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How to Grow and Optimize Your
eCommerce Business in 2024

There has never been a better time for established eCommerce businesses to expand globally. Through this guide,you'll overcome major hurdles and give your brand the best possible platform for success,anywhere in the world.

Intro

No business model is more naturally adapted for international expansion than eCommerce. While entering new global
markets isn't straightforward,the digital nature of selling has made it very accessible.
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The challenges in scaling an eCommerce businessare no joke. By 2022,global eCommerce salesare set to climb from $4.28trn (in 2020) to $5.4trn - that's more than a 25% and a trillion dollars rise in just two years. It's a thriving,competitive landscape. And while we can't predict the future of eCommerce,we can say with confidence that the boom isn't going anywhere soon.

Following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic,global industries are ripe for a shake up. The world is waking up to the idea that Amazon's dominance might not be such a good thing - in every region of the world,customers are ready for new,exciting eCommerce businesses to enter the fray. We are experiencing a spending boom and if you've been considering the leap to globalization,now is the perfect time.

This guide looks at the most fundamental areas you need to focus tosuccessfully transition to a global eCommerce business. From tested growth marketing principles to improving your tech foundation,optimizing fraud prevention and managing payments & conversions in any country,we'll show you the way.

 

Marketing Strategies to Drive Strong Sales

Marketing Strategies to Drive Serious Sales

Scaling your eCommerce business requires finely-honed,well-executed marketing. To enter diverse markets and access bigger audiences,you'll need to leverage a variety of methods - global companies cannot tie themselves down with a single strategy. Each approach has its own strengths,weaknesses,costs,returns and timeframes.

Most marketing strategies operate in real-time. Over the course of an ad campaign,for example,you're constantly optimizing for the best results. Once the campaign subsides,the results disappear. But SEO and content-based marketing are different. These are long-game strategies that require ongoing work to make an impact - but the return is well worth the effort.

If you're looking to expand and grow,you need to become a master of eCommerce marketing. Before sending any customers to your website,it's time to make sure it's doing as much work for you as possible.

Make Your Website an Organic Search Powerhouse

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Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is the practice of making your website as visible and useful to your target customers as possible. For sophisticated search engines (namely Google) the general idea is that better SEO =higher ranking in searches.

Note:If you hear that web pages must be "built for Google,not humans" - that is nonsense. You must establish your website as trustworthy,valuable and reliable for human consumers. Only then will Google rank your site highly.

While paid advertising and social media are staples of any large-scale marketing directive,every eCommerce site should strive for world-class SEO. The more you do,the higher volume and quality of traffic you'll enjoy in the long run,without "pay per lead" costs or anything like it.

Step 01:Audit

SEO eCommerce site auditsshould occur regularly. The goal of an SEO audit is to evaluate the current performance and health of your entire platformand then make precise suggestions for improvement.

Search engines are the gatekeepers to organic traffic,and audits are "the bribe" so they always lets you in first.

Professional auditing spans:

Thorough auditing means eliminating website errors before they surface and keeping your platform on solid ground through the constant upheaval of algorithm updates.

Step 02:Optimization

The twin sister of auditing is optimization,which encompasses the actions that drive meaningful change to your website visibility and search rankings.

With the incredible suites of optimization tools availabletoday,your company can make massive gains in ranking without hiring expensive third party agencies.

You can use these tools to:

  • Identify keywords and content ideas
  • Perform SEO analysis
  • Uncover competitor insights
  • Conduct technical SEO
  • Create a content calendar for eCommerce

Ongoing optimization will give your website the best possible foundation for massive organic reach;from there,it's all about content.

Step 03:Content

Developing a coherent content strategy for eCommerceis one of the most effective ways to stay top of mind and drive sales over the long term.

Content marketing drives lead generation and client retentionby providing exceptionally relevant,timely and free value to your prospects and clients.

Your content answers pressing questions and solves problems-and that's where the increased traffic comes from. Over time,brilliant content compounds,attracting more and more traffic.

Your fully-optimized website then works hard to convert a portion of those visitors into paying customers. Those who don't become customers simply know you as an extremely valuable resource,and that's never a bad thing!

Establishing authority in search engines can have a transformative effect on revenue and growth - but more than any other aspect of marketing,it takes time. You can accelerate that success (by nailing your content ideas for eCommerce and publishing regularly!) but try to stay patient and wait for the results to come - because they will.

