Practical Global Online Retailing | The IORMA Guide to the practicalities of selling products Online to Global Consumers

Practical Global Online Retailing
The IORMA Guide to the practicalities of selling products Online to Global Consumers

Introduction

Before considering a web site and all the exciting, challenging “gee-whiz” aspects of technology, basic headline fundamentals of selling goods to consumers globally should first be considered:

Products

Have you got products to sell which will appeal to consumers

Can the consumer obtain those goods just as easily locally at a store or through established major domestic or international online or multi-channel/Omni-Channel retailers who already have a known and trusted brand

Can these same goods be obtained by the consumer elsewhere at cheaper prices, with or without International Delivery charges and any duties

Do you actually make the products and have them in stock

Do you buy the products from a manufacturer or wholesaler

Does the manufacturer/brand/wholesaler control what goods can be sold in what country and at what price. Do existing country specific distribution agreements already exist in given countries/regions for the sale of a manufacturers branded goods

Are there any country/regional restrictions on the sale of certain types of goods (e.g. Electrical goods, Chocolate Liqueurs can contain alcohol … some countries do not permit the sale or import of any form of alcohol to consumers)

Marketing

Are you very clear about the messaging that needs to be conveyed to interest those consumers in buying your products … messaging which has to be conveyed to global consumers of widely varying backgrounds, ages, languages, cultures and interests

What methods of marketing are available to you, by all channels, online and off-line. Think not only of language, but phrasing, terminology and spelling too

Think about your product descriptions e.g. American’s don’t buy “Jumpers” they buy “Sweaters”, Americans don’t buy “Trousers”, they buy “Pants”, American’s don’t choose “Colours” they choose “Colors” … etc., etc. etc.

Payments

What payment methods can you offer, with whom and in what currencies

Cash on Delivery is commonplace in many countries

What fraud checking procedures do you have in place or can be offered by your payment provider

Consider the impact of “chargebacks” where the customer (or alleged customer) can obtain a refund of their whole payment (including any delivery charges) from the payment provider who in turn then will re-charge the whole payment to you even if the goods have not been returned to you

Logistics

Consider carefully the range of carriers which can provide real global delivery

The cheapest carrier may not always be the best (Parcel Tracking and Proof of Delivery can be very important)

Does the global carrier sub-contract to another carrier to complete delivery in a given country/region

Cash on Delivery can be the normal method of payment in a number of countries globally; can the carrier offer these services and when and how do you actually receive the funds

Does the carrier have any restrictions on the types of products or “packed” dimensions and “packed” weights of products that they will deliver to different countries

What documentation does the carrier require to go with any packets or parcels

What return address do you quote in case the parcel cannot be delivered to the customers designated address

What procedures does the carrier apply for any goods that they are unable to successfully deliver

Returns

Consider what arrangements and policies you wish to offer customers who may wish to return products

Decide what address you wish customers to use when sending any returns

Does the customer need to contact you for you to establish why they wish to return their goods

How should customers return goods and who pays the carriage for those returns (the customer or you)

Consider what procedures will apply for refunding the customer payment for any returns (the cost of the returned goods themselves which the customer has already paid for, and the carriage charges the customer may have to pay for, unless you pay the return charge or provide free return labels)

Damaged Goods/Faulty Goods/Goods not received

Question 1 … do you actually believe it if a customer tells you that the goods were received damaged, faulty or not received at all

Will you give a full refund, offer an allowance (e.g. 10% refund if partially damaged) or request the item to be returned.

Will you issue a replacement (and who pays for the replacement and its delivery)

Whose fault was it if the goods were damaged; the customers, the carrier, the manufacturers insufficient packaging, or your own insufficient packaging (e.g. for glassware)

Customer Service

What procedures have you in place for dealing with customer enquiries from around the world:

Regional time, holiday, week-end variances … almost requiring 24/7 service

e-mail, Telephone, text messaging etc. ?

Multi-lingual capability?

Data

Different countries have different regulations concerning protection of consumer data (e.g. customer names and postal addresses, e-mail addresses, etc.)

Legal

Have you taken legal advice regarding any practices, procedures and wording that you may require to trade globally

Insurance

Are you adequately insured for trading globally with consumers and for despatching goods (especially valuable goods) to different counties and regions

… and then there’s selling online, the web site, social media, search engine optimisation, online marketing etc., etc .

This initial report simply outlines some of the many practical areas to be considered with global online retailing. This report forms the first in a series of forthcoming IORMA Guides on the whole, very detailed and complex subject of selling remotely online to consumers around the world from the U.K.

IORMA has a team of specialists with vast, detailed and practical industry experience in the whole arena of global online retailing. IORMA would be pleased to assist any individual or company considering the provision of global online retailing.

For further information, please contact IORMA at:

+44 (0)207 096 1729

e: [email protected] 

w: iorma.com

Disclaimer

The information contained in this document is for information purposes only, and may not apply to your situation. The author, publisher, distributor and provider provide no warranty about the content or accuracy of content enclosed. Information provided is subjective. Please keep this in mind when reviewing this guide.

Neither the Publisher nor Author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages resulting from use of this guide. All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy, or any other implied or explicit purpose.

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