E-commerce and multi-lingual sites. The first digital instrument to sell online abroad is still a multilingual e-commerce (or other similar platform): it will be essential not only to focus on high quality translations, but above all to provide for an overall adaptation of the site capable of reflecting the culture, values and identity of the destination countries, starting from the most common formats, but also from a design point of view, writing systems and finally the content.
Despite the encouraging data, there are still many small and medium-sized enterprises that do not have an online store that is sufficiently competitive to sell abroad: according to Sace Simest data, up until two years ago, most companies focused on offline exports, i.e. a network consisting for the most part of importers, distributors and physical spaces or points of sale.
A professional website with well-optimized content allows you to improve online visibility significantly and open up new opportunities on a global scale.
However, it is not enough to rely only on a simple online catalog to sell abroad. It will be necessary to manage your presence on the web better in order to make your commercial offer more usable, attractive and competitive in all languages in order to create value for potential customers in new markets and highlight the strengths of their business.
Marketplace. Proper mapping of the most popular marketplaces in the reference market is essential to be able to manage international shipments effectively and sell abroad. Third-party portals are a valid support for B2B, indispensable for identifying and reaching your target more easily and being visible internationally.
Being present on the main marketplace platforms means being able to develop trade exchanges more easily, becoming part of a very extensive business network where communicating and getting in touch with potential buyers becomes easier.
Social Selling. Targeted and geo-localized social media campaigns are the best choice for creating advertisements aimed at a profiled target and making yourself known to potential customers in foreign countries: Linkedin is the B2B channel par excellence, ideal for intercepting companies and professionals, while Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) represents the most suitable showcase to directly reach target consumers, also for campaigns and commercial operations that aim to increase brand recognition in that market.
Creating social campaigns can also be a concrete help to build a database of contacts of foreign customers with which to start a marketing strategy: correct planning of newsletters and DEM (Direct Email Marketing) for example is essential to reach your target in a way direct and make online business more productive.
Dropshipping. To better manage the part related to logistics, more and more companies rely on dropshipping, a digital tool for selling abroad without resorting to warehouse stocks.
The worldwide dropshipping market reached $128.6 billion in 2020 and is expected to exceed $476 billion by 2026: relying on established suppliers that outsource international shipping and logistics allows you to sell your products all over the world without having to buy goods in advance or manage the bureaucratic part of shipments, regardless of the size of your business.
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