However,if you're ready for instant hits,say hello to the world of paid advertising.

How to Build a Successful eCommerce Advertising Strategy

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How to Build a Successful eCommerce Advertising Strategy
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eCommerce paid advertising is a way to sell your product and solutions with surgical precision. You can directly correlate ad spend with revenue generated and double down on what's working,or reallocate what isn't. With good preparation,there's no ceiling limiting your success.

Building a solid paid eCommerce strategyis a serious undertaking,but it's not as complicated as internet gurus would have you believe. You just need a plan,some patience,and a budget - and we've started the plan for you with four eCommerce advertising tips.

Set relevant and measurable campaign goals

Without specific goals,you can't know how successful your campaigns are - and you should always aim to improve your campaigns to their absolute limit.

Throughout all strategic planning and execution,from copy to optimization,you can constantly ask,"Does this help us meet our goal?" and "Is this the best way to achieve our goal?". This is powerful for keeping team members,ideas,schedules,and decisions well directed.

Find the people that need your product

"Everyone" is not a potential customer. Advertising your eCommerce site successfully means understanding your audience and building your concepts,messaging,and designs around them. It also means accepting that some potential buyers will be ignored. When you advertise to everyone,you advertise to no one.

Historic purchase data and interactions with existing customers (e.g. through surveys) are excellent ways to collect data for building a clear image of your target customer.

Look for the right advertising channel

While there are many types of advertising,virtually all eCommerce businesses advertise on Google,Facebook and Instagram,among a smattering of others. That's because the entire world is active there. Love them or hate them,you'll want to use them.

On all these platforms you can target that highly-specific,high purchase intent persona you just created. You can also leverage different ad formats (text,images,videos),introduce retargeting to your funnel,and run ad variants simultaneously.

A meticulous and robust funnel

Your ads don't exist in a vacuum,they must be part of a well-designed funnel. Spending all your energy on ads runs the risk of impressive click-through rates ... and close to zero on purchases. All ads should be funneled into bespoke landing pages - never your homepage.

Your most effective ads target highly specific,known problems and desires;it's this laser-focused specificity that gets the clicks. You mustlink the ad to an equally specific,tailored landing page,one that builds on the promise of the ad. Your landing pages,CTAs,and follow-ups must all resonate with the initial advert.

Using Social Media to Boost Long and Short-Term Sales

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The impact of social media on eCommerce has been profound,with the two becoming permanently intertwined. The role of social media in eCommerce is twofold:once you know who you're marketing to and which platforms they use,you can fill up your pipeline with leads using both paid and organic social media strategies.

Paid Social

The major benefit of social media advertising is precision:you can put your ads in front of the exact persona you know is most likely to buy.

When content,audience,and offer align well,you can get tremendous results,and not just through online sales. Brands use paid social to:

  • Spread awareness about new products,offers,or company updates
  • Increase post engagement and/or follower count
  • Increase overall traffic to your online store
  • Promote a specific product,catalog,or event (like a sale)
  • Bring potential customers in-store
  • Make direct sales through social commerce

eCommerce social media campaigns are about the short-term:it's generating huge interest and driving it to a specific product or service. And it can be massively profitable.

Organic Social

Where social advertising is fast and invasive,building an organic following is slow and passive.

Your success with organic social media is measured on two dimensions:

  • Engagement- Your focus should be on creating relevant,valuable content for followers to consume. Measure engagement by interaction:every time an individual interacts with you on social media,overall awareness of your brand increases.
  • Followers- You want followers,but not just any followers. It's better to have a smaller number that perfectly fit your target audience (i.e. who are actually likely to purchase!) than a million irrelevant likers.

Just like content marketing,an eCommerce social media strategy is slow to get moving. But like an avalanche it gains momentum. The more engaged followers you have,the faster your community grows.

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Tools to elevate your social media game

Today there are a hundreds and hundreds of social media tools out there. To save your team time and stress,we've curated and ranked the 14 most impactful tools for nailing your social media strategy.

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Check out the Best Tools to elevate your social media game

Everything we've covered so far - content marketing,online advertising and social media - are considered "gold-standard" marketing practices. But eCommerce can leverage additional firepower that isn't available for all types of business.

