July 2020

There are a number of different reasons why businesses should be looking to expand internationally. This includes the fact that there will be more brand expansion opportunities, as well as there being faster growth in global markets. Of course, the main reason why most businesses look to expand overseas is that they are going to be able to reach more customers. You may find that you have more customers in your target market in overseas locations. So, with that being said, in this blog post, we are going to provide you with some tips and advice on how to sell your product internationally.

Check Your Payment Provider

 The first thing you need to do is check that you can accept payments via your current payment provider. There are a lot of payment providers that have various restrictions and rules in place regarding what countries you can accept payments from. Look for a payment provider that has a strong global reputation if you need a new provider to assist with processing international payments. 

Calculate The Shipping Costs

 Of course, international shipping costs more, and this is something you are going to need to factor in when you put your strategy together. This is because of taxes, tariffs, distance, and a number of other factors. Prior to selling on a global basis, make sure that handling and shipping costs are calculated so you know that you are going to come out with a profit in the end. Not only does this include the international shipping fees, but you need to consider shipping supplies, warehousing, and fulfillment costs as well. 

Optimize Your Online Store

 Your store’s website is going to be your buying hub irrespective of where in the world your consumers are based. Depending on your business’ size, you may want to open unique online stores tailored to specific regions or countries. However, for most businesses, it makes more sense for their current website to be optimized for international buyers with language translation tools. You will see that a lot of businesses do this by having a flag icon on the top of their site so people can easily switch between different countries.

Get a Third-Party Fulfillment Partner

 Last but not least, it makes sense to team up with a third-party logistics partner who can assist you with virtually every element of order fulfillment and shipping when launching into a new international market. When you are researching the best provider, ask them about their global fulfillment services and how quickly they can help you to get set up. ShipJoy is the recommended choice. 

So there you have it: everything you need to know about how to break into the international eCommerce market. When you consider everything that has been discussed above, it is not difficult to see why more and more businesses are going global today. However, in order to do this, you need to have an effective strategy. We hope that the information that has been provided in this blog post will enable you to do exactly that.

Returns cut into your profit for a number of different reasons. Whenever you return an item, you need to account for more than just taking on the cost of the item that has been returned and the shipment of it. You also need to think about negative customer reviews, potentially losing a customer, disposing of the damaged items, and storage space for the returned items. With that in mind, it is imperative to have a return management process in place.

A returns management process is designed so that you can efficiently handle any product returns you receive from your online store, whether this a full refund or a partial refund, as well as deciding what to do with a product once it has been returned to you. 

Customer Service

The first thing that you should do when it comes to creating an optimized returns process is to upgrade the customer service you provide. Whenever an item is returned to you, you have the chance to connect with the customer. You can find out why they want the item to be returned and get their feedback about your products. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about what sort of things you could improve on. You could also create a loyal customer by offering them incentives and doing everything in your power to keep the relationship alive. 

Inventory Management

Aside from this, investing in inventory management is important. With a lot of customers adopting “try and return” habits, your company must manage its inventory adequately. Ensure that you always have returns that can be resold marked as “in stock” and that there is enough space within your storage. If you are experiencing a lot of returns and it is becoming difficult for you to manage, you should invest in inventory management software, which can enable you to manage inventory in real-time. 

Return Policy

You also need to make sure that you have a clear returns policy on your website. A lot of people that order from your site will often check your returns policy before they make a purchase. This is because they want to be reassured that they will be able to return items in a hassle-free manner if they are not happy with what they have received. This is why it is imperative to make sure your returns policy is clear and easy to understand.

Employee Training

Finally, educate your staff members about your returns process. You can collaborate to determine different ways to make your returns process as efficient as possible. If you are experiencing a lot of returns because of damaged items, for instance, you need to address your current packaging options to ensure this does not happen anymore. A lot of businesses will turn to third-party experts in order fulfillment, like ShipJoy, that can handle the returns process instead of it taking place in-house. 

