More and more small and medium-sized companies decide to take the task of venturing into the online market, consolidating electronic commerce as an equally viable option than real trade, especially if we speak in local terms in which simple deliveries can be made and factors such as tariffs, customs or legal procedures do not interfere.
But what if a ecommerce SME seeks to internationalize? The truth is that in terms of exports, SMEs that rely mostly on e-commerce are a long way from catching up with traditional sales exports.
What factors should we take into account if we seek to internationalize? We can start by talking about the language barrier. If we offer our online store only a Spanish version, the safest thing is that our foreign customers come mostly from Latin America, thus incurring much more extensive operational expenses such as shipping and customs.
If what we are looking for is to reduce these types of factors, it is best to focus on customers around the EU, having then that we must offer a multilanguage platform. If possible we should include as many languages as possible, but we can start by focusing on the most widely spoken languages, these being German, English and French.
Another factor to take into account is to be able to assure our clients that we have the ability to deliver correct and on time. We must look for a reliable logistics company in which we have to place our total trust. Most international logistics companies offer tracking, dispute resolution, and even claims services. It is worth including insurance against accidents and losses, both for our protection and that of our client.
Now that you know the main aspects necessary to internationalize, It is time for you to evaluate your business and make the necessary changes to achieve your goals.