Create Revenue with Affiliate and Influencer Marketing

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Create Revenue with Affiliate and Influencer Marketing
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In marketing,the perfect scenario is a campaign with high returns that requires minimal resources or time investment. If executed correctly,eCommerce businesses have two such marketing tools at their disposal:affiliate and influencer marketing.

Affiliate Marketing

What?

What eCommerce affiliate marketingdoes is leverage highly engaged and specific audiences to sell your products. It's a fairly passive and incredibly low-risk revenue opportunity that's very popular in eCommerce.

How?

You partner with either an individual or a business via an eCommerce affiliate programto access their ultra-relevant following. You agree commission terms (i.e. for every sale,they get x% of the pie) and smart product links track attribution so you know exactly how many products they've sold.

Why?

Because it works. Ecommerce affiliate offers account for 16% of all eCommerce salesin the US and Canada. Successful partnerships benefit all parties (affiliates,customers,and you) and your company only pays commission when products are sold - hence it's low risk.

Where?

The most popular affiliates are those with successful blogs,large email lists,social media followings (like Instagram or YouTube,though this strays into influencer territory) and coupon platforms.

Influencer Marketing

What?

An influencer marketing strategyinvolves engaging popular personalities to promote your product or service. It has become one of the dominant forces in online marketing in recent years,providing lucrative opportunities for retailers and influencers alike.

How?

Most influencer campaigns are formal,contractual agreements. You build relationships with specific influencers in order to access primed,curated audiences who are a great match for your product. Usually the influencer handles all the creative work.

Why?

The audience implicitly trusts the influencer:their recommendation carries as much weight as friends and family. It is a proven technique for increasing eCommerce sales and there's no hard ceiling to a campaign's success.

Where?

You'll find influencers anywhere there's a "stage",though social media is by far the most popular. Types of influencer marketing campaigns can include discount codes,giveaways,social media "takeovers",product collaborations,and more.

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Check out some of the hottest virtual eCommerce events of the moment - many of which are free to join!

The landscape for eCommerce is always shifting. The most effective tactics today might be superseded in 5 years' time. To remain on the edge of eCommerce innovation,we strongly recommend attending major eCommerce events. Virtual conferences have blown up since the pandemic and made the industry's brightest ideas and most forward-thinking minds more accessible than ever.

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Learn About Fraud Trends

Leverage Marketing Automation for Your eCommerce Business

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With marketing automation,impactful messages can be created based on an individual's recent activity. For example,it allows you to trigger emails after cart abandonment or segment your audience to engage your most probable buyers. Despite its simplicity,marketing automation can provide an enormous ROI in the right circumstances.

By targeting each of your customers in their exact stage in the buyer's journey,you can send relevant messages that increase conversions across the board. Start with some clear objectives and track the progress to make sure you act in time on potential issues or revenue leakages.

Make sure to choose a marketing automation platformthat fits your eCommerce needs and the needs of your clients.

Leveling Up Your eCommerce Technology Stack

Leveling Up Your eCommerce Technology Stack

All successful eCommerce businesses are underpinned by fantastic technology. Your technology is critical to the entire shopping process,from finding your products to processing the cash.

Regularly auditing and improving your technology stack is a core part of any eCommerce growth strategy. Let's take a look at where eCommerce businesses can make the most impactful changes.

Choose the Right Digital Commerce Platform

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Choose the Right Digital Commerce Platform
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Your digital commerce platformis the core technology that allows your customers to buy products and services online. It holds the key to payments,subscription management,eCommerce,marketing-the works. If you currently use disparate systems for these capabilities,they can be integrated together;if not,off-the-shelf systems can provide all of these solutions together.

We've highlighted four key areas to consider when auditing your existing eCommerce platform ,or investigating a replacement.

Payment Processing

To be able to accept payments online,a merchant needs to work with middle partners,who provide the technological side of the transaction and connect to the shopper's financial institution to clear the payment. This is usually handled by the merchant's payment processor.

There are two main payment models:the "Merchant of Record" model and "Payment Service Provider" (Payment Facilitator Model). Your ability to serve local entities,access payment methods,manage local taxes and regulations,control conversion rates and authorization rates all depends on your payment model.