As you can see, there are a number of different steps you can take to make sure that returns are managed efficiently at your business. If you follow the advice that has been provided above, you can help to make sure that you do not take such a big hit whenever an item is returned to you. No matter how great a job you do, returns are going to happen. When they inevitably do, we’re here to make the exchange as easy as possible. ShipJoy’s software ensures your logistics, accounting, and frustration departments are hassled as little as possible so you can focus on the happy customers. 

Subscription boxes deliver products on a recurring basis, for example, every month or every three months. These business models have become very popular over the past few years, as customers commit to making repeat purchases. You can get subscription boxes for everything from makeup and health supplements to alcohol and shoes nowadays! The items will be custom-picked based on your personal preferences. If you want to set-up a subscription box service, there are a number of important steps you need to take. 

Choose a niche and product with care

There is only one place to begin, and this is by determining what sort of niche you’re going to go for and what products you are going to include in your subscription boxes. What is going to make your business stand out from the crowd? For example, if you do a makeup box, what makes your makeup box different? This could be only including makeup that is 100% organic and natural, for instance. 

Some of the products that have proven to be very successful in subscription boxes include medical and digital health products, personal and self-care products, food, and razors. You need to think about a product that people are going to have use for on a recurring basis. You also need to think about something that can be packaged and delivered in a different way every month. Extensive customer research will be needed. You will then need to source the products as well and test them. 

Set-up exceptional logistics

 The best subscription box businesses are those that use bullet-proof logistics. Automating the order fulfillment process is imperative. It is worth looking into finding a reliable third-party logistics partner such as ShipJoy so that you can customize the experience for the customer. This can include bundles, kits, and rules so that customers can get the service that is right for them. You can then rely on the third-party business to pack and ship the products so that you do not have to worry about this. Instead, you can spend more time on perfecting and growing your business. 

Create a great website and an incredible unboxing experience

Finally, you are never going to be able to dominate the market if you don’t deliver an amazing unboxing experience. From marketing inserts to custom branded boxes, every little detail is going to enable you to create an unboxing experience that is memorable. After all, we all know the anticipation that we feel when we open a box for the first time and we wait to see what products are inside. You also need to ensure that your website is up to scratch sot hat people actually want to purchase your subscription boxes, to begin with.

As you can see, there are a number of different components that come together to create an incredible subscription box experience. If you consider all of the elements that have been discussed above, you should be able to create a great subscription box experience that will compete against those that have already been established in the market. Managing the unique order and inventory demands of a subscription business is challenging. With ShipJoy, you’ll have a proven team for your Subscription Box Fulfillment needs. We’ll keep your business organized, on-track, and delighting customers.

In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in Subscription box services. People seem to like the novelty and convenience of having their favorite items wrapped and delivered to them gift-like on a monthly basis. Alongside this increase in the product is an improvement in the quality of the distribution service offered by order fulfillment providers. This has improved brand performance in some cases and given them an edge over the competition. 

Challenges Of The Subscription Box Model 

The Subscription Box model is relatively simple on the surface; it should be no more complicated than choosing a product category, planning a monthly selection of items, and then implementing an effective marketing campaign to attract customers. However, the difference between and roughly assembled product and a quality selection is a difference that customers will notice immediately. 

With a Subscription Box quality is all-important. You need to build a brand that customers can trust. If the monthly Subscription Box contains what customers expect plus something novel to maintain interest, they will likely be satisfied with the product and continue subscribing. Retaining customers for Subscription Box services is a big challenge, made easier by knowing the product and niche thoroughly and ensuring quality. 

How To Build A Successful Box Brand 

As mentioned above the key to a successful Subscription Box service is quality. Marketing campaigns should be carefully curated to develop realistic expectations and a strong reputation. Along with quality, retaining membership is a key to success that every brand should have a strategy for long after the initial excitement has worn off. 

