Think about it. Are you planning to engage in "eCommerce" to get your business online? So you have to learn a new set of business rules, a new way of doing things because online business is "different", right?
Well, actually, no, not really. You still have a storefront (your website) and you still need customers to visit your store to buy whatever you're selling.
The only major difference is that (continuing the analogy) your local storefront can only be seen by a small group of people, while your online store can be seen by the whole world. You can take your business "global" by engaging in e-commerce.
For many businesses, this is indeed an advantage that represents a great opportunity.
However, this is not the case for everyone, especially for companies that sell a physical, tangible product. Therefore, when planning your internet connection, you should spend some time thinking about your product and who exactly your target market is, as this will be a major factor in deciding whether your business is a success or a failure.
What is it that you plan to sell on your eCommerce enabled site, and who will want to buy it? Some products, by their very nature, will not be entirely suitable for the global market. For example, pork-based food products will not be popular in Muslim countries, as well as wine, whiskey or beer. Selling open-toed sandals can be disappointing in Iceland, Greenland and the frozen Arctic.
Second, think very carefully about how you will get your product to the customer. For example, if you were to manufacture laser toner cartridges in Asia (as one of my client companies does), there is absolutely no point in trying to sell one or two cartridges at a time to a customer in the US, due to the cost of shipping.
So if your product is bulky or heavy, selling outside your country may not be practical.
In addition, you must consider that while most countries use the same Standard International Trade Classification codes to decide how much import duty to impose on a particular product, the actual duty to be paid varies from country to country and so on. Variations can (and will) lead to disputes. Again, using the example of my client, they sold a shipment of toner cartridges to a customer in Finland who was detained at customs for several weeks upon arrival in Helsinki due to a dispute over import duty to be paid.
Although it was not the fault of my client or his customer, the result was an unsatisfied customer who obviously did not become a regular customer.
Similarly, if you plan to sell a service online, can the service be provided outside your area in such a way that you still make money? Do you need one of your own employees to actually work with the customer (in which case you need to stay local), or can the work be easily outsourced on a global basis? Would it be easy to find such a local subcontractor capable of delivering the service you are advertising to the satisfaction of both you and the customer? How much would such a subcontractor cost?
If you don't get positive answers to all of these questions, it may again pay off to keep your services local rather than expanding your reach to become a global player.
You must be logged in to post a comment.