Flexibility

You have a solid strategy in place for buying and selling products today - but what if your model changes? Working with a vendor which can support these kinds of changes is crucial;restarting from scratch is likely to be slow,painful,and expensive.

Reputation

Digital commerce platforms don't garner reputations from nowhere:a longstanding,robust,and respected platform is one you can get behind. Entrusting the bedrock of your sales to an untested or dubious provider would be a huge risk.

Cost of Ownership

Vendors will provide a useful quote for their services-but there are always more fees. Payment charges (like exchange,chargeback and refund fees) as well as costs associated with setup and management of your solution,all add over time. Make sure you have total transparency over potential lifetime costs.

Supercharge Your Website's Engine-Faster Loading,Bigger Sales

Slow website loading speed is one of the primary drivers of cart abandonment,high bounce rates,and low search rankings.
Fortunately there is corrective action you can take to speed up your eCommerce website. These include:
Supercharge Your Website's Engine-Faster Loading,Bigger Sales
Audit your site
Audit your site
Regular performance audits highlight exactly what's broken or slowing down your site,plus actionable tips for improvement. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insightscan be helpful.
File management
File management
Optimizing media files (compression and deletion of unused content) as well as implementing browser caching can save seconds of your site's loading times.
Assess hosting
Assess hosting
While more expensive,dedicated hosting allows your company to utilize private servers without the risk of sharing (and over-extending) resources.
Limit redirects
Limit redirects
Redirects are an inefficient means of ferrying users around your site. Identify them,reduce redirect "chains" and eliminate extinct pages.

Use Technology to Unlock Great Global Customer Experience

Localizing your business across the world is an essential task for any fast-growing eCommerce - it's the difference between entering new markets and thriving in them. For most markets in which you're selling,there are a few tips you can follow to recreate the quality of customer experience you have at home.
Use Technology to Unlock Great Global Customer Experience
Use GeoIP detection
Use GeoIP detection
to get your site visitor's location based on their IP address. You can then direct them to the appropriate localized version of the site,which is proven to improve conversions.
Engage a payment partner
Engage a payment partner
that can speak everyone's "language",no matter what country the transaction originates in. This should also minimize security and authorization risks,which also vary by region.
Customize cart templates and purchase flows
Customize cart templates and purchase flows
How you present information and processes has different effects in different areas. Consult an expert and create custom flows for each region.
Use adaptive pricing
Use adaptive pricing
to make sure you're offering region-accurate pricing at all times. This includes both currency and price presentation:for example,using commas vs full stops in Europe.

At the end of the day,as long as your company maintains technology that impresses the customer and allows the
business to keep growing,you'll be a global local in no time.

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2Checkout can help you tackle the complexities of digital commerce,globally. Our commerce capabilities include high-performing,localized shopping carts,and a device-agnostic experience.
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2Checkout can help you tackle the complexities of digital commerce,globally

Fraud Prevention and Revenue Optimization

Fraud Prevention and Revenue Optimization
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New Sellers Are The Most At Risk
New Sellers Are The Most At Risk
It is estimated that "card not present" transactions account for 60-70% of all fraud in developed countries. You must invest time in preparing adequate protections for you and your customers.
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Payment fraud affects more than 80% of organizationsand eCommerce businesses are the most at risk. Learning to optimize fraud preventionis crucial for all eCommerce businesses that plan on growing anytime soon.

  • Clean Fraud- Criminals convince merchants they are making legitimate transactions,but are in fact using illegally-obtained personal information. For example,fraudulent chargebacks.
  • Phishing/Pharming/Whaling- These 3 methods are similar in execution. Fraudsters attempt to trick consumers with valid-looking email messages and webpages. They are designed to obtain personal information for use in clean fraud.

While the number and effectiveness of fraud prevention tools are always increasing,merchants still face significant challenges. Identifying and responding to fraud requires time and resources-even more so as remote working (and therefore online activity) has become more prevalent.

Manage False and Fraudulent Chargebacks

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Manage False and Fraudulent Chargebacks
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A chargeback is a transaction where funds are pulled from a merchant back to a customer,triggered by an issuing bank. This usually happens when a customer contacts the bank to raise a dispute about a specific purchase.

