The Overseas Trip You Didn’t Expect Your Business To Make May 31, 2017My BusinessOff

Using technology in business is essential in the modern age. If you want to get anywhere, you need to get online. Taking your business online will make a huge difference to sales. Customers will find you here first, and an online shop will help even more. But, there is an unexpected setback to doing business this way – international customers. We use the term setback loosely. In a lot of ways, international customers are a goal any business wants to reach. A wider audience has got to be a good thing. But, if you weren’t expecting it, it can be a hard thing to get your head around. Here are a few ways to make your business friendly for overseas customers.

ROLL WITH IT. Your first instinct when an overseas order comes in may be to pull out. It’s not what you had planned, and it can seem like extra work. In truth, though, shipping to other countries is easier than you might think. If your business does branch out in this way, the best thing you can do is roll with it. If you have an online shop, make it clear how much extra overseas shipping will cost. That way, there won’t be any unexpected expenses for you or your customers. If everyone knows where they stand, there’s no need to worry. Outlining costs in this way may be put some customers off, and there’s nothing you can do about that. But, most people will understand the need for the extra expense. And, if they trust your product enough, they’ll be willing to pay.

COMMUNICATION IS STILL KEY. As with any customers, communication is still key. But, communicating overseas may be difficult. As well as obvious language barriers, you’ll be operating in different time zones. And, you can hardly hop on a plane if one customer needs  help. There are a few different ways to deal with this. There are many online translators who can help you communicate in any language. There are free options but bear in mind that these may jumble words and look unprofessional. If you want a service your can trust, you’re better off working with translation services you’re sure will get your message across. If you start getting a lot of customers from a particular country, employ someone who lives there to deal with things. Translation services will also help you here.

UNDERSTAND YOUR NEW CUSTOMERS. We talk about market research, and the need to understand customers a lot in the business world. With good reason. It’s crucial you know who you’re catering to. How else can you improve your product for the people using it? The chances are, you’ve already targeted your services to the customer base in your country. But, you may not have considered those abroad. Again, this is only relevant if you get a lot of clients from one country. If that does happen, do your research and find out how you could tweak your product to suit their needs.

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