How to identifying International Markets for any Ecommerce Business ?

With India slowly advancing digitally, different sectors of businesses have experienced a major shoot-up in the development, especially online shopping. Not so long ago, would anybody have thought that selling online can have such a huge scope! Thanks to technology, even an individual living in a small city can now start a business of his/her own with just a basic investment & internet and reach the global customer.

This has created a lot of competition in the local market, thus saturating the market and compelling the sellers to look for other options to reach the potential customers. One of the best ways to boost your sales is to reach international customers. Local handmade crafts, apparels, antique goods, handmade jewelry from India have great demand in abroad. Since many Indian sellers are less exposed to the overseas market, it is the right time to test your luck in the international marketplace. But before diving into the international market you have to be well prepared for the pros and cons of it.

Entering the international market is not rocket science, as some of the e-commerce marketplace giants have made it simple by creating an opportunity for foreign sellers to open their store-front and sell to the customers. This is the safest way to step into the international market as it is an established brand name which in turn makes the customers to trust your brand as well. You need to be prepared beforehand on the things which have to be considered while you do cross-border sales.

Below are a few points which can help you in it.

1. Get Insight of the market

Market research is the first step in expanding your business internationally. It’s important to understand what’s hot in the market and if the products which you want to sell meets the expectation of the customers abroad. Analyze if your products have the international scope or they are limited to the local market, understand the sales trend in that country for the Indian products. Look out for the performance of similar products like yours, to get an insight of the products potential in the international market. Check if you need to change your business strategies w.r.t the country where you want to sell.

2. Understand your prospect customers: Firstly, you need to understand who your prospect customers are, will they buy your products? which demographics of people will buy your products? What is their buying behavior? You can also think of your prospects from their age, geography, income, occupation etc., With this data it is easy to analyze how your products will perform for different pricing for different target audience. Since you are shipping from India, you will not be able to provide COD option hence think on the payment gateway which you will be providing to your customers.

3. Study the Laws of the target country: When you are selling your products to the international customers, you need to comply with the rules of the country in which you are serving. Get to know more about the rules and regulations involved in import-export of the goods for that particular country. Check if the products which you sell are not prohibited and meets the rules of the other country. Ensure that you choose an international marketplace which is easier for you to ship your products in lesser time. Also, check for the rules involved in marketing your product as the advertising rules vary from country to country.

4. Gather data on your competitors: Analyze your competitors to have a better understanding on what products they sell, who are their customers, what reviews have they written about the product and services, what are their product pricing, are they driving enough customers to their store, check the social media comments about the products. This will give you a clear picture of what your product’s performance might be when you launch your business in the international market.

If you already have a website then you can make it user-friendly for your custom audience based on their location i.e you can translate the text in your website to the regional language. If you are planning to sell on a marketplace then here are the top international marketplaces where you can sell your products online from India:

1.Amazon

2.eBay

3.Etsy

4.Alibaba

5.Rakuten

6.Newegg

7.Zibbet

With all these analyses if you feel your business has enough potential customers in the international market who can keep your business running then, go ahead and try your luck. Having a presence in the international market will definitely bring success to your business. But make sure you are absolutely prepared for the best and the worst before you take the next step.