A fraudulent chargebackoccurs when purchases using illegally-obtained payment methods are approved. In this case the dispute is made by the legal cardholder. Fortunately,the majority of chargebacks are friendly. These are made by real customers who,for various reasons,contact the bank rather than trying to obtain a refund directly from the merchant.

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Want to better understand chargebacks? This eBook will guide you through the chargeback process,helping you understand chargebacks,why they occur and how to minimize them.
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Understanding Chargebacks and How to Avoid Them

There are a variety of tools and protocols we recommend to help eCommerce businesses manage chargeback fraud.

Address Verification Service
Address Verification Service
AVSis a transaction security measure established by Visa,Mastercard and American Express that's used to help merchants prevent fraud. It's a clever address verification tool that can identify (and halt) attempted fraud mid-transaction.
PSD2
PSD2
Payment Service Directive 2 is a set of laws for payment services in Europe,designed to limit fraud. By employing a two-factor authentication system,card details alone become insufficient for completing a transaction. Fraudsters would typically also need access to your phone or email address.
3D Secure 2.0
3D Secure 2.0
This is an updated version of 3D Secure,a tool that allows merchants to verify transactions with the cardholder's issuing bank. It often requires additional verification from the cardholder to execute a purchase.
Prevention via Customer Service
Prevention via Customer Service
This one is a little less-tangible,but hear us out. Chargebacks occur because customers are turning to the bank,not the seller. Usually this is because customers believe it's too hard or complicated to contact you directly. Making your customer service team available and approachable should,over time,reduce chargebacks and their associated fees.
WEBINAR
Want to dive deep into fraud prevention?

Make sure you watch our webinar to learn about fraud trends and best practices in combating them.

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Want to dive deep into fraud prevention?

Master eCommerce Conversion Rate Optimization

Master eCommerce Conversion Rate Optimization

Having your store up and running (and protected against fraud) is one thing. Having it optimized to create as many sales as possible is a whole other-but that's exactly what we're going to show you to do. There are many specific aspects of CRO (conversion rate optimization) which will help your eCommerce business generate lucrative returns.

First thing's first,optimize your product pages for conversion. Many of these changes seem "obvious"-such as decluttering the page,using clear CTAs and increasing the number of product images-but their cumulative effect is massive. Other improvements such as integration,live chat support,and triggering positive emotions can be hugely influential in boosting conversions,but many product pages fail to capitalize on these gains.

Upselling vs. Cross-Selling

The best product pages are also further optimized by adopting influential techniques like upselling and cross-sellingto increase average order value.
What is Upselling?

What is Upselling?

Upselling is about inducing the customer to purchase a more expensiveproduct than they originally intended.

With a focus on superior product benefits,you can create the desire for a higher tier product even if the customer was initially content with a cheaper version.

Upselling is known to be incredibly effectivefor increasing revenue.

What is Cross-Selling

What is Cross-Selling?

Cross-selling is a means of increasing average order value by recommending complementaryproducts to those already in the basket.

The more data you have on the shopper,the more accurately you can recommend products. Amazon is a world-leader at this.

Personalized cross-sells can contribute as much as a quarter of revenuefrom just 7% of traffic.

Optimize Checkout and Boost Cart Conversions

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Optimize Checkout and Boost Cart Conversions
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Cart abandonmentis one of the most lucrative problems that an eCommerce can solve. You've already done 95% of the work-with a shopper getting all the way to items-in-cart-it's just hurdling that final barrier that's the problem. This is one of the most fundamental checkout page optimizations your business can make!

Here's a snapshot of our most effective tips for increasing cart conversions.

Make your website mobile-friendly
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Make your website mobile-friendly

74% of consumers are happy returning to mobile-optimized websites and almost a third of eCommerce traffic is now coming from mobile. If you haven't had a mobile-first mindset before,it is time to pivot. Otherwise,you're leaving money on the table.

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Use strong call-to-actions

Never underestimate the power of simply telling a website visitor what to do. It's natural to want to avoid "pushiness",but companies with clear,direct CTAs asking for the sale -wait for it- sell more products than those that don't.

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Enable buying without creating an account

Forcing shoppers to create an account is known to hurt conversions. A more effective solution is to only record an email address (for purchase and delivery updates) then present the chance to create an account after purchasing.

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Ditch the long forms

When the internet was more naive,lengthy forms were kind of accepted. Not anymore. We recommend testing form variations to find the optimum number of fields. This would be a form that captures as much information as possible without negatively impacting conversions.

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Allow different payment methods

Always let users choose their preferred payment method. This is especially important as you expand into foreign markets. While limited payment options is one of the leading causes of cart abandonment in eCommerce,it's also one of the easiest to address.

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Earn buyer's trust

While consumers might not be consciously aware of it,the best product pages work hard to build trust. Displaying security badges and trust seals,linking to your refund policy and stating any guarantees all help shoppers feel more safe in your store,removing doubts that can trigger cart abandonment.

Unlock the Power of Personalization

In an eCommerce context,personalization means delivering tailored content and offers. So rather than every visitor seeing the same promotions,you leverage any existing data (from cookies,past visits,demographic data etc) to create the best-fitting offer possible for that persona.
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Unlock the Power of Personalization
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And let us tell you-it can be transformative.

Using personalization to transform your eCommerce resultsis all about taking reliable,tried-and-tested advice then putting it to action. It's not a process you should rush,since irrelevant or badly-matched offers can cause churn-the exact opposite of our goals.

There are endless ways to use personalization to keep visitors coming back.

Personalization Tips & Tricks

Pop-up promotions for
targeted lead capture
Personalized cart
abandonment emails
Personalized
live chat
Delayed
pop-ups
Interactive landing
page games
Tailored
questionnaire
Personalized
scheduling
Optional landing
page videos
Keyword-driven
categories
Customizable value
proposition

Expand Globally With Purpose,Control,and Success

Expand Globally With Purpose,Control and Success

Expansion into global markets can be a recipe for tremendous success. One of the keys to selling physical and digital goods internationally is localization:tailoring the purchase journey to each specific region. Effective localization can make buyers 70% more likely to buy and makes sure you establish a strong foothold in every new region.

Consider Market Size and Popular Products

It's important to pursue the best new market,not just the biggest. China is the world's largest eCommerce market by total sales,but it ranks outside the top 10 globally for software. But if you're selling privacy software-which is a huge market in China compared to others-it might be the best choice.

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Engaging in global eCommerce while being present in local marketsisn't rocket science,you just need to follow best practices and avoid common pitfalls - your products themselves are already proven!

Adapt to Local Payment Methods and Preferences

Every country and region has different standards when it comes to payments. Most of us accept paying upfront for products as "normal" - in Brazil,however,most purchases are made in installments. More significantly,the prevalence of payment providers varies wildly and it's easy to lose out on revenue by failing to deploy locally-favored methods.

Explore Other Regional Strategies

This is the nitty-gritty stuff:buyer preferences and buying culture vary wildly across the world. Everything from product packaging and website layout to the length of form needed to register an account matters - there are accepted standards in every country and adapting to these will drive conversions upwards.

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Engaging in global eCommerce

Sell More with Smart Payment Tools

Intelligent payment routing is your payment provider's capability of working with multiple payment service processors in order to use the most relevant one for a single transaction. In our own testing,intelligent routing was found to have a 89% success rate comp ared to just 70% using standard methods.

Make the Most of Indirect Channels Around the World

One of the keys to successfully penetrating global markets is bringing in resellers,distributors,e-resellers,VARs and affiliates to sell on your behalf. Each of these has benefits and drawbacks,but leveraged correctly they can all drive increased profits with minimal labor on your end.

Celebrate Locally

Launching a huge promotion for Single's Day (November 11th) would certainly flop in the USA,but in China it's one of the biggest "unofficial holidays" and major shopping seasons of the year. Few events are truly global:building campaigns around local celebrations will play a key role in your strategy.

Get the Basics Right,Wherever You Go

As always,you need to walk before you can run. Build your foundations on the less sexy essentials. Providing localized customer supportis a must to keep customers happy in local markets,as is complying with local regulations regarding sales taxes,refunds,privacy and customer communication.

COUNTRY GUIDES
A masterclass in breaking into new global markets.

As a facilitator of global eCommerce,we've learned a thing or two over the years.

Our Country Guides provide actionable advice,unique insights and localized best practices for entering new markets across the world. Download the relevant country guide and give your eCommerce a leg up over the competition.