Issues encountered in this market include customer expectations, competition, and uniqueness of service. Firstly, customers expect a product that matches its description, at the very least. There must also be an option for easy cancellation if desired. Try to ensure you have many customer resolution options in place before cancellation takes place. 

This market is very competitive as most niches have a number of brands. Customers are unlikely to subscribe to more than one of them. But this also makes it easier for customers to switch services if they are unsatisfied. Incorporate this into your marketing campaign. Finally, it can be difficult for customers to distinguish between brands within a niche, find ways to raise the profile of your box above the rest with innovation and imagination. 

Successful Subscription Box Fulfillment 

When you have your Subscription Box business model up and running it’s time to look at your fulfillment processes. These should be efficient and reliable, particularly during the busy seasonal periods when distribution centers are struggling to keep up with demand. Your subscription boxes must still get through even if centers are working double time. 

Consider a third-party fulfillment provider such as ShipJoy to take care of your fulfillment requirements. There are many benefits to this: it takes the pressure off your business, handling important operational decisions to a professional. It frees up your time to spend on improving the quality of your product. Furthermore, it ensures customers will receive orders when expected due to an efficient distribution network. The product will also be delivered carefully.

If you’re an e-commerce or retail business, demand for your products and services can fluctuate throughout the year, but usually, the most demanding time will be in the fourth quarter. If you’re interested in running your business to its maximum efficiency, you should be reviewing its seasonality performance before the summer gets into full swing. How did your fulfillment solution handle high demand, what issues and inefficiencies did you encounter? Now is the time to analyze and optimize your order fulfillment process.

Fulfillment Solutions

When it comes to fulfilling your orders, particularly across your busy periods, there is no guarantee that your current logistics providers will be able to cover the volume. This can result in loss of earnings and reputation when it appears that you’ve failed your customers. It might seem like your current solution is adequate but it is worth reviewing especially ahead of the busy season. Ensure you do thorough research into your distributor for a bulletproof order fulfillment solution.

Peak Season Planning

For the majority of e-commerce and retail-based businesses, a significant portion of their annual income takes place across an eight to twelve week holiday period. It’s crucial to plan ahead and gets this right as any inefficiency in your supply chain will result in lost revenue, lost reputation, and the loss of valued customers to the competition. Don’t let this become a reality for your business, scale-up for the holiday period, ensure you have a distribution net wait that can fulfill orders within three business days or less. 

The Importance Of Scaling Up 

Knowing that the holiday season is the busiest time and most lucrative it makes sense to organize ahead of time, during the quiet spells. Your distribution center will be shifting from standard business hours, five days a week, to double shifts over seven days. It’s important that you contact your fulfillment solution ahead of time and discuss this increase in volume. Get written guarantees from your provider that the orders will be met and make sure they are held accountable.  

Is It Possible To Scale Up?

When you contact your distribution facilitator don’t take their word for it that seasonal orders can be fulfilled without any trouble. On the face of it that might seem to be the case but be sure to ask the right questions. During high demand periods, both people and machines will be operating at maximum capacity; there must be safeguards in place in case something goes wrong – people may fall ill or machinery could unexpectedly fail. Does your fulfillment provider have adequate cover for unexpected events?

Safeguarding Fulfillment Solutions 

At least once a year it’s important to re-evaluate your fulfillment solution. Review the holiday season from the year before, how efficient was it, what issues did you encounter? What could have happened that didn’t in the previous year? Asking questions about your provider and processes across this crucial period is the best way to optimize the efficiency of your business and improve the quality of your service year on year. Don’t get comfortable with your provider and miss out on valuable opportunities. 

ShipJoy is led by proven logistics experts who guide clients to eCommerce success. For over 25 years we’ve served global brands with premier logistics, freight forwarding, and warehousing support. With ShipJoy you’ll have the absolute best in technology, support, and customer service. We are committed to bringing joy into the lives of our customers and deliver simple solutions to complex eCommerce problems. Contact us today for more information.