand Your Reach – Tips for Selling Online Internationally

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
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Selling internationally literally opens a world of opportunity for growing your business. If you are going to sell internationally, there are several things you should consider.

First, enable a currency converter. International shoppers want to shop in their own currency. Make sure your shopping cart application is updating currency values at least once per day. Seeing the products in their own currency will assure international shoppers you cater to them and are capable of getting the products to them. In Nexternal, The XE Currency Converter is located in Settings/Compatible software.

Also consider shipping costs – check the international shipping rates with all of the shipping carriers and use the carrier that quotes you the best rates. USPS typically offers the most competitive rates for international shipments, but tracking can sometimes be an issue. If tracking (or lack there of) becomes a burden for certain delivery countries, it may be worth it for you to offer another carrier’s methods for that country even if the cost is more.

Once you decide to ship internationally, you need to make sure that your store is visible from the countries to which you’d like to ship, and that international customers are visiting your site. Ensure that your Google AdWords and other online marketing channel campaigns are set to display in countries other than the US. Also adjust your campaign scheduling preferences, since international shoppers are in different time zones.

Finally, get smart about spotting fraud. The international fraud rate is typically twice that of orders placed domestically. Here are some things to watch for – first, make sure the IP address from which the order was placed matches that of the billing and shipping countries. Second, if someone orders several of the same product, that is a red flag. Third, if the same person in a foreign country places multiple orders with you within a short time span, that is suspect. Finally, if multiple orders are placed from the same IP Address but with different customer names, this is a huge red flag. It is likely someone with a list of fraudulent credit cards is looking to take advantage of you.

In Nexternal you can control visibility of your store from other countries, as well as your fraud detection and action settings, in Settings/Anti-fraud and Security.

Selling online internationally can significantly improve your growth potential. It’s never too late to open to new markets.

Coming from a medical and non-profit management background, Taryn has extensive experience in customer service and marketing. She is a Senior Account Manager for Nexternal and loves working with her clients to develop social media and marketing strategies to improve their online presence. In her spare time, she also runs a successful eCommerce jewelry and essential oils business.