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A masterclass in breaking into new global markets

Delight Your Existing Customers to Drive Sales

Delight Your Existing Customers to Drive Sales

Fantastic customer service has become a revenue generator for eCommerce businesses,especially during their growth process. At the heart of great customer service is a simple goal:create remarkable experiences for customers. Whether that's handling a return,answering a question,dealing with a dispute-if handled well,these can all lead to delighted customers.

And delighted customers are the kind that spend money in your store.

Five rapid-fire tips for effective customer success

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The actual deployment of customer support varies wildly by industry. However,there are a few universal best practices for customer successthat we've seen work across hundreds of companies.
The actual deployment of customer support
Choose metrics carefully
Choose metrics carefully
First define what success means for your business. Some traditional metrics to follow are lifetime value of your customers,customer retention rates,Customer Satisfaction Score,Churn rate,and NPS scores.
Get personal
Get personal
Getting personal is one of the most effective methods of persuasion in the industry today.

Reminding customers of what they've achieved and setting milestones in their use of your products encourages them to keep learning.

Build a community and help center
Build a community and help center
Customer communities are forums or groups where common problems are solved,questions are answered,and resources are shared. It can alleviate the burden of live support and help customers get their answers even faster.
Be Proactive
Be proactive
Customer support is historically about responding to problems. For customer success,you don't need to hang around!

Check-in with customers periodically. Ask if the product is doing its job,how they're doing,and if there's any way you can improve your service to them. This makes customers feel engaged and lets you easily identify issues.

Put existing customers in the spotlight
Put existing customers in the spotlight
Every eCommerce should be leveraging its happiest customers.

Case studies and reviews are exceptionally powerful ways to validate your products. With their permission,try to promote existing or past customers' comments as much as possible-especially on product pages and at checkout.

The Most Ridiculously Powerful Sales Tool Ever - And It's Totally Free?

Online customer reviewsare really the ultimate eCommerce salesperson. Because what's the first thing most of us do when considering a product? We look up reviews. They are the gold standard of social proof and if you're not leveraging them,you are leaving money on the table.
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Intro Image
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Are reviews really so important?

In 2020,nine out of tenonline buyers consulted reviews before making a purchase. They are the new word of mouth. And when confronted with an attractive product and zero reviews,our first instinct is to ask,"What's wrong with it?"

So in a word,yes.

How online reviews increase sales

Increased trust with shoppers
Increased trust with shoppers

Today's customers expect to see reviews. Of course a range of descriptive positive reviews is essential (5-star reviews with no text,or extremely vague text,do not work) but seeing good responses to negative reviews actually increases trust in your brand. So don't try to hide the bad reviews:just resolve them cleanly and positively-it all helps form that crucial trust.

Better SEO and search traffic
Better SEO and search traffic

If your reviews are structured appropriately in HTML,Google can pull out and feature specific reviews from your website (say for a product search) and display them prominently in its search results. Having a spectrum of reviews on third-party platforms can also increase SEO.

More effective campaigns
More effective campaigns

Customer reviews and testimonials are the #1 source of ultra-relevant,high-converting data for marketers. By collecting and analyzing these reviews internally,you can create ads and landing pages which are extremely likely to convert. Reviews can even be leveraged by posting them at various points along your funnel!

And the simplest way to acquire these disproportionately powerful reviews? Ask your customers!There are ways to improve your odds,but most companies simply never ask the question in the first place.

It's also crucial to get your reviews in the right place. For example,loads of reviews on your homepage is great... but only 20% of customers trust on-site reviews. However,76% of customersbelieve Google reviews-so consider asking customers to review specifically through Google.

On average,reviews produce an 18% uplift in sales. If you're not leveraging reviews already,what are you waiting for?

Conclusion

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Conclusion Image
REPER

The journey of scaling your eCommerce businessis a challenging one,but hopefully we've demonstrated how many of the biggest hurdles can be met and overcome. You now understand how to market your business on a global scale,how to protect against fraud,master localization and optimize every product page for maximum sales.

Our goal with this guide is to help established eCommerce businesses reach that next level;to unlock massive growth and accelerate online sales. Apply everything you learned here and go make it happen.

Need some additional help along the way? There are options for support from
leading platforms like 2Checkout.
If you'd like to know more about how you can optimize your online sales,try a free accountwith us;our full monetization capabilities could provide the extra boost